Gettin' the stank out

After two years of looking I bought a 1986 Bronco 2. Yea I know, why would I do that. Anyway it is an original owner car that he custom ordered. Ten years ago he parked it in an insulated garage. It runs great but ten years of stale air needs to be addressed. So wise people of GRM how would get the stank out?

Thanks. Rick

Baking soda? Hey, it works in refrigerators.

My friend buys and sells cars on the side, he has an ozone generator. Stick it in the window, roll up the windows and it removes even cigarette smoke stank. He says it gives him a headach if he drives the car right after, I haven't noticed.

See if you can rent or borrow one.

Dan

http://www.odorfreemachines.com/?c1=GAW_SE_NW&source=GAW&kw=ozone_generator_exm&cr5=8147619547&gclid=CJryvPa276kCFVDCKgodmHbkYA

Dryer sheets. rub all the upholstry and carpet down with them and then stick 10 or twelve under the seats and leave them there for a week.

used coffee grounds

I removed mildew stank from my Cadillac that sat parked under a car cover for 2 years outside in CT by doing the following:

1) Use Clorox cleaner or Febreze anti-microbial to wipe down all hard surfaces / leather / vinyl.

2) Use a Bissel Little-Green machine with carpet cleaner on all the carpets / upholstery

3) Place open pie tins of baking soda on the floor or seats (4 is good)

4) After a week, dryer sheet rubdown

If you have problems after this, a new interior might be in order...

I like to sprinkle baking soda on the carpet and seats...liberally. Let sit for a day or 5. Vacuum thoroughly. Repeat as necessary.

That didn't work on the last one so I took the carpet out and blasted it at the carwash. THAT will get carpet about as clean as you can get it.

Then there's always the "windows open for a week" treatment that also works pretty well, if the source of the smell was originally organic and is no longer in the car.

The car wash will do wonders. Baking soda is good, but apples will also take some funk out of the car. Just cut up some apples and put them in bowls in the car. Just don't leave them in too long.

This was the back seat in my BABE rally car. It had pretty much been used as a work truck, and the seats were NASTY. They looked new when I was done.

Mcdonalds french fries. Leave an order of those in it for a week.

It depends on the origin of the stank. My Challenge Probe smelled of cat pee. I was able to get that out by Febreezing every absorbent surface. A lot.

I also had a Corvette with a leather interior where the previous owner smoked a pipe. Had to have that one steam cleaned to get the smell out.

Fabreeze does work!

Simple things first...park the car out in the sun with the windows open for a while. If it's just stale air and not something else like mildew or cigarette smoke, a good airing will do wonders.

I suppose Id use a little charcoal and kitty litter

In reply to 16vCorey:

Wow, that is some dirty seat!

A serious cleaning followed by a $50 trip to the dealer for some time with an ozone generator or whatever they use. Stank gets in the ducts, carpets, seats... Do it once correctly or you will chase it forever.

Thanks folks for the input! When I sit in car I fill like I have been to a bar in that the smell gets into your clothes!

LS1Fiero I would love to see pics of your car:-)

AngryCorvair wrote: used coffee grounds

I thought that was for dead bodies...

Lesley wrote:

AngryCorvair wrote: used coffee grounds

I thought that was for dead bodies...

I thought that was for cocaine...

Just had to recently go through this on my new to me '07 Tahoe. The PO was apparently a heavy smoker (you'd never know it by looking at the interior) and the Chevy dealer used some amazing cover up smell because I didn't notice the smell until I had owned it a week...then the smell came back bad. Four months later I'm still somewhat fighting the smell unfortunately, but it is a lot better, I'm just being picky.

I've tried a bunch of things trying to get rid of the smell. I started with wiping down all the surfaces and using cover up sprays like Fabreeze and the "smoke eliminator" sprays you can get at Home Depot and car parts stores. Those worked well for a week but it would always come back. So then I had the car detailed and they used an ozone machine, and again a week later it was back. Then I borrowed my MIL's carpet shampoo thing and it started to fade...I've done that twice now. Also a lot of time with the windows open in the sun and baking soda when it is closed up. I tried using the trick where you put a bowl of ammonia in the front and two bowls of baking soda in the back but I HATE the smell of ammonia more than smoke so while it did get rid of the smoke smell for a few days it was worse.

Like I said, I'm being picky because besides the smell the truck feels new. But I still get a faint smoke smell some days getting in. I found a cig butt under the seat one day which made me mad...and makes me think I need to pull the front seat to clean under it before the smell is going to go away for good.

Lesley wrote:

AngryCorvair wrote: used coffee grounds

I thought that was for dead bodies...

No, that's lime.

I've sprinkled wet coffee grounds on newspaper and then put it under the seats etc, it does a real good job of removing odors. It might take a few days of redoing it each morning, though.