To figure out why there is a smell in the car interior, you will have to carefully examine it and listen to the odor itself. He will tell you where to look for the cause and, based on this, understand how to remove the smell from the car.
There are technical and everyday reasons that provoke an unpleasant smell in the car. Failure of certain vehicle systems or careless behavior with certain parts can make themselves felt through odors. The fluids that ensure the functioning of the car are the causes of the stench.
- If your car smells of gasoline, then this is a signal to check the fuel system.
- A sweetish taste indicates antifreeze leakage. If you add coolant, the smell in the car will disappear.
- Mustiness and dampness indicate a clogged air duct or air conditioner. Replacing the device or antibacterial treatment will correct the situation. Allergy sufferers will feel unwell first, and an attack may occur.
- The scorched scent encourages the driver to shift gears more carefully. The clutch is pressed too hard, and this stinks inside the car. New drivers are especially guilty of this.
- The smell of gas in a car running on gas equipment appears if errors were made during installation or low-quality components were used.
- Burnt oil cannot be confused. The aroma is pungent, recognizable and appears when oil drops hit the engine when topping up. If you don’t wipe the body, you’ll have to endure the unpleasant smell in the car’s interior for a couple more days.
But the described aromas relate only to the technical condition of the “iron horse”, and the car can smell bad for other reasons, which are provoked by the passengers and the owner himself. When smoking, tobacco smoke is absorbed into the upholstery and plastic elements; even ventilation does not help get rid of it. The smoky taste lasts for a long time.
Crumbs or leftovers from bagged food used as snacks spoil and emit a stench. Animals also leave behind an unpleasant odor. Winter time is characterized by high humidity. The inside of the car is sealed, moisture does not evaporate normally and a swampy smell appears in the car interior.
What's wrong with chemicals?
It would seem, why complicate your life? After all, stores offer a huge selection of different products that promise to get rid of unpleasant odors in the car. But most of them are made up of artificial fragrances and strong chemicals that are not needed to effectively remove odors.
In addition, such drugs can cause severe headaches and even cause allergic reactions. The likelihood of such unpleasant symptoms increases if you drive with the windows closed.
Likewise, it is not recommended to bring back the “new car smell.” Not many people know that it actually consists of a number of chemicals that release gases inside the car. These, in turn, create a thick atmosphere of chemical particles. It is they that the driver and passengers of the car will be forced to inhale. Needless to say that there is nothing useful in this?
That is why it is better to give preference to natural remedies that will cope with the task no worse. The most commonly used are soda, vinegar, charcoal, coffee, and cat litter.
Removing mustiness
The most important thing in this case is to prevent the appearance of dampness. To do this, you should either adjust the ventilation, or use the proven “old-fashioned” method - laying a layer of newspapers on the rugs. However, if a musty smell does form in the car, you can take several routes:
- Check the air conditioner. If this is the reason, then you need to thoroughly clean the filter.
- If possible, dry the car interior thoroughly. To do this, leave the vehicle in bright sun for at least a day, opening the doors and trunk.
- Treat all damp areas with chlorhexidine.
Go ahead. Soda
Did cleaning the interior not get rid of the unpleasant smell? Let's move on to the next steps.
As practice shows, baking soda does an excellent job of removing odors. It should be sprinkled onto upholstery and carpets and left for several hours, and ideally overnight. After this, you need to remove it with a vacuum cleaner.
If you want to add a pleasant aroma to your car, you can add some of your favorite essential oils to the baking soda. 10-20 drops will be enough.
Baking soda can be used not only on upholstery and carpets, but also in other places: under seats, in the trunk, and so on. In all cases, it is important to observe one point: the surfaces must be dry! Otherwise, a lump will form from the soda and it will not “work” as effectively.
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Steam treatment and ozonation
If the car interior smells of gasoline, then a simple Christmas tree will not help. An effective method is steam treatment. But the steam does not contain pure water, but a special antibacterial drug with the addition of a pleasant aroma. Cleaning goes like this:
- all internal surfaces are steamed for three minutes;
- doors and windows are quickly closed for an hour;
- the vehicle is opened and left for ventilation;
- Use a dry cloth to remove accumulated condensation.
