Removing air freshener odor from used car

[itgoofy]

Found my dream car, a 2005 Yukon XL. The only issue is that the previous owner seemed to have an air freshener in the car that is overwhelming and aggravating my allergies. I have gotten a significant amount, maybe 50% of the smell out in the last week since I purchased it by doing the following:

Vacuum/steam clean all surfaces.
Wiping down surfaces with rubbing alcohol
Spraying white vinegar all over the surfaces and letting it sit in the sun with the windows down/doors open
Charcoal bags and baking soda boxes placed in the car
Wiping out easily accessible AC vents

However, the smell is still there. Almost all of the smell is coming straight from the center console. If I sit in the back seat I can barely smell anything, but in the drivers/passengers seat it is noticeable. I think the previous owner had some sort of perfume/air freshener sitting in the console and that plastic absorbed the odor.

What else can I do to remove the smell? I was told an ozone machine, however, I have fairly severe allergies and asthma and I am worried the ozone smell may linger or make things worse.

Thanks. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Rsurfer]

Google "Enzyme"

[Eldorado2k]

Found my dream car, a 2005 Yukon XL. The only issue is that the previous owner seemed to have an air freshener in the car that is overwhelming and aggravating my allergies. I have gotten a significant amount, maybe 50% of the smell out in the last week since I purchased it by doing the following:

Vacuum/steam clean all surfaces.
Wiping down surfaces with rubbing alcohol
Spraying white vinegar all over the surfaces and letting it sit in the sun with the windows down/doors open
Charcoal bags and baking soda boxes placed in the car
Wiping out easily accessible AC vents

However, the smell is still there. Almost all of the smell is coming straight from the center console. If I sit in the back seat I can barely smell anything, but in the drivers/passengers seat it is noticeable. I think the previous owner had some sort of perfume/air freshener sitting in the console and that plastic absorbed the odor.

What else can I do to remove the smell? I was told an ozone machine, however, I have fairly severe allergies and asthma and I am worried the ozone smell may linger or make things worse.

Thanks. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Did the charcoal bags make any difference at all? I’ve never put them in my car since it doesn’t have any foul odors in it, but I may give it a shot to see if it can help neutralize.

[itgoofy]

Did the charcoal bags make any difference at all? I’ve never put them in my car since it doesn’t have any foul odors in it, but I may give it a shot to see if it can help neutralize.

Definitely. I put them in every car I have regardless because they keep the car odors minimal and clean. I usually do those fridge/freezer baking soda cartons under the seats and 1 charcoal bag per car.

I'm certain either that or the baking soda or both helped the current situation as well, since it is dissipating every day I check and they've been in there for about 4 days now.

[Bobh59]

Have you replaced the cabin air filter?

[itgoofy]

Have you replaced the cabin air filter?

Actually, this model doesn't have one. I did, however, order a Dorman air filter kit in which I cut a hole and install one myself. I will be doing that as soon as I get the smell out.

[Bobh59]

Actually, this model doesn't have one. I did, however, order a Dorman air filter kit in which I cut a hole and install one myself. I will be doing that as soon as I get the smell out.

I thought about that right after I hit the send key.

That stuff is like smoke in that it gets everywhere including places that can't be cleaned like underneath the dash, inside doors, etc. which might require an ozone generator or one of those odor eliminator bombs. Short of that, have you hit the headliner, the hvac vents including the intake ones under the dash, and underneath the seats - both the seats themselves and the flooring. Clorox makes a cleaner/disinfectant with hydrogen peroxide that works great on smoke & pet odors that might be worth a try.

[Eldorado2k]

What else can I do to remove the smell?

Here’s a few things you can do:

Seatbelts. You must deep clean the seatbelts. If it’s a 2005 odds are those seatbelts have probably never been properly cleaned, and I bet they’re not only dirty, but they’re probably holding onto that strong odor you’re trying to get rid of.

Take a look at these seatbelts and imagine the odors they must’ve been holding onto...



Use some clamps, spray the side of your vehicle with car soap or waterless wash, then quickly saturate the seatbelts with LATA straight undiluted, next scrub them with a good brush, rinse with your water hose, dry with a blow dryer if you have 1 or simply towel dry and leave out until they fully dry.

When you’re done with those steps you should have the cleanest seatbelts on the block. You’re welcome.



