Smelly Car

[PoolHustler]

I just bought a newish car quite cheap but it has a musty/smokey/damp smell in it

How can i get rid of the smell?

Serious answers pls

[Donnyboy]

newish car with smell?

was it caught in a flood?

try googling baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate)

good luck

[losworld]

Open the windows.

[bdenner]

Had my car parked up for 3 months whilst away. Mice found their way into the A/C system through the vents near the windscreen and nested in the fan assembly. Anyway several of them died in the duct work, nothing worse than the stench of dead mice and rats. Someone suggested Vanilla Essence. I had a Thai Motor A/C Technician pull the system apart and clean it then pore the Vanilla into the duct work. OK worked a treat and only cost me 4000 Baht inc a full service and regas.

Find the source of the smell and try it.

Edited May 23, 2010 by bdenner

[Deeral]

don't piss in the ashtray?

[Deeral]

Musty smell is probably caused by fungus or bacteria breeding in the carpeting.

opeing the window may get rid of the smell for a bit but with the humid atmosphere here it will only allow in more moisture for the organisms to thrive in.

you need to throughly dry out the carpeting and in general the interior of the car.

In a moisture-free atmosphere any micro-organisms will die or at least fail to multiply.

OK - how to dry it out?

Well if you air is working correctly it should take moisture out of the air - keep the cab on "recycle so it isn't taking air from outside.

You may want to get the carpets etc cleaned and dried - properly.

Then you need to be vigilant about how you let moisture get into the car in future - wet shoes, wet people and clothing - food and drink etc all provide an environment for organisms to grow.

Keeping the widows down in humid weather is not a good idea - it also overloads the air-con if you leave that on at the same time ..... and wastes fuel.

[fredob43]

Try changing the air filter in the air con: Or get on your knee's and try and locate where it is coming from also try giving the air con: a sniff while it's running. If you have a Thai wife G/f get her to have a go as they seem to have nose's like a shit house rat. I know mine dose.

[Donnyboy]

Try changing the air filter in the air con: Or get on your knee's and try and locate where it is coming from also try giving the air con: a sniff while it's running. If you have a Thai wife G/f get her to have a go as they seem to have nose's like a shit house rat. I know mine dose.

we had our AC serviced on our 5 year old car

the smelly musky odour is gone and AC works much better

[Hssl]

Check your air con as others have said but another good tip is Tea tree oil is good for killing off fungus / bacteria in carpets & upholstery

[fredob43]

Because air con: gets a real bashing here you should change the filter every 20,000 kl. Not cleaned changed. About 400/500bt, cheap, to make the thing work at 100%. If you dont think Im right have a look at it when it come's out.

[Deeral]

Unfortunately you have to remove the source of the smell - the smell itself is caused by bacteria/fungus etc - so vacuuming will work most of the time so long as it removes the sourceCirculating"fresh" air will remove the smell temporarily but not the source. - If you allow moist air into the car it wil encourage the bacteria to breed so the smell could get worse.Drying out is the best long-term option especially if the smell is coming from the interior of the car - i.e. carpets etc.

[fiddlehead]

I once had the smell of cat urine in my pickup.

I used a vinegar/water mixture that i sprayed on the area where the smell was the worst.

It took away the smell after a day or two.