Your Car Stinks

When you’ve driven your car for several months or years it can often accumulate smells that you’re not actually fond of. If your car stinks and you’re embarrassed to have anyone ride along with you, there are a few things you can do to get rid of the foul and funky smells that have been attacking your nose for quite a while. One of the things you can do is take your car to a professional detail service, but that’s not the most economical choice. Take a look at these tips to get rid of the odors in your car:

Declutter – This one seems pretty obvious. Remove any food or drink wrappers and leftovers, take out the sports equipment and clothing that gets left behind and even remove the child seat to make sure it can be cleaned in much the same way as the rest of the car. This will immediately have a positive effect on the smell you experience inside your vehicle and begin to help you have a cleaner car to enjoy on the road. It’s a good idea to make it a habit to remove food and drink wrappers and other garbage every time you leave your car.

Remove Floormats – Your floormats cover up the carpet which is where some of the foul smells can become trapped. Even if you use rubber mats to trap the dirt and grime you carry into your vehicle, your carpets can develop foul odors from the moisture and dirt that gets trapped. You need to spread a bit of baking soda on the carpet, the mats and on the seats of your car to help remove the odors. The baking soda reacts with the smells and is easy to vacuum up the next day.

Cabin Filter – Check your owner’s manual and figure out where the filter is. Remove this filter from the vehicle, but don’t put the new one in right away. While the vent filter is out, spray vent cleaner in all the vents and the outside intake vents to clean them up. once you’ve done this, turn on the air conditioning system on full blast for about five minutes with the recirculate button on. After this, turn off the A/C but leave the fan on and roll the windows down to bring in the fresh air. Once you’ve done this, you can replace the cabin air filter.

Kill Bacteria – Spray the carpets with a carpet cleaner that has active agents that will lift and remove any remaining odors and bacteria. Spray the carpets completely and then use a brush to agitate the product to make it work and then blot the area dry with a microfiber towel. Use these same steps to remove the odors and bacteria from the seats to ensure odors are lifted from these areas. Once you’ve done this, vacuum the carpets and seats again to remove any lifted dirt and help to dry the seats and carpets more quickly.

Headliner and Seatbelt – Using an interior brush or a large soft bristle paint brush, spray some of the carpet cleaner on the brush and agitate lightly on the headliner. This area is much more sensitive than the carpets and seats and needs to be cared for in a gentle manner. Blot right away with your microfiber towel to get the headliner clean. Pull out the entire seatbelt and twist it. Find the dirty areas and scrub with the cleaning product and blot dry. Look around your vehicle for any obvious spots that need to be cleaned that could contribute to the smell inside the vehicle and clean them properly.

Condition the Materials – Using a leather and vinyl cleaner that’s been applied to a foam applicator pad you can condition the leather and plastic surfaces of the vehicle, which also allows a pleasant smell to be put into the vehicle. After all this cleaning is done, you may want to leave a can of open moisture absorber in the vehicle can help you get rid of smells that you don’t want to be faced with when you drive. Use these tips and have the vehicle that smells great and is right for you to drive.