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Deodorizing car after windows were left open in rainstorm?

I left the windows open overnight in the longest dryspell I've ever seen. You guessed it: had a real gully washer around 3:00 am. 4 inches of water in the floor wells, soaked the seats, etc. As soon as we discovered my error, we sucked out water with shop vac, left the car open, mats in the sun, etc. Well, I guess we closed it up too soon ... grandma and my daughter claim it smells like a wet dog (I have stuffy sinuses, I can't detect smell). How to clean up this mess, without too many noxious chemicals; and without perfume to mask the smell?

6 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    1.pour coffee grounds into several individual coffee filters and tie them closed. Place the coffee bags on whatever is harbouring the odour.

    2.Sprinkle baking soda over the area and let it sit for a few hours. Then whip out your trusty vacuum cleaner to suck up the soda, finishing the job.

    3. Leave a liberal amount of citrus peels in your car or trunk for several days (until the peels are completely desiccated). When you remove them, your odour should be gone or weakened substantially.

    4. Vinegar. A bowl of white vinegar, left out overnight, can do a surprisingly good job removing odours.

    5.Charcoal yes BBQ charcoal. There's nothing fancy or particularly aesthetically pleasing about charcoal in a bowl, but when you scatter some bowls of charcoal around your car (as long as you're not planning to drive), you'll find that it has absorbed the odour after about a week.

    Try some of these remedies guaranteed to work..Good luck

    Source(s): PPG-CERT Master auto glass technician Member of NGA ( National Glass Associations)
  • 1 decade ago

    :-D! Just did that on my truck. Took seats out, carpet up (not out) dried everything with a hair drier and wet/dry vac, Lysol everything and dried in the sun for 3 hours. If its been sitting long enough to get a bad smell you're going to have to shampoo everything and spray air freshener everywhere.

    Good Luck!

  • 1 decade ago

    Take it to a car washing facility! They can shampoo your carpets to get rid of the "wet" smell and they should have chemical treatments to prevent mold from forming.

  • 1 decade ago

    I use, brand name: "Damp Rid" in my closets to soak up moisture in my closets and under sinks. ( I live in a very humid area) it also helps with the damp musty smell, maybe this will help in your car. You could also try spreading baking soda on the carpet and after awhile vacuuming it up. And maybe leave a couple of those baking soda fridge packs under your car seats.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    purely nicely take it interior the storage or pass away it outdoors if its sunney.. leabe all the doors and domicile windows open and enable it dry... i propose nicely then what i might do is like if I even have fabreeze or something i might use that ... i propose thats all you're able to do no count if that's extremely undesirable.. take it to the broker and enable them to bathe the seats like steam or soemthing

  • 1 decade ago

    I would take it in to be detailed. They will steam clean the carpets and fabric. That should take out the smell.

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