Best way to get rid of the "car" smell

In My Humble Opinion
1

I wasn’t sure whether to post this in IMHO or GQ…IMHO it is.

My car is pre-owned. Bought it off the previous owner. I think he used to use a “new car smell” freshener – I removed it after the car was mine, but the smell just won’t go away. I hate the new car smell.

I’ve tried every kind of odor eliminator/air freshener there is. Okay, maybe not every kind, but a good many:
[ul]
[li]Citrus Magic (absorbs odors as it lets out a fresh, subtle one)[/li][li]A plug-in freshener[/li][li]An indoor freshener that sits in one of my cupholders (bought it at Staples)[/li][li]Even tried Oust-ing the seats[/li][/ul]
The first three listed are all in my car right now…and the horrid smell still won’t budge. It gets in my hair. On hot days, I feel like I can taste it if I breathe through my mouth.
The indoor freshener worked really well the first day in had it in my car. It actually seemed to be overpowering the new car smell. And then the car smell came back with a vengeance! (The freshener is only about two weeks old.)

I’m sure I’m not the only person who has had to deal with difficult smells in cars. What did YOU do to take care of it?

2

Are you positive the smell was just from the air freshener that you threw out? I’d sniff around the seats and mats to make sure it isn’t stronger there. Seller might have been a smoker or had some other gross source of odor in the car and heavily doused everything in order to help the sale.

3

Get some arm&hammer or carpet fresh. They come scented or unscented.
Sprinkle it on the upholstry and carpets and let it sit a few hours. Vacuum it all up.

4

Yeah, I’m sure it’s the car. It’s not a foul or stale odor; it’s just very, very strong (and is a smell I don’t like).

Getting into my car is like walking into a Bath and Body Works of car smell.

5

If you have an ashtray, burn a few cones of incense. If you don’t have an ashtray, use a fruit nappy on the floor, and burn it overnight.

6

Wow, in that case I would just try to leave the windows open as much as possible.

Oh, quick thought: have you checked the rest of the car for additional air fresheners? Maybe the seller stuck one in the back seat, under a seat, seat pocket, or something like that. I’ve also seen people jam them into the air vents…maybe one got pushed inside?

7

I once bought a vehicle at auction that was great except6 it smelled like the Marlboro man and his whole family lived it before. It burned my eyes until I two big bottles of Febreze and sprayed it everywhere inside of it over the course of a day. It got rid of the smell completely right away and it never came back.

8

First off stop putting other scents into the car to try and cover the existing scent. When you aren’t looking the old scents take the new guy aside, jump him into their gang and then they all come after you.
Here is what I suggest:

  1. Drive with the windows down, and the AC off (but leave the blower on). Do this as much as possible. Depending on the car, you can roll the front passenger window down 2" or so and the rear passenger window all the way down. This will cause a large amount of air to circulate and not buffet you to death.
  2. As has been suggested check everywhere for more car fresheners. Get rid of them.
  3. Vacum the carpet
  4. Coffee grounds left in a can under the seat, or baking soda is reputed to kill smells.
  5. If all else fails find a detail shop that has an ozone generator. Have them leave it in the car for a couple of hours. The smell will be gone.
9

Hmmm, never thought of that. I’ll check my car thoroughly.

I’ll also take your advice, Rick, and ditch the other air fresheners for now. I’m aiming to get my car essentially scentless so that I can then put in a subtle smell that I like. :rolleyes:

Thanks everyone for the advice! If all else fails I’ll do the baking soda thing.

10

When all else fails, try one of these.

11

Hah! Thanks.