The air will become clean, without even a hint of harmful impurities.
With ozone treatment, things are a little different. The first thing that makes this procedure different is its cost. If the previous option is available to every car owner, not even all detailing centers provide ozonation services.
A special device will not only remove the smell of gases or fuel from inside the car, but will also destroy fungi. It works on fabric and hard surfaces. The cleaning process looks like this:
- The ozone device operates in the car with the fan on for 20 minutes;
- then the fan turns off, the operation of the device does not stop for another 20 minutes;
- the vehicle is not ventilated for long;
- Wet cleaning of all surfaces is carried out.
You can find out how much such a service costs in the centers where it is provided, but the price is steep. All bacteria are killed during ozonation.
Activated carbon
Activated carbon can also help get rid of mold and unpleasant odors. Unlike baking soda, you won't need to clean it up and it will last up to several years. But there are some nuances here.
Do not throw coal around the cabin. It has a black color that will easily stain everything around it. In order for the coal to absorb unpleasant odors, it must first be placed in a fabric bag. And then these bags can be placed anywhere: in the trunk, under the seat, and so on.
Over time, coal begins to lose its neutralizing properties. To restore them, simply place the tablets in the sun and leave for several hours.
Eliminating pet odor
Before you remove the smell of animals from the interior of your car, you need to get rid of hair on the seats and other interior coverings. Special deodorants are sold that eliminate pet odors. They are used to treat the ceiling, doors, and upholstery.
But deodorants will only mask odors for a short time. To be on the safe side, it is better to use dry cleaning services. They definitely know how to remove smell from the car interior quickly and efficiently. The product used to wash carpets is used for this purpose.
Essential oils
Essential oils can be used not only to eliminate unpleasant odors, but also as a flavoring agent.
There are several ways to use them:
- Place a few drops of essential oils on a cotton ball and leave it somewhere in the car.
- Add a few drops of oils to a diffuser and use when the need arises.
- Use an oil diffuser. In this case there are also several options. The diffuser can be connected to the heating or ventilation openings. Simply add a few drops of your favorite scent to a special pillow. There are also diffusers that connect to a 12-volt plug (“cigarette lighter”) or a USB drive.
Advice for car owners
To prevent stench and stench from becoming your companions on the road, you should follow simple rules.
- Monitor the condition and wash the car regularly. Particular attention should be paid to the space under the seats, as debris accumulates there.
- Do wet cleaning of the interior. Hard surfaces also accumulate odors. Special detergents will help prevent the absorption of fragrances.
- Use a brush and vacuum cleaner.
- Deodorize the car. The interior should be treated with a liquid spray to prevent new odors from appearing soon.
Perhaps the most important tip is to avoid unpleasant odors. To do this, it is enough to monitor cleanliness and immediately remove the causes that contribute to the appearance of suffocating aromas.
6). Deodorize the car
After you have cleaned your car of all contaminants, the car must be deodorized to prevent the further appearance of any unpleasant odors inside the cabin. To do this, friends, use a special liquid air freshener (spray).
To deodorize the entire interior, open the hood of your car.
Start the engine and set the air conditioner (or climate control) to maximum mode, and do not forget, the cooling mode must be turned off. Please note that the internal air recirculation mode in the cabin must be turned off at this moment. That is, the interior airflow system must take air directly from the street.
Under the hood of the car, find the heating element of the air conditioner or climate control system. Typically it is located under the hood on the front passenger side. Well, traditionally it is installed under the ventilation holes in the hood or directly under the windshield.
To deodorize the interior with the air blowing on, you must inject car deodorant into the ventilation holes. Inject the freshener there several times and return to the car interior to make sure for yourself that the freshener has begun to flow through the ventilation system into the cabin. You can repeat this process again if necessary.
Car deodorant entering through the ventilation holes passes directly through the entire air conditioning system, thereby eliminating foreign odors from all ventilation units, where, as a rule, it is very difficult to do such cleaning manually due to certain inaccessibility.
