Everyone loves that new car smell, right?
It’s one of the best parts of buying a new car. Unfortunately, it doesn't last forever and then your car just ends up smelling, well, normal.
That's not too bad, though. Often, other odours can infiltrate your car. This will make it smell off, and make you wish you just had that normal smell back. These smells can include anything from smoke to mildew and pet smells.
In this post, we'll look at 5 common car odours and how you can get rid of bad car smells.
Smoke
If you or someone else smokes or has smoked in your car, your car will smell like smoke and, over time, end up smelling like an ashtray. Fortunately, with some time and effort, you can get rid of the smell.
To do this, your first step will be to spray a car odour eliminator into your car. Keep in mind, though, that smoke gets in everywhere, so you'll have to spray the eliminator into the air vents and the intakes as well.
You should also wipe down all the interior panels of your car with a one-part water and one-part vinegar solution. Once you've done this, you should also dry these panels thoroughly. This is because cigarette smoke leaves behind tar, a sticky substance that clings to your car's interior panels.
Once you've cleaned your car out like this, you should leave it standing with the windows and doors open for a while to allow some fresh air to circulate through.
Mildew
Mildew is another common car odour. It can be caused by anything from an open window during a rainstorm to your air conditioner leaking into the car. So, your first step to eliminate the smell is to find the cause and fix it.
When you’ve done this, you should use a wet and dry vacuum cleaner or hair dryer to dry excess moisture from the carpets or upholstery. After you've done this, you can spray some air freshener in your car and leave it standing with the windows open for some fresh air.
Remember that, apart from smelling bad, mildew can also lead to mold which poses a health risk. For this reason, it's vital that you find the source of the moisture and eliminate it.
Car Sickness
It's unfortunate, but sometimes it happens that children get sick in your car, especially if you have small babies. When this happens you should always clean and wipe the area immediately.
Despite you doing this, there may be times when a deep clean is necessary or when you only realize too late that there's been an accident, and it has already dried up. In such a case, your best bet would be to rehydrate the area with a one-part water and one-part vinegar mix and then vacuum the area with a wet and dry vacuum cleaner.
You could also spread some cat litter or baking soda over the affected spot to absorb moisture and odours.
Pet Smells
Pet smells can be caused by either liquids like pet urine or, in some cases, pet hairs on your car’s upholstery and its carpets.
In the case of urine, you’ll have to wipe the area immediately. Much like car sickness, there may be times when it’s already dry or when you’ll need to clean deeper.
Similarly, you’ll then have to rehydrate the area with your one part water one part vinegar mix and then vacuum the area with a wet and dry vacuum cleaner. Here, cat litter and banking soda can also be helpful to absorb odours from the spot.
If the smell comes from pet hairs on your carpets or upholstery, you’ll have to thoroughly vacuum your whole car. If possible, you should also remove the carpets from your car to make sure you get to every possible spot.
Once done, you should leave your car standing with the windows and doors open for some ventilation and fresh air while allowing the odour to dissipate.
Food
Food is one of the most common odours that can leave your car with a funky smell. Food items that can leave a smell include anything from solids like takeaway meals, fruit, and snacks like chips to liquids like soda or milk and everything in between. Depending on whether it's solids or liquids, the best action to take will differ.
Fortunately, dealing with solid foods is quite simple. Here, you just need to remove the offending piece of food and then vacuum your car upholstery or carpets thoroughly to remove any remaining parts.
To remove any lingering smell you can use an odour-eliminating spray and consider leaving your car standing with the windows open for a while.
For liquids, you’ll follow much the same process as described above. So, you can wipe the area clean with a cloth to remove any liquids.
For those liquids that have dried, you can use your one part water one part vinegar solution to rehydrate the area and then vacuum it with a wet and dry vacuum cleaner.
As described above, you can also use baking soda for cat litter to absorb liquids and odours from the upholstery or carpets.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully, this post helped illustrate some common car odours you can encounter and how to get rid of them. Keep in mind though that, although these sound like easy fixes, you'll still struggle to get rid of the smell in some cases. In other cases, you simply won't know where the smell is coming from.
When this happens, your best bet would be to have your car professionally cleaned. An auto detailing shop can help you find the sources of the car odours you can't and help you to get rid of them. After they're done with your car, it will smell almost as new.
To learn more about auto detailing or finding the best auto detailing shop in Vancouver, visit our website for more details.