Skunk Smell Mystery.

[christian6984]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

An old trick is to leave distilled white vinegar in a bowl or jar in the car overnight or when not using it. Honest Johns motoring section from The Daily Telegraph (and website) commonly suggests it but have never tried it.

[MWAUTOPRO]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Do you like the way odor eliminator smells?

[Jeepster04]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

I thought odor eliminator smelt like beer. I tried it once in a car and it was 'ok.' The bottle ended up cracking and it all leaked out while sitting on the shelf.. I was kinda saddened by that.. I may pick up another bottle before it disappears.

[MWAUTOPRO]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Yeah I thought maybe I got a bad batch. Mine smells like beer/wine. It smells better then some odors though.

[jfelbab]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

An old trick is to leave distilled white vinegar in a bowl or jar in the car overnight or when not using it. Honest Johns motoring section from The Daily Telegraph (and website) commonly suggests it but have never tried it.

Another is to open a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda, sprinkle some into the carpeting and leave the open box under the seat for a few days. This stuff is quite amazing in it's ability to remove odors and not leave other annoying smells in it's place.

[Andy M.]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Another is to open a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda, sprinkle some into the carpeting and leave the open box under the seat for a few days. This stuff is quite amazing in it's ability to remove odors and not leave other annoying smells in it's place.

I agree with the baking soda. I usually pour it in a tray and leave it in the car when I'm not driving. I had a milk spill in my car once. UGH!!!! And it was August!!!! Glad that car is gone to be honest.

Andy M.

[Golden]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Coffee beans absorb odors.

[phrawstbyte]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Hey guys,

Alright I have a similar situation here. I'm in League City, Texas and last weekend it flash flooded Saturday and my girlfriends car received water inside the car up to the seats. I was thoroughly pissed. So the next day, I decided that the car was long over due for some detailing. It still had dog hair in it from our trip to New Mexico anyway...

First off, the car is a 2005 Dodge Stratus with Leather Interior.

So, I vacuumed up all of the standing water inside the car. Roughly an inch or so was still in it the next day. Then I took out the seats and continued vacuuming. I spent about 3 hours vacuuming this thing out. The majority of the time was getting dog hair out of the carpet. I even took the sill plates off and lifted the carpet and got the water off of the metal below the carpet on the floor boards. I then proceeded to thoroughly clean every inch of vinyl and plastic followed by protectant. After that I thoroughly cleaned every inch of rear seat leather, including the backside of the seats which fold down, then every inch of the front seats prior to putting them back in.

Here's my dilemma. After getting the water out, a similar smell showed up in the car on the day after the detail. It looks amazingly clean, but smells horrible. To make matters worse, its now Friday. One week later, and just flooded again. I moved the car to slightly higher ground this time once I seen water accumulating and hopefully it didnt get in the car but I still have the smell problem... Should I start with the Odor Eliminator, Baking soda, or should I just drop it off with a local detailer after confirming that they have an extractor and can do quality carpet cleaning/extracting? I'm about to be thoroughly irritated once again.

Thanks in advance, any help will be greatly appreciated. This forum has helped me so much over the years but this one has stumped me. I've actually had 1 car in my past that I could not figure out how to get a smell out of. I worked for a major dealership and this car was a "hot pickup" that never sold. It stayed on the lot 120 days and went right back to auction to lose the sales manager about 3k....

[Bounty]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

...should I start with the Odor Eliminator, Baking soda, or should I just drop it off with a local detailer after confirming that they have an extractor and can do quality carpet cleaning/extracting...

Neither. If the car was flooded up to the seats you really need to remove the seats and then remove the carpeting. I know you said you lifted some of the carpeting to vacuum standing water but, believe me, there is water soaked into the bottom barrier of the carpeting and any jute padding or insulation (sound/heat) that resides there. The longer you leave it, the more mildew will form and smells will continue to permeate the cabin as well as the potential health risk from the mold.

At a local speed shop where I used to work (no names here) we purchased about 7 flood-damaged Mustangs from Texas (irony). Although the carpeting and seating was dry to the touch on the surface when it was removed the padding underneath was damp and you could literally see the small dirty water puddles in the crevices of the floorpan. The cars smelled like a cross between a swamp and an old gym locker.

My first suggestion is rip the seats and carpeting out and thoroughly clean and deoderize them (Meg's Odor Eliminator or a carpet extractor work well here). Clean the floorpan down and spray some Odor Eliminator in the vehicle and air vents. Let the air conditioning run on "recirculate" for a few minutes then shut her down and let it sit while cleaning the seats/carpet.

Once everything has been cleaned and deodorized, reinstall the carpeting and seats. If the carpet or jute padding has visible mold/mildew it may have to be replaced. This is typically why insurance carriers are quick to consider even partially flooded cars as a total loss. Why? Because water goes everywhere! It even soaks "up" into carpeting lining your footwells, center console tunnel, etc. Electronics can become wet. All unprotected metal like seat bolts, grounds, etc can now be rusted. You need to conduct as thorough an inspection as possible and clean everything!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out...

[MadCow]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Nice supra man . I've never seen the interiors of those cars, it looks sick!

[jfelbab]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

You might try opening a box of Arm&Hammer baking soda and sprinkling some around on the carpet. Leave the remainder in the open box under a car seat for a few days.

[MadCow]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Nice supra man . I've never seen the interiors of those cars, it looks sick!

Ohh yea and jfelbab, I'm loving the MKII MR2 . I love Toyota sports cars.

[phrawstbyte]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Well, thanks for the advice Bounty.

I'll just take the carpet completely out and get into every spot water can accumulate and not only get rid of the water but I'll get Odor Eliminator everywhere too...

I'll post again after that's complete. I have a pretty tight work schedule but I'll try to get 'er done this weekend if the schedule permits....

Thanks again!

[97 Supra]

Re: Skunk Smell Mystery.

Do you like the way odor eliminator smells?

Yes, and no. I really wish for a product that would be odorless and take the car back to being "neutral" but you will be much happier with the scent of the odor eliminator than the odor you are trying to eliminate. That's for sure!