We often think of our cars as our second home albeit a mobile one, thus, we leave many personal belongings in it including soiled clothes, sweaty running shoes, and spoiled food. Many, sadly, are just slobs and so many end up with smelly interiors that become worse over time.
While the likes of Autobell offer detailing services for cleaning, polishing and deodorizing your car’s interiors, you shouldn’t wait for your biannual schedule. You can easily remove stinky odors from your car with the following tips. You don’t have to suffer through these undesirable smells, after all, whenever you travel!
Find and Remove the Sources
The first obvious tip is to find and remove the possible sources of the stinky smell. These can include sweaty gym clothes and running shoes, expired and spoiled food, and other detritus of daily living haphazardly placed – and then forgotten – in cars. Be sure to remove these offending materials and your car will almost immediately smell better.
But don’t stop there! You should also scrub the area with a carpet cleaner, use a wet vacuum, and then blot it dry.
In cases when the odor still remains, sprinkle baking soda on the area and let it sit for a few hours to let the baking soda absorb the smell. Then, use a vacuum to remove the baking soda and repeat, if needed.
Check the Cabin Filter
Many car owners forget to change the cabin filter since there’s too much emphasis on changing the oil filter. The cabin filter cleans the heating-air conditioning system in your car and, thus, it also prevents environmental pollutants from entering your car’s cabin. The pollutants include dust, pollen and mold spores, which can add to the bad odors and increase the risk of illnesses for susceptible persons.
With a dirty cabin filter, the smell blows through it and makes the odor worse. Think of it as circulating the odor whenever you turn on the fan or blower. Changing the cabin filter can contribute to fresher indoor air in your car.
Check the Vents
But changing the cabin filter may not be enough in many cases. You should also check and clean the vents since these may harbor mildew and mold, which have their own lingering odor.
Turn off your car’s engine. Spray vent cleaner on all the vents including the intake opening and the outside air intake.
Turn on your car and put the air-conditioning on full blast with its recirculation system on. Spray both the intakes and let them run for a few more minutes.
Turn off the air-conditioning but leave the fan on full blast. Lower down the windows so that fresh air can be introduced into your car’s interiors. Install the cabin filter and your car should be ready to go with a better smell to it.