Tips for Odor removal inside car ??

I know I've read some VXers here have been in the car detailing biz. Need tips.

Got a used Acura MDX (yes, sanity prevailed and I didn't go for the SRT8). Interior has an odor driving me crazy - kinda floral, kinda weird.
Dealer said they used a fogger and something that goes thru the air system to kill any mold/fungus etc.

Been 7 weeks, I can't stand it! Used Zero Odor sprayed in the vents and put on recirc for 15 minutes, x2. Also put it on all carpet and plastic, Zymol on every square inch of leather -still smells :_brickwal

Saw these foggers on ebay, but don't know what they'd smell like :_brickwal
http://www.ebay.com/itm/310373013778...84.m1438.l2649

HELP! Suggestions?

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Big-D-Industr...K2w~~60_12.JPG

Have your local serv pro, or other cleaning professional, put an ozone generator in the cab for a few hrs...:yesgray:

http://www.servpro.com/odor_id

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Originally Posted by Ldub

Have your local serv pro, or other cleaning professional, put an ozone generator in the cab for a few hrs...:yesgray:

http://www.servpro.com/odor_id

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oops, should have mentioned that as you suggested, I did and they said they don't do cars :confused:
maybe I didn't ask the question correctly?

There is a high end auto detail shop up in Seattle (North West Auto Salon) that does the ozone generator treatment. I'm sure there has to be one in the Phoenix area as well.

Edit: Also if I remember right, when Jack was working at Car Toys he said they offered it as well.

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Originally Posted by VX KAT

maybe I didn't ask the question correctly?

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Yeh...you could try dumbing it down a notch or two...:yesgray:..:laughing:

Maybe something like: "Car inside smell bad...can make good smell?"...:_thinking

Or getch-self one'a these here thingies:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-COMMERCI...f541157&_uhb=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3-5G-Hou...43888d4&_uhb=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commercial-O...094ec68&_uhb=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMMERCIAL-O...ed443e7&_uhb=1




Prolly a good thing for any indoor mammalian critter keepers...:yesgray:

+1 on ozone. It is commonly used to remove cigarette odors from cars & hotel. Ozone is an excellent oxidizer.

We also use ozone in water treatment to oxide different contaminants and it does a great job removing taste & odor. --- irrelevant fact for the day. :_beer:

Eat less beans before driving....


....my farts smell kinda "floral" :)

lovely Billy.:rollo:

Thanks Dub, I just bought the 3500 model from your first link.

I was surprised no one had posted it earlier...slackers :)

I've used "professional" foggers, usually just smell like bleach for a day or two after

Never tried it but I've read in a lot of places to put a cut up apple in the car for a couple days, then cut the pieces again and leave a couple more days.

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Ozone is an excellent oxidizer

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Which is a good thing since it IS oxygen (O3). :P

My Vx smelled like pits when I bought it. Febreeze industrial cleaner, and 91% isopropyl alcohol worked.

Closed off the car. Sprayed all carpets down. Put blower on for 10 min max internal circulation mode.... Turned car off and did it again.

For the seats, used leather conditioner and scrubbed it down with the said chemicals.

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Originally Posted by etlsport

I've used "professional" foggers, usually just smell like bleach for a day or two after

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I was afraid to buy a fogger as I saw some have scents, and I figured I might get another smell I couldn't stand….but bleach, I'd take that! :yeso:

I'll try the ozone generator….can't wait.

+ 2 on ozone treatment.

I tried every spray, cleaner, and air freshener on the market to get the cigarette smell out of the VX I acquired, and nothing worked until the ozone treatment.

It has a weird scent of its own after the treatment, but it fades over time and the cigarette smell never returned.

:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Ldub

Have your local serv pro, or other cleaning professional, put an ozone generator in the cab for a few hrs...:yesgray:

http://www.servpro.com/odor_id

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Yah, ozone will do the trick.

I had a sick dog go explosive from both ends in my car once. It was BAAAAADDD!!!!

Believe it or not, my insurance paid for a professional detailing. I had already shampoo'd the seats & carpet 3 times & still couldn't drive it. I had to wear a military gasmask to drive it to the detail shop (people look at you funny when you do that). The owner of the detail shop literally tossed his cookies out the window just driving it from the parking lot & into the shop.

He ran his ozone generator in it for 3 days (not recommended but it worked). I put another 100K miles on that car after that.

When I bought my RS, is stunk to high hell of cigars (his) and cigarettes (hers). To get the odor out, I removed the carpet, which was shot anyhow, and I pulled the seats (which will get recovered later), I also removed all the door panels and scrubbed them with grime reaper and shampoo on the fabric parts, and I also pulled the entire dash out and cleaned all the AC ducts. This got rid of the odor pretty good.

Bart

BTW, I've been told that keeping a small bowl of vinegar under the seat for a few days will also get rid of smells in the car. I've personally never tried that though.

which one do you think would work best for spilled gear oil on truck carpet?

I gotta say, this stuff works damn good:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Turtle-Wax...l5=pla&veh=sem

Bart

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Originally Posted by evillecutter

which one do you think would work best for spilled gear oil on truck carpet?

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Cat litter is the starting point to absorb all of the liquid. Then steam clean for residue removal (make sure all of the clay is gone before steam cleaning though). If odor persists, then I'd repeat steam cleaning with Oxy10 instead of shampoo.

I had gun oil stains on the rear carpet of my VX, and that Turtle Wax carpet cleaner completely removed the stains. I was impressed. For odors though, not sure, but it's bound to smell better.

Bart

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Originally Posted by Triathlete

Eat less beans before driving....


....my farts smell kinda "floral" :)

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you are bad, Billy :winkb:

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Originally Posted by wintermute

+ 2 on ozone treatment.

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I'll go ahead and make that a +3 (at least!). I'm a firm believer in them! The dealer ran an ozone generator for just a few minutes in my VX when I bought it. It completely removed the cigarette smell. I used one in my house to get rid of cat smell. I recommended one to my neighbor after three rooms of his house were sprayed by a skunk.

I rented one for about $20 from a rental store. You can buy one for about $140. (Denver VXers, feel free to borrow mine, if I ever get it back from the last person I lent it to...)

When you run it, it generates ozone that in low quantities smells like a xerox machine or like static electricity. In high doses it starts smelling like bleach, and will give you an instant sore throat. So, you just run it for 15 minutes or so with the fan and AC on. Then, let it air out a bit. After that, things will smell oddly neutral for quite some time!

Don't run it too much, though. It oxidizes everything it touches, which can include plastics and rubber. This might be a Bad Thing. Also, the gas is very reactive, so it goes away pretty quickly and doesn't absorb deeply into things. If the odor is soaked into your carpets and seats, you might be out of luck.

x100! Super thank you to all who recommended this!
Got the machine yesterday, paid $129/Free Shipping. Covers 3,500 sq feet, commercial model. Brand new.
Did 1 hr on, 1 hr left alone with closed windows - odor 90% gone, so much better.

Did another hour today, same time, and it's gone baby! Has a faint bleachy smell for just a little while, and then a neutral type odor. I decide tomorrow if it needs any more treatment. Did the VX for an hour today, still sitting in garage closed up. It was kind of starting to smell like "old car" smell, thought it could use a blast of this stuff. Next I'm going to try a few rooms inside - like kitty box area.

I got a face-full of it the first time I turned it on, had it on floor mat and leaned over to turn timer dial - WHAM! that stuff instantly starts blowing air that smells farily strongly of this bleachy type smell.
Note to self, next time - hold breath, turn dial, turn away ASAP and slam door and run. :goof: