Disgusting odor

[Smarty]

My convertible was stored for the winter in an unheated garage, and a mouse decided to visit the car's trunk. It apparently became trapped in one of the trunk storage compartments, and eventually died, leaving a disgusting combination of excretions and a rotting corpse.

When the car came out of storage yesterday, I immediately smelled and then located the mess, and proceeded to clean everything out with a shop vac, paper towels, and then Lysol in the felt lined compartment where the mess was located. I have washed and air dried everything, and now there is no visual evidence of any remaining mess of any kind whatsoever. However, the trunk absolutely stinks.

Is there any good and dependable way to remove these type of odors permanently? I do not want to try using fragrances to cover up the remaining stink and want to get the smell out of there entirely.

Thanks for any advice / recommendations.

[Joe]

Did you try Febreze?

Joe

[Smarty]

Thanks for the reply Joe. I have not tried anything yet. My one prior experience with using fragrances to mask an odor turned out to be a disaster, with the result being a strong lingering odor of flower fragrance on top of my kid's puke smell. I wound up having to have the carpeting in that car replaced to get rid of both odors.

I am trying to avoid making the same type of mistake again. I was hoping that something like activated charcoal or some other method could absorb the offensive odor rather than try to cover it up.

[Dave H.]

You could try baking (bicarbonate of) soda, work it (dry) into the affected area with a brush and leave for a few hours, then vacuum up - it absorbs all kinds of smells (it's what's inside a lot of "fridge deodourisers" etc.)

-- Dave H. (The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" - Douglas Bader

[Rudy]

Look in your phone book (or Internet) for Servicemaster. They;ll have something

[zxcvbob]

You need to clean it with a quaterary ammonia product. It will have an active ingredient that looks something like this: "n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride" or "Benzalkonium chloride".

It kills bacteria, fungus, and viruses, and has an oddly "fresh" smell.

Don't get any concentrate in your eyes; it kills them too.

Bob

[Smarty]

I will try this first Dave. I already have an unopened box in the house. Thanks for the suggestion.

"Dave H." > that car replaced to get rid of both odors.

[Smarty]

Too expensive if I can do it myself. If I fail, they ***WILL BE*** the ones I call!

[Smarty]

Bob,

Where would I buy this stuff? Is it a hardware store type of item? Any "brand names" to look for?

Thanks very much!

[zxcvbob]

I buy it at Fleet Farm where it comes in a 1 gallon jug called "Stearamine", with the dairy barn chemicals. It's used in all kinds hospital cleaners that you might can buy at a janitor supply store. I think Sam's Club sells it in a product called "OdorBan", or something like that. It's also used in some humidifier algaecides, and in a garden chemical called "Consan Triple 20" HTH :-)

Bob

[Bob F]

I believe that febreze is suppost to be an enzyme product that breaks organic odor producing things. It is often recommended for pet urine problems.

Bob

[Oren]

I've had good luck using an "upholstery cleaner" (spray can) in cars to get odors out.

Spray the foam on the "felt liner" and work in with a scrub brush, then shop vac out.

If the liner will come out easily; set in the sun awhile to help air it out also.

-- Oren

Hofstadter's Law - It [a task] always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

[Malissa Baldwin]

The last time I check, Sitre Magana was sleeping the the trunk of a car.

[Dan]

That's how they market it anyway, supposedly an "odor eliminator". In my experience, it leaves a lot to be desired. Last house I rented, the previous occupant (the owner) had a HUGE and generally unwashed shaggy dog, Norwegian elk hound or some damned thing. The animal used to sleep on the carpeted floor of the living room in front of a sliding glass doors where the sun would pour in during the afternoon. I know this because whenever we'd leave the blinds open, 10 seconds after the sun began to warm the spot, it was like the beast was over for a visit, dirty-doggy-smell wise. Tried Fabreeze on the spot, after which the whole room still smelled like the dog was visiting, but doused in Aqua Velva.

Dan

[nospambob]

[Smarty]

I'm confused by the suggestion of shellac. How would shellac be used to remove an odor from a car trunk carpet???

I'm still fighting this issue BTW. Having thoroughly cleaned the affected area with Lysol, Renuzit Carpet shampoo, lots of scrubbing and vacuuming, the smell has become less noticeable, but it is still there.

I am next trying baking soda, hoping it will soak up the remaining odor. Still looking for some really effective odor removal method.....

[Lisa BB.]

"Smarty" wrote in news:tYqdnaoj4qFs-M7bnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

This looks promising: