Bought a truck, it had mice..... I am currently dropping the headliner to vacuum out turds, but how on earth do I get rid of the stink?? I found one spot on the carpet that was under their "home" that is yellow, assuming that is pee.... I can probably clean that, but how do i get the rest of the smell out? Obviously they were in every nook and cranny, I was thinking Ozone machine? I used one on a musty smelling car once and it worked well.
An other tricks?! ugh
wash anything they were on with Odoban. unfortunately with my avalanche they took toilet paper into the heater box and built a home and proceeded to piss all over the TP. i got almost all of it out with vacuum and long picks, then sprayed odoban down in it. then i ran the truck in the driveway with heater on full blast and shot a whole bottle of febreeze into the heater intake at the base of the windshield outside.
OdorXit ... website has many options depending on your exact situation (such as best product to use when your pal barfs down your new Jetta's dash vent). Yup, it solved that nasty problem !!
Thanks guys, found another house under the headliner. YUCK.
Its been cleaned with all manner of carpet cleaners, household cleaners simple green etc. And vacuumed dry as best I can. Sprayed with febreeze and a heater is running in the cab now... Ill pick up some ordrxit or odoban soon.... Why did they have to get under the headliner!?
Throw the carpet out and spray the flor with box liner.
Febreeze and the like will just mask the odor. You need to remove the source as well as you can, which it sounds like you've done. From there, I'd sprinkle baking soda on any fabric or carpet surfaces, let it sit for a bit then vacuum it up. From there an ozone machine can work wonders. I bought one on Amazon a few months ago to de-stink the kids' cars, and it worked very well. Was around $70, IIRC.
In reply to Streetwiseguy:
It's mostly under above the headliner.....
Check under the dash and in the heater box/defrost piping. Pull the pillar trims etc.
My Challenge Firebird had a huge mouse condo complex in the cowl and heater box, but luckily did not enter the inside of the car. Threw away the box and put in a 'clean' one from my donor car. Everything else got super hot water and soap.
Any fabric or carpet they've gotten into is probably trash.
Man it stinks! Getting it all wet cleaning it and heater in a closed cab is nasty!
Ozone machine is in the mail, it was $15 more to buy it than rent one for one day... Hope that helps.
I'll check under the dash too. I haven't found where they got in yet.
Step one: remove carpet and headliner.
Step two: clean the floor and ceiling with odoban.
Step three: replace carpet and headliner with new carpet and headliner.
What a coincidence. I just bought a parts truck with a mouse nest problem, too. I'm only needing some interior hard parts, so I'm not worried about the headliner or carpet. Hot, soapy water and some Nature's Miracle urine remover (sold at pet stores) should do the trick.
In reply to RealMiniParker:
Mine isn't a parts truck sadly.... I knew there was some, but the owner must have aired it out well.
I had a little nature's miracle in the house. It went on.
Ozone machine arrived and just stated its first 2 hour stretch in the cab.... Still stinks after all the cleaning...
Two hours in, smells much better, but very ozone-y, I can't smell the fabric cleaners anymore tho
Which ozone machine did you purchase? Was it the one?
Strike_Zero wrote: Which ozone machine did you purchase? Was it the one?
Thats the one, it was $50 plus tax to rent one.
It has good reviews, one by a commercial guy that says bearings start making noise at 40k hours.... Sounds good to me :) I can smell it in the driveway running in the cab with the door closed, so I think it puts out a fair bit.
I took a sniff this morning, its been off since ~11pm last night. Smells good in the cab, if you stick your nose right on the nasty spot on the headliner you can still smell it a bit, so it set it for another two hours and left for work.
That's my one gripe with it, I wish it would just stay on, not two hours at a time... The one I rented just had an on off switch, it was nice to just let it run overnight.
java230 wrote:Strike_Zero wrote: Which ozone machine did you purchase? Was it the one?Thats the one, it was $50 plus tax to rent one. It has good reviews, one by a commercial guy that says bearings start making noise at 40k hours.... Sounds good to me :) I can smell it in the driveway running in the cab with the door closed, so I think it puts out a fair bit. I took a sniff this morning, its been off since ~11pm last night. Smells good in the cab, if you stick your nose right on the nasty spot on the headliner you can still smell it a bit, so it set it for another two hours and left for work. That's my one gripe with it, I wish it would just stay on, not two hours at a time... The one I rented just had an on off switch, it was nice to just let it run overnight.
40k hour is a lot. Over 4.5 years of constant on.
In reply to rande:
Yep, thats why i felt it would last my lifetime of use :) (he is a smoke damage repair guy IIRC)
Good to know the ozone generator worked for you. I have a car that was mouse infested and I spent a good chunk of time this summer gutting the interior and scrubbing everything with Lysol. Headliner, carpet, seats, parcel shelf, trunk carpet, all door panels and side trim. The only part I didn't pull was the dash and heater box. It was nice and smelled of lemons for a bit, then I parked it in the fall. The other day I got in it too move it, and the smell is back. So I'm curious to see if the ozone generator works out over time.
Might have to get one myself!
In reply to Run_Away:
I have used them for smoke and mildew/mold smell before, but not mice. Ill report back 
How to get rid of mouse pee smell?
I also recommend the ozone machine. I used to work in facilities for college housing and we had one to de stink the kids' room after they moved out. Got rid of old puke smell, cigarette, stale booze, and football player BO. Lysol, etc just masks the odor.
In reply to java230:
Good to know! The 530i had mold and mildew. I didn't know the heater core was leaking when I stored it. A local guy said he would clean the interior for $3-500 depending on how bad it is. Not for a $1000 car. A couple bottles of Concrobium, elbow grease,and the ozone machine for under $150? Yes please!
I have moved it to my wish list 
Spent all day in the cab, still has a very slight smell, that kinda sickly sweet mouse smell. But its very minimal now. It has about 6-7 hours run time so far. I set it to run again, but there is just a piece of plastic on the back of the cab now.
Bumping this up to see how your results were, I have a similar issue with my '01 Mousestang.
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