Quick but Highly Effective Car Odor Removal Guide

What Causes the Car Odor?

If your vehicle is giving off an unusual scent instead of that instantly identifiable new-car smell, try to find the source of the aroma. But that odors can lead to health hazards and shouldn’t be ignored.

Here are two typical car odors and their possible causes:

• Moldy smell – If turning on the air conditioner generates a reek from the vents, mold or mildew has probably formed in the air-conditioning system. Moisture naturally collects on the cold air-conditioning evaporator, and it keeps mold;
• Sour smell – Most of the time, an acid smell is something that is caused by the driver. It’s typically an indication of beverages or food that may be spoiling in the vehicle.

What is the Best Way to Eliminate It?

Ozone treatment is the best way to remove odors, bacteria, and viruses. Ozone (O3) is the most commercially available powerful sterilant on Earth.

It uses the chemical reaction of oxidation to break down unwanted molecules. Ozone is an unstable molecule that, when it comes into contact with another molecule of any type, will destroy it through the process of oxidation.

Viruses and bacteria are eliminated when O3 comes into contact with the cell wall and breaks it down on a molecular grade, efficiently destroying the cell entirely.

How to Get Ozone Treatment?

Professional ozone treatment is performed using an ozone generator. Typically, it’s done by sending specific-wavelength UV light at oxygen atoms. The generator will be placed in your car for as long as necessary to remove any odor.

Your car detailer will thoroughly clean the vehicle before the ozone treatment. It’s crucial to ensure that the cause of any odor is taken care of. In the case of mildew, also check the source of the moisture carefully.

One of the largest sources of car odors is tobacco smoke. Ozone treatment will completely oxidize any remaining smells, effectively neutralizing the odor. In this case, the odor won’t return since the molecules have been destroyed rather than filtered or masked.

Prevention

The first measure you should do to prevent odors is to apply car interior detailing regularly. Every three or five months, depending on the condition of your vehicle, you should have interior car detailing. If you’re a smoker, have children or pets, then you need to invest in seat covers.

They’ll prevent odors from seeping into the upholstery and are removable for quick cleaning. Also, you can avoid bad smells, by stop smoking in your vehicle.

It’s impossible to eliminate bacteria completely by yourself, so you need the help of professional mobile detailer to “liquidate” odor. Anyway, you should always keep these things handy to kill germs, including wet wipes, napkins, trash bag, and a lint roller.

• Napkins and wet wipes can be kept in the glove compartment, and they’re excellent for quickly cleaning up any spills;
• Keep a lint roller under the armrest and use it after every time you have a pet in your vehicle;
• A grocery bag should always be kept in the vehicle to collect drinks, fast food bags, and any other remainings that may accumulate in the car.

How to Remove Odors from Car

Here are 10 tips on how to remove the smell from the car:

1. Thoroughly check car interior

Check out for the source of the odor which can be a floor, back pockets, corner of the seats, and so on. Remove all trash, then wipe and clean the car’s interior carpet, upholstery, dashboard, and other components.

2. Get smoke smell out of the car

If you’re a smoker, don’t forget to empty the ashtrays regularly. Remember, that smoke has a way of getting everywhere, including into the vents. Apply the spray car deodorizer into the vents as well as through the intake valve under the hood.

3. Regularly wipe down the surfaces

The most common source of bad smells is the dust embedded in your vehicle, especially if you have fabric seats.

Metallic, plastic, and wood surfaces should be cleaned with detergent once in a while in order to avoid stack bad odors. People usually don’t have their interior detailed or cleaned when using a car wash. You may want to think about it twice the next time since the dust will infect the material of the interior and deteriorate it.

4. Thoroughly detailing

Empty cans, plastic bags, used papers or, food garbage, when left abandoned too long under the leather car seats tend to leave an odor, dirty your fabric and bring more bacteria. You just need to remove it at the end of each day.

5. Brush and vacuum the carpets

Even invisible dirt can cause a smell, primarily when they attack the various fabrics of your car. You want to avoid it as much as possible, notably on leather car seats. At some moment, you might have to change the carpet completely or to recondition the leather entirely if it becomes too embedded.

You need to start with detailing of the vehicle by removing the superficial dirt. Interior vacuum and wipe-down are also actions you want to do when detailing your car.

6. Use steam or waterless products

Steam method is very effective against lousy car odors. The heat will instantly destroy all the bacteria and prevent the car interior from rotting.

You can also apply waterless detailing. Waterless car odor removal products are highly concentrated and leave a great smell in the vehicle.

7. Avoid too much water

Some folks often drown their interior in water, and it’s a bad idea! Too much water on your fabric will grow a musty smell. Plus, when you spill water on the seats, and the water stays clear, it means that there is no dirt left on the seats.

8. Clean/change the air filter

If rot or bacteria have been growing on your air filters, moldy smells are automatically spread in the car each time you turn the fan/AC on. If you leave your air filter dirty, the previous tips will become useless.

9. Conditioning and shampooing

If you want to remove all odors from the vehicle, having the interior car detailing is an excellent way to start. Shampooing the carpet will release a fresh smell. Reconditioning a leather will protect the seats from being affected by future dirt or bacteria and reinvigorate the leather.

10. Clean the spills

Rot is one of the biggest sources of odors, and it comes from lasting spills or stains. If you have pets, that vomit or urinate in your vehicle, don’t wait more than a day to remove it, or you might embed the odor for good.

Note – If all of these measures fail, then it’s time to call a professional mobile detailer. There may be an area that you missed, or the source of the smell may be in an unusual, hard to reach the place.

Detailers will remove the interior panels of the vehicle, and apply fabric cleaner to all seats. With the interior stripped out, they’ll also be able to find the cause of the odor and get rid of it.

How to Get Smoke Smell Out of Car?

Whether you bought a used vehicle that someone smoked in, or finally kicked the bad habit, you may want to learn how to get cigarette smell out of the car.

Therefore, eliminate the smoke smell with these tips, but for long term benefits, you need to hire a professional mobile detailer with O3 machine.

• Remove the source of the smoke smell:
• Vacuuming;
• Shampooing;
• Use air fresheners;
• Apply white vinegar;
• Baking soda treatment;
• Charcoal method;
• Coffee grounds technique.