Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

[rvx290]

I have a 2005 F150 supercab writeoff I purchased to repair, the interior was disgustingly filthy and stunk, I got it clean and what I used was Ford Motorcraft Professional Strength carpet and upholstry cleaner. It worked great, however has left a very strong chemical smell for the last week or so, and behind that smell I can still smell the dirty smell that must have worked its way into the seats that I cant seem to get rid of, can anyone make any recommendations on how to get the interior of this truck scentless?

[speed3blackmica]

Re: Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

try the meguiars odor eliminator...its honestly the best thing i have ever bought. nobody really thinks about it...its never even really advertised..i think it was like 2.50 on ADS...but its literally a spray and the smell never comes back....one other product i have found that works really well on getting rid of also any smell too is OZIUM..they have it at walgreens

[William_F]

Re: Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

I had a funky smell left in the wife's truck after I recently shampooed her carpet and upholstery with a Bissel LGM. I forgot to crack the windows, so the condensation had no where to go.

Anyway, getting rid of the funk too some work, but it was doable. Start with making sure everything is dry (no moisture left from the upholstery cleaner). Take a bo of baking soda and sprinkle it liberally on the carpet and upholstery. Let it sit for a day or two with your windows cracked just an inch or so.

After that, vaccum up the baking soda. When I did that, it got rid of about 90% of the offending odor, but the remaining was just enough to prompt me to take more action. The second step was using Meg's odor eliminator. All I could get here was the first generation spray. I wasn't able to find the new formula locally.

I made the first application and waited a few days for it to work. I left my windows cracked during this too so the truck could air out a bit. After about three days, the remaining smell was almost indetectible. I used a second application of the odor spray and this time, I left the windows up (it was about to rain). After another 2-3 days the odor was gone. Then to spruce things up, I wiped the dash and door panles wiht M40 to give the truck a clean, almost new smell.

Good luck!

[buda]

Re: Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

If I may, I would like to suggest to you to consider the proper method for cleaning carpets and/or fabric upholstery.

First, you must realize that 85% of the soil in carpets/fabric upholstery is dry and 15% is oily soil on the material fibers.

Therefore the process you must follow for cleaning is as follows:

a. *Thorough vacuuming to remove all dry soil, all of it.
b. Hand removal with stain remover chemicals and vapor steam to remove stains.
c. Application of a carpet/upholstery shampoo to emulsify the oily soil (allow to dwell).
d. For best results friction scrub with hand brush or rotary shampooer to allow the shampoo to lift the oily soil off the fibers
e. Next, use a heated soil extractor with a high dilution extractor shampoo (64 to 1) to rinse clean the shampoo and oily soil residue.
f. Finally use the suction of the extractor to remove as much moisture as possible.

NOTE ON ODOR

Odors are caused by bacteria. If you kill the bacteria you will eliminate the odor. To kill bacteria you can use ozone which will permeate all surfaces in the vehicle and kill the bacteria. Or, you can use a biological odor eliminator, but to work the chemical has to come in contact with the bacteria which means you have to spray the carpets and fabric upholstery with chemical and wipe down all hard surfaces.

* As for vacuuming out dry soil, if the dirt is ground into the carpets as often is the case with pickup trucks and some cars, you will have to remove the carpet shell and power wash it until all the dry soil is out of the fibers. Otherwise the dry soil you leave will "wick up" when it dries.

Hope this helps to understand the process of proper cleaning, shampooing and deodorizing the interior of vehicles.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

Proud Member of the INTERNATIONAL DETAILING ASSOCIATION

[rvx290]

Re: Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

Thanks for the great tips, I will work on it tomorrow. One last question on a related topic, I am just curious if this would be an old wives tale and a waste of time or worth a shot... a friend of mine told me that vinegar is great at removing odors, when I am done he suggested I place an open container of white vinegar in the front where the car draws cabin air and crank the AC on high (but with high heat) on recirculate and vinegar fumes will fog the interior and get rid of any remaining odors.. BS? the idea behind it does makes sense but I have a feeling it will only temporarily make my interior smell like vinegar and nothing else lol.

[buda]

Re: Cloth interior dirty & stinky, now just stinky

Never heard that white vinegar would remove odor. Vinegar is acid and it could be that the acidic fume might kill bacteria but I do not know.

I know an open container of baking soda in a refrigerator will prevent odors, but in a car I am not sure.

That said, I would stick to only what I know and that is what I stated above.

Regards
Bud Abraham