In regards to steaming: Steam cleaning must be done a certain way in order to fully live up to its bold claims... Did you know that in order for steam to be effective at removing odors and disinfecting surfaces it must be held in the same spot for 5 seconds? That means every single spot of carpet, upholstery, etc. 5 seconds at a time... Suddenly it doesn’t seem as snappy as those that promise easy results in a youtube video huh?

I can tell you from my own experience that in order to truly eliminate odors with a steamer that the 5 second rule is absolutely true because my cat once knocked over a gallon of Megs D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate in my den and when I came home from work the entire house smelled like that chemical especially in that room. I tried steam cleaning 2 days in a row and it wasn’t until I quit messing around and did it the proper way aka holding the steam over each and every square inch of carpet that I was finally able to eliminate that strong grape chemical scent of D120 in my house.

Unless you have an extractor, you’re better off using a diluted All Purpose Cleaner and scrubbing the carpets with a brush and mopping up with cotton terry towels until they’re all clean. Steamers are overrated when it comes to carpet unless you’re truly in need of removing odors and are willing to have the patience to do it right.

Otherwise do the cleaning with a brush/towel or extractor. They both beat a steamer.

I cleaned these carpet matts with the brush/towel method. I would never reach for my steamer for this task.





1 more tip: When using your steamer for the 5 second at a time method to disinfect or eliminate odors, you ideally want to avoid using this type of nozzle if possible.



Why? Because that nozzle releases a “jet stream” of water, which is counterproductive if you were to leave it in 1 spot of your carpet over and over again... What you want to use is the steamer with no nozzle or as close as you can get to no nozzle because that’s when it’s truly releasing Vapor Steam. The Jet Stream may “look” neat for cleaning cup holders, but Vapor Steam is where a steamer truly holds its value. That’s when it does what only a steamer can do.

Hope this helps... Thanks for reading.

[ClearVue18]

Here’s a few things you can do:

Seatbelts. You must deep clean the seatbelts. If it’s a 2005 odds are those seatbelts have probably never been properly cleaned, and I bet they’re not only dirty, but they’re probably holding onto that strong odor you’re trying to get rid of.

Take a look at these seatbelts and imagine the odors they must’ve been holding onto...



Use some clamps, spray the side of your vehicle with car soap or waterless wash, then quickly saturate the seatbelts with LATA straight undiluted, next scrub them with a good brush, rinse with your water hose, dry with a blow dryer if you have 1 or simply towel dry and leave out until they fully dry.

When you’re done with those steps you should have the cleanest seatbelts on the block. You’re welcome.



In regards to steaming: Steam cleaning must be done a certain way in order to fully live up to its bold claims... Did you know that in order for steam to be effective at removing odors and disinfecting surfaces it must be held in the same spot for 5 seconds? That means every single spot of carpet, upholstery, etc. 5 seconds at a time... Suddenly it doesn’t seem as snappy as those that promise easy results in a youtube video huh?

I can tell you from my own experience that in order to truly eliminate odors with a steamer that the 5 second rule is absolutely true because my cat once knocked over a gallon of Megs D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate in my den and when I came home from work the entire house smelled like that chemical especially in that room. I tried steam cleaning 2 days in a row and it wasn’t until I quit messing around and did it the proper way aka holding the steam over each and every square inch of carpet that I was finally able to eliminate that strong grape chemical scent of D120 in my house.

Unless you have an extractor, you’re better off using a diluted All Purpose Cleaner and scrubbing the carpets with a brush and mopping up with cotton terry towels until they’re all clean. Steamers are overrated when it comes to carpet unless you’re truly in need of removing odors and are willing to have the patience to do it right.

Otherwise do the cleaning with a brush/towel or extractor. They both beat a steamer.

I cleaned these carpet matts with the brush/towel method. I would never reach for my steamer for this task.





1 more tip: When using your steamer for the 5 second at a time method to disinfect or eliminate odors, you ideally want to avoid using this type of nozzle if possible.



Why? Because that nozzle releases a “jet stream” of water, which is counterproductive if you were to leave it in 1 spot of your carpet over and over again... What you want to use is the steamer with no nozzle or as close as you can get to no nozzle because that’s when it’s truly releasing Vapor Steam. The Jet Stream may “look” neat for cleaning cup holders, but Vapor Steam is where a steamer truly holds its value. That’s when it does what only a steamer can do.

Hope this helps... Thanks for reading.

Look good my good sir

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[Coatingsarecrack]

Try cleaning out the vents. Helped me get rid of some bad odors in my neighbors car we couldn’t locate. Bought it at Oreilly’s




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