Does anyone have any tried and true ways of freshening up their interior that actually lasts?

I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of a somewhat musty smell in the car. This is not my car - my girlfriend just bought a lightly used '08 Subaru that is actually in really good condition inside and out, but just smells a little stale. The car does not smell BAD, and there are no obvious signs of problems that would cause an odor (puke stains, etc)

My Patriot, which is about a year and a half old now, has lost its new car smell but doesn't really smell like anything at all. That's fine with me.

I work at a rental car company so I am always looking for new ways to get these musty smells out of cars. We have a commercial grade air freshener that does a good job of getting rid of legitimately bad odors, like cigarette smoke, but it's strong.

Basically I want to get in the car and either smell nothing, or I want an impression of some kind of clean scent. I have tried the usual Febreeze products, and they tend to fade pretty quickly. And yes, I am aware of all the cheesy air fresheners and such, but they tend to smell even worse and are way too strong anyway.

Or is the solution something more involved, like steam cleaning? Yikes. Alright, let's hear some suggestions.

Dryer sheets under the seats work pretty well.

Actually, find a cleaning product/equipment vendor. This is usually the supply company for janitorial companies. Ask them if the have the Johnson line of products. If they do, ask them for a bio-cleaner. This works great on any textile material in the car. Let it soak into the carpet so it can help eliminate any humidity under the surface that may be causing any smell. Then the old Lysol (anti-mildew/bacterial) into the A/C vents to eliminate any mold in the ducts.

Put about 2 dozen charcoal brickets on an old onion bag and place in the car (closed up ) for a week or so. The charcoal will suck up the musty smell. Then clean and tread the interior with Poorboy's Natural Look. :-) Ric

The Lysol in the AC is a must. I have used this on a couple of other cars. I have used a quick squirt or two of Febreeze and they also have a smell/scent for cars. I have just used the regular scent. Of course that only covers a bad smell for a while if there is something causing it. If it is just a little stale the try the Febreeze.

Dryer sheets under the seats work pretty well.

I actually took this a step further. I have the JoeBecker(tm) Air Cabin Filter. I stuck a couple of folded dryer sheet into the filter housing. Works great! Not overpowering at all. People love that fresh just dried clothing smell. I tucked them into the sides so as to not restrict air flow too much.

Put about 2 dozen charcoal brickets on an old onion bag and place in the car (closed up ) for a week or so. The charcoal will suck up the musty smell. Then clean and tread the interior with Poorboy's Natural Look. :-) Ric

The charcoal idea actually works. I have 2-3 brickets in my home safe. Does wonders absorbing humidity. I store several collectible paper bills (currency) in the safe and this has protected them from humidity damage.

A buddy of mine used to work for a BMW dealership, and he remembered seeing cigarrette smelling trade-ins with this device inside the car with the A/C blasting, and the windows up...after about 75 mins or so, the car would have NO SMELL!! I thought he was BS'n me but it's true. I have no idea what the machine is called but I bet it cost a fortune $$

I find leaving the windows open in the garage makes a huge difference in the smell inside the car.

Best way to make the interior smell better?


I recommend you get some "Beano"? :p

I use one of these: http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/35-176-odor-removers/solid-odor-absorber-642908.aspx

I buy mine from the local super market, but it's the same brand. I've used the orange scent and the linen, both are nice and not over powering.

I place it under the passenger seat and it lasts for a few months. Having the vent shades on my windows also helps as I can leave them cracked open to promote a little air circulation without worrying about rain getting in. Although I'm a smoker, I hate getting into my riot and smelling stale cigarette odor. I also vacuum often and wipe everything down on a regular basis.

The biggest problem I have is that I want to have my car smell like nothing. Not Orange, not pine, not fruit, not armor-all, not, 409, not "that new car smell" so I actually have to have my car clean enough that is does not smell. Note to self....remove dog blanket with dog.

Note to self....remove dog blanket with dog.


Definitely NOT good to leave the DOG in the car when you remove his blanket.:doh:

Definitely NOT good to leave the DOG in the car when you remove his blanket.:doh:

Especially a WET dog!!!!!

:p

When you fart, does it smell like KY? hahaha, I take things too far sometimes...my pat doesn't smell funky, but I had several cars that I bought used in the past that smelled terrible from smokers and people leaving stains. Keeping the carpet and headliner clean will reduce most odors, unless the odor is from the seats themselves. If you have cloth seats and it's really that bad, you can remove them and pressure wash them. Then douche them in fabric deodorizer. Or take your jeep down to your local BMW dealer and ask the detailing guys to use their fancy deodorizing machine (they use it to clear smoker's odors and stuff when detailing trade-ins) I don't know of anyone else that uses them.

X2, I could not agree with Jepstr67 more.

The last thing I want is Febreeze or any of that other stuff that has who knows what in it.

Consider steam cleaning carpets and seats. Then give the interior a good wipedown with a damp microfibre cloth.

