Gross disgusting car stank.

GWashington1732

GWashington1732

Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
13,240
My car's seats have a disgusting funk about them. Like sweaty crotch, farts, BO, and 2 stroke exhaust. I know it's from me being dirty from work and taking cross country trips eating nothing but junk food that gives me horrendous smelling gas and raging diarrhea, but I don't know how to get rid of it. I've cleaned it twice and febreezed it a lot and put like 14 of those vent air fresheners in there, but it still smells like onions that have sat in a pitcher of swamp warer that got left in the sun for a couple of days. Any ideas, I only smell it when I first get in on a hot day but people that get into my car are starting to gag.
 
Well if they are cloth seats you can try steam cleaning and wet vac, but if the stank has sank into the foam you are probably SOL
 
It’s the fabreeze that killing your potential passengers. That stuff is poison. I won’t get in a car with that crap.

Get leather seats. Or vinyl. Forget the air fresheners that are worse than anything …

Or buy a new car…or walk.

Also, drive with the windows open.

Do they make HEPA filters for cars?
 
I have had this problem frequently with old work vans. It’s not even my funk! Then you sit in the seat long enough the seat makes you smell.

Duluth makes heavy duty “fire hose” seat covers. To isolate you from the seat and they are washable. Also use one of those springy seat pad things to promote air flow. Or alternatively one of the wooden bead covers.

I spray the seats and the entire interior with Lysol. To kill anything that is alive in there.

When you know they are dry. Put baking soda on the seats. Grind it in. Wait as long as you can. Like over night. Vacuum and repeat whenever you can.
 
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Put a box of Arm & Hammer with the flow through vent (fridge and freezer) under each of the front seats. They don't spill and do a great job controlling smells.
Although not super comfortable, vinyl seat cover for drivers seat will keep smells from absorbing in the first place.
For your gut get a bottle of Kefir. You will usually find it by the yogurt at the supermarket. It's a probiotic cultured milk smoothie. Lactose free and gluten free - so allergies/intolerances aren't a problem. It tastes like thin/liquid yogurt. Has 12 different cultures and will fix your gut quickly. Great for hangovers - I'll drink an entire bottle if I've had too much draft beer.
I also work "on the road" most of the time.
 
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leave the windows open as much as possible to air it out. Being closed up magnifies the smell.

Get a cheap can of coffee and open it and stick it under the seat. Open a box of baking soda and leave it in the car.
 
Shoot the car...twice. Burn it on a country road. Pelt it with gravel.
Go Home...take a nice warm SOAPY bath. Have your wife scrub your back.
Relax; watch tv.
Next day? Buy a car. Install Duluth heavy duty “fire hose” seat covers, as per eveled. Go to Walmart, buy lots of Gas-X and Lomotil...
Spray Lysol frequently. Ask your woman to sniff. Trust her nose.
...and pray...pray as necessary and prudent.
 
^^^Yes, bathe and wash your clothes, twice if necessary (with a potent fragrance-free soap and/or with additives such as baking soda, vinegar). Should have 0 smell when you put them on.

Change your underwear 2–3x a day or as needed. Same for pants if refractory.
 
Odog27 said:
For your gut get a bottle of Kefir. You will usually find it by the yogurt at the supermarket. It's a probiotic cultured milk smoothie. Lactose free and gluten free - so allergies/intolerances aren't a problem. It tastes like thin/liquid yogurt. Has 12 different cultures and will fix your gut quickly. Great for hangovers - I'll drink an entire bottle if I've had too much draft beer.
Click to expand...

+1:thumbsup: on kefir. I recommend Lifeway as most biologically active and widely distributed, with the qualification that their non-fat kefir (like all non-fat kefirs I've tried) is awful.

You might check a pet store for deodorizing sprays and shampoos for dogs who have been skunked. Never used them on a car, but they do remove the smell of human feces and urine from home carpeting.
 
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I used to do detail and body work, what we used to do was get a bucket and fill it with soapy water and some kind of enzymes, scrub the seats and carpets with a medium stiff brush then suck it all out with a shop vac or one of those big industrial vacs at the car washes, then just leave the windows/doors open while it dries.
 
Rent an O-zone machine and use it!

Super simple to use: set it to the recommended time (based on that machines power, it'll be in the instructions), close it up in your car, walk away. That's it!
O-zone destroys all odors, not just covers them up. A good upholstery shampoo would be worth it to remove the physical dirt but nothing survives o-zone (on that note, don't be in the car when you're doing the treatment!)
 
Often "stank" smell is from bacteria growing and feeding on seat, etc. That has worked it's way into fabrics. It could also be within your venting systems.

Although there's no guarantee that you will get it out, if start with:
1. Spray with Lysol... a lot. Just don't be in the car for an hour or so afterwards and leave the windows open to air out.
2. After it is dry, coat every square inch of fabric with baking soda. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Then vacuum up.
3. Get an ionizing air filter and stuff it in your car overnight (they create ozone).

Repeat as necessary.
 
Cereal_killer said:
Rent an O-zone machine and use it!

Super simple to use: set it to the recommended time (based on that machines power, it'll be in the instructions), close it up in your car, walk away. That's it!
O-zone destroys all odors, not just covers them up. A good upholstery shampoo would be worth it to remove the physical dirt but nothing survives o-zone (on that note, don't be in the car when you're doing the treatment!)
Click to expand...

This is the most effective solution. Ozone machine
 
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