Now, in order to completely clear the ventilation of foreign odors, you need to turn on the air conditioner to maximum cooling and repeat the process of injecting deodorant into the air supply ventilation again.
How to get rid of smell in your washing machine
During washing, the machine does not clean itself. If you don't want the musty smell to transfer to your items, clean your equipment. It's simple.
Step 1: Perform a service wash
When you wash How To Clean A Smelly Washing Machine / Which? at a temperature of 40 degrees, mold and bacteria do not die. Therefore, at least once a month you need to carry out a service wash without laundry and powder. Look at the instructions for the machine. Perhaps the manufacturer has written which cycle to use. If not, just set the longest mode with the maximum temperature. This will clean the drum and drain hose.
If you think that a regular service wash will not cope with the unpleasant odor, add machine detergent to the powder compartment. Household chemicals can be replaced with what you have at home:
- Soda and vinegar. Mix ¼ cup of water with the same amount of baking soda. Add the resulting solution Why Your Washing Machine Smells - And How To Clean It / Reviewed to the detergent compartment. Pour 2 cups of table vinegar into the drum of the machine.
- Lemon acid. Pour a glass of granular Cleaning a Washing Machine With Citric Acid / Hunker into the washing machine drum. After a service wash, turn on the rinse mode to remove any remaining product.
- Bleach. Pour no more than 60 ml of How To Clean Your Washing Machine / Laundrapp liquid into the powder compartment. Do not add other detergents as this may damage the machine. If after the service wash the drum smells of bleach, do it again, but empty.
Step 2: Wipe the Rubber Cuff
Water, detergent, and clothing lint remain on it. Mix table vinegar and water in a ratio of 1: 1. Put on gloves, soak a rag in the solution and wipe the rubber thoroughly. To clean hard-to-reach areas, slightly pull the seal away from the drum. If stains are still visible after washing, it is most likely mold and will remain forever. Consider replacing the cuff.
Due to moisture, mold appears on the seal. Sometimes it is impossible to get rid of it. Photo: ReaLiia/Shutterstock
Step 3: Wash the Detergent Tray
Remove the drawer from the washing machine and soak How To Clean Your Washing Machine / Laundrapp it in a bowl of soapy water. After this, wipe the part with a damp cloth. If mold or powder residue remains on the cuvette, apply a detergent such as bleach to it and scrub with an old toothbrush. Then rinse the tray thoroughly under running water.
If you do not dry the cuvette after washing, mold may appear there. Photo: Nadezhda Mikhalitskaia / Shutterstock
Don't forget to clean the body in which the box sits. It has holes at the top for water supply. Some of them may be clogged with mold. Remove it with a brush or brush.
Step 4: Clean the drain pump filter
Unplug the machine and then find the filter. The part is located on the front side below (right or left) and is covered with a small hatch. Open this cover and place a rag under the machine. Now you can unscrew the filter. Water will flow from the hole where it stands. When it drains, wash the part under running water. Most likely there will be hair and threads on it. This cleaning should be done approximately once a month.
The filter needs to be cleaned approximately once a month. Photo: Elena Loginova / Shutterstock
Step 5: Clear the clog
If the previous steps do not help, check the drain hose. Even after a service wash, there is sometimes a blockage left in it. For example, it could be a hair plug.
Disconnect the hose from the washing machine and put it in a bucket: water will flow out from there. Remove the other end of the part from the pipe. Connect the hose to the faucet and turn on the water. The jet will push out the debris.
If cleaning the hose does not help and the clog is in the pipe, call a plumber.
3). Use a brush to clean
If you want to vacuum the interior of your car, then before doing this, be sure to wipe the entire interior with a brush, treating it with a special product that corrodes the dirt on the car seats. Remember, friends, that dirt and odors strongly eat into the fabric and velor seats of the car.
Before turning on the vacuum cleaner, make sure that all surfaces in the cabin are dry from water and from the special products you used for pre-cleaning.
If the source of unpleasant odors is the car mats, then it is advisable to take them outside for cleaning, so that when cleaning it will be more convenient for you to thoroughly vacuum and rinse everything.
Don't forget to also vacuum the trunk of your car, friends.