Although it may not apply, consider cleaning some of the stuff you have been storing in the Patriot since you bought it. Those empty coke cans from 2007 would be a good start. ;)



The biggest problem I have is that I want to have my car smell like nothing. Not Orange, not pine, not fruit, not armor-all, not, 409, not "that new car smell" so I actually have to have my car clean enough that is does not smell. Note to self....remove dog blanket with dog.

CLEAN.

or i have these little air fresheners that clamp on to the vents. they help alot.

Heres something strange for you. Having worked at a dealership for awhile I made an observation that still holds true to this day. All used 1997-2003 Chevy Malibus smell like old wet saltine crackers. it doesnt matter if they were cars on our lot, trades we took in, or other peoples cars that I rode in. Every single one of them smells like stale crackers. i have no idea why but everytime i get in one they all smell the same:)

i agree with jepstr on not liking my car to smell like anything. I like to use either the Eagle 1 nano protectant or the mequiars Qwik Detailer interior spray on just about every surface inside the car and i find that it has a really weak chemical smell at first, but if you leave the windows cracked for about an hour after cleaning the smell is completely gone and it pretty much neutralizes any smells in the car.

Can't find lemon scent any more but Poorboy's Natural Look smells GREAT. Now if they would just bring out some hangin air fresheners with that smell:pepper::pepper: Ric

I think the device Vultite is referring to is an Ozone generator. Ozone is a fairly aggressive gas that can remove the cause of many odors, etc. I've also heard of being used on houses (vacated of course) that are for sale and have bad odors (i.e. cat houses, or really smokey houses). Obviously caution must be used not to breath any of the ozone (space must be vacated during and for a while after running). Ozone can also degrade certain materials. That said, it will neutralize most odors with no residual masking odor (perfumes, etc).

I love the smell in mine, it's mostly cigarette and coffee, with a little dog on the side.

Seriously though, after 2 years it still smell pretty good. If I pull the seat covers there's still some new car smell. Although I'm with some of you, and I prefer clean to even the new car odor.

During a longer trip with our little honey puppy Daisy we stopped for her (and us) to take relief and let her run around for a while at a fishpond shore. She found a dead fish somewhere ... dead for days or weeks and accordingly decomposed ... and she rolled around in it real well. You can`t even imagine the awful smell from her after this "treatment" if you`ve never experienced this personally. It was December and fairly cold already, no way to wash her in the pond (water cold, no shampoo/towels or gum-boots with us) or get rid of the smell. We still had about 2 hours drive to get home, there were 4 of us (adults) and the luggage compartment of the Pat full - no chance to put Daisy there so she travelled on the back seat and unrestfully, as puppies are, changed positions often from my wife`s to my daughter`s laps the whole way. Even though we put and old sweater or something over her, all of us had to have hankies, scarfs or whatever on hand on our faces (noses) and windows partly open all the way home, else we couldn`t have survived the trip :puke:. So the Pat was pretty smelly after this joyful ride. Thankfully I found this spray can of "Oust odor eliminator" at home we use for the cats toilette so I tried that. It`s supposed to absorb and eliminate odors, not just freshen the air. Sprayed that all over the seats, interior and left Pat shut for an hour or so ... then opened all doors and left to ventiate for another hour. It worked an there`s no more smell now, thank God :notworthy:
Otherwise we also use a smell absorber in our fridge ... a plastic box with holes in it, don`t know what`s inside ... but works well, so it would proly do the job in a car as well ;)

It took 3 repeated shampoo washes to get the dead fish smell out of this coat :D

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/115/l_87b7cad7c1364e5599d712273bea962c.jpg

DAISY

lol

How to get rid of Dead Hooker Smell from trunk (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/non_aviation/read.main/1048691/)

My dogs have rolled in many smelly things over the years. Mostly it;s cow and/or horse manure. But the worst is when they have a run in with a skunk. I have a recipe for a de-skunking formula for dogs that works really well, if anyone wants that let me know.

Well we don`t have any skunks here ... but your deskunking formula could work for other smells as well, so pls post it :smiley_thumbs_up:

Our dogs have so far rolled in: dead fish, dead rat, dog and human sh*t (from homeless folks doing it in the park bushes) and I`m sure they`d do it in any carcass they would find ... the smellier the better :p

My dogs have rolled in many smelly things over the years. Mostly it;s cow and/or horse manure. But the worst is when they have a run in with a skunk. I have a recipe for a de-skunking formula for dogs that works really well, if anyone wants that let me know.

isnt it like tomato sauce or something like that? i forgot, the vet told me once.

i run over a skunk like 9 years ago, i had a dodge stratus. it smelled like skunk for over a week. lol

De-Skunk formula for dogs


Do all outside do not bring dog in house

1. Mix: 1 qt. 3% hydrogen peroxide; ¼ cup baking soda; 1 Tsp. Liquid detergent

2. Bath dog with mixture immediately after mixing it

3. Rinse it off with cold water after five minutes

Dixie ... won`t the whole dogs coat come off after this treatment :)

No, it works really well. Afterwards I usually give him a normal bath too with shampoo and then conditioner. I use Main and Tail shampoo and conditioner. Their conditioner is good, and won't hurt them or dry their skin, even if you don't get it all rinsed off.

Put about 2 dozen charcoal brickets on an old onion bag and place in the car (closed up ) for a week or so. The charcoal will suck up the musty smell. Then clean and tread the interior with Poorboy's Natural Look. :-) Ric

I agree that charcoal can absorb fusty odor. I actually use it to neutralize the smell inside my fridge sometimes. :)

Does anyone have any tried and true ways of freshening up their interior that actually lasts?

I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of a somewhat musty smell in the car. This is not my car - my girlfriend just bought a lightly used '08 Subaru that is actually in really good condition inside and out, but just smells a little stale. The car does not smell BAD, and there are no obvious signs of problems that would cause an odor (puke stains, etc)

My Patriot, which is about a year and a half old now, has lost its new car smell but doesn't really smell like anything at all. That's fine with me.

I work at a rental car company so I am always looking for new ways to get these musty smells out of cars. We have a commercial grade air freshener that does a good job of getting rid of legitimately bad odors, like cigarette smoke, but it's strong.

Basically I want to get in the car and either smell nothing, or I want an impression of some kind of clean scent. I have tried the usual Febreeze products, and they tend to fade pretty quickly. And yes, I am aware of all the cheesy air fresheners and such, but they tend to smell even worse and are way too strong anyway.

Or is the solution something more involved, like steam cleaning? Yikes. Alright, let's hear some suggestions.
My car had some smoke odor, I am not smoker so this is bad for me. Fried of mine have ozone generator, we plug in yesterday for about 8 hr. looks like smoke is gone in 99%.
I am repeating this again today for another 8hr. Car shoud be clear from any odoors.
Smells good after one treatment (or smells like nothing) I am douing again today just to kill any think ealse.

Vacuum the headliner with an attachment, it can make a huge difference.

I've used a can of California Scents "Coronado Cherry" in the past until my father got into my Jeep and told me it smelled like a urinal cake. Those canned air fresheners could cover almost any odor. Its so strong it just takes over everything!

Charcoal and ozone air purifiers will remove any lingering odor. I have two ozone machines from Alpine in my house. You can peel onions, smoke, or bust a windy in the house and still no odors. Hell I have'nt smelled a fart in years

... Smells good after one treatment (or smells like nothing) ...

LOL ... smells like nothing :D ... laughed so hard a fart came out ... and it sure smelled like something :p

I actually ordered a small ionizer yesterday for this exact purpose. They make small ones just for cars now (runs on 12v).

A used car dealer friend swears by ionizers, they create a very neutral smell.

Once it arrives I'll give it a try and report back.

I actually ordered a small ionizer yesterday for this exact purpose. They make small ones just for cars now (runs on 12v).

A used car dealer friend swears by ionizers, they create a very neutral smell.

Once it arrives I'll give it a try and report back.

Let us know how that works. I had a sales lady working for me once who had one but I think her's was a crap brand or something. Didn't work as far as I was concerned. It still smelled stale in her Mazda 6 whenever I got in it.

A buddy of mine used to work for a BMW dealership, and he remembered seeing cigarrette smelling trade-ins with this device inside the car with the A/C blasting, and the windows up...after about 75 mins or so, the car would have NO SMELL!! I thought he was BS'n me but it's true. I have no idea what the machine is called but I bet it cost a fortune $$

Its called an ionizer most larger used dealerships have them to get rid of smells in cars before selling them. I bought a used car once that the previous owner smoked very heavily in, when I took the car for a test drive I could barely breath the smell was so overpowering I liked the car but not the smell. The salesguy said he would get rid of the smell by the time I picked it up or I could walk away. Went back the next day and the smell was completely gone? I had to ask how they did it and he showed me the device they used. I had that car for almost ten years and you still never could smell smoke in it again.

yep, .... when you get that inevitable 'wet dog smell' in your car, get yourself one of those air con deodouriser aerosols.

Simply follow the instructions... start your engine, put the air/air con circulation on internal and at full belt, make sure the windows are closed, then set off the aerosol in the middle of the car (when you press it, it clicks on..no turning back), and then get the hell out of your car (or it'll kill you). it takes about 20 minutes to fully expel .

Hey presto.. you car smells of nothing. Smell is airbourne bacteria.. and as such it is 'alive'. This aerosol kills everything, taking those nasty bacteria with it.

happy, happy days..... for a least a year anyway.:D:beerchug:
http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=391&pictureid=2328

I just use Lucas Oil interior cleaner. It leaves a nice "clean" smell. Hard to describe. Lasts a couple weeks.