Removing bad odours from your car

Do you have a foul smell in your car, boat or van that is proving to be difficult to remove? Whether it be old food, pets, mould, tobacco smoke, liquid spills, car sickness, seafood, beer, old milk, dead rodents, sweat, or anything kids do in, or to your car, we know a normal air freshener is just not enough. With our experience in using the following specialist products we can remove many offensive smells from our own cars and trucks, and have put together this guide on many different types of odour removal for you.

Introducing Pong-Go

Pong-Go utilises odour removal technology that we had made by our chemists to totally eliminate bad smells in our own cars and trucks. Basically, it finds bad smelling odour molecules to permanently encapsulate and remove them, rather than just covering or masking up the smell. It's not toxic, smells great, is safe for all interior surfaces, and works a hell of a lot better than any masking air fragrance could ever hope to!

Pong-Go was created after we found a huge "rodent orgy" in one of our car transporters. The vile smell they left was something we had fears of not being able to remove easily, let alone permanently. We used Pong-Go after the area was vacuumed and cleaned, and it worked a treat! After two years, the smell had still not returned.

Since then we have had great success in removing many unwanted smells permanently. About the only thing we have found it cannot remove is sulphur or rotten egg smells, but with everything else we have encountered it works great. Have a read below on many of the things we have used it for.

Introducing our Air Refreshers

We've launched our popular air refreshers in 125mL bottles as a permanent addition to the range! We think this bottle is a perfect size to keep in your car, glove box, console or door pockets. So you can give your car a quick spruce up before this missus (current or a potential new one) or the judgemental or mother-in-law hops in, or if the kids or hubby are a bit pongy after the sports match or pub pickup. These are a super neat and handy little addition to spruce up any interior with great fresh fragrances as well as helping hide any nasty smells.

These all contain some odour elimination technology, but Pong-Go is still the king when it comes to straight up odour removal. The air refreshers have a much longer lasting fragrance, so if longevity is your main aim, then these are for you.

There are a number of different fragrances to choose from, so you can pick your favourite!

Red Myst, Black Label, Max Doughies, Popped Cherry, Bluetiful, Sexy Time. All are proudly Aussie made as we custom make all these refreshers in our shed, with a lot of work going into selecting every single part of the unique fragrances. 

You can read more about them here - https://www.bowdensown.com.au/blog/latest-news/air-refreshers/

Using the Air Refreshers

Using the refresher card: Put this card on your carpet and then mist 3 to 4 sprays onto each side of the card, leave it there till it's dry either hanging it in a non illegal spot or leave it in an open central spot in your cars' interior. Every few weeks you can further top it up with one or two more sprays whenever you feel it's needed.

Also spray: Spray the Air Refresher directly into the carpets or fabric areas of the cars interior; 6 to 8 sprays evenly misted over each section we find is best, then shut up the doors and windows before letting settle for about 30 min.

Kids, Pets, Food Spills & Other Localised Smells

Whether it's car sickness, pet accidents, old food, sour milk, spilled drinks, sweat or just something that's been forgotten under a seat, the first step is always finding and removing the source of the smell. It might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised how many terrible smells come from something hiding under a seat, in a door pocket, under a baby seat or rolling around in the boot.

Once you've found it, remove as much of the contamination as possible without spreading it further. Solid material is best lifted away with a spoon, scraper or plastic card, while softer messes are best blotted into a clean microfibre cloth by working from the outside of the spill towards the centre.

After the bulk of the mess has been removed, thoroughly vacuum the area before cleaning it with Fabra Cadabra. Spray the affected area, then gently blot or agitate with a microfibre cloth like a Dirty Deeds. If the contamination has soaked deep into the carpet or upholstery, a steam cleaner or extraction machine will produce the best results.

Any deeper stains on hard plastics, rubber, vinyl or leather can be tackled with Orange Agent on a Square Bear applicator, then wipe off any excess with either a Dirty Deeds or Plush Daddy cloth depending on how dirty the area is you're working on. Be sure to protect any hard plastics, vinyl and rubbers with Vinyl Care, and any leather areas with Leather Love and Leather Guard after deep cleaning them with Orange Agent.

Once everything is completely dry, finish by spraying Pong-Go over the affected area and allow it to dry naturally with the doors closed. Really stubborn odours may need a second or third application, but as long as the source of the smell has been completely removed, Pong-Go will do the rest.

Once totally dry again, spray your favourite Air Refresher for lasting fragrance!

Damp, Musty & Mouldy Smells

Musty smells almost always come back to one thing - moisture. Whether it's a window left open, wet swimmers, muddy boots, a leaking sunroof or a blocked air-conditioning drain, the first priority is finding and fixing the source of the water. Otherwise you'll simply be treating the symptoms instead of solving the problem.

For minor dampness, clean the affected carpet or upholstery with Fabra Cadabra, wipe it dry and then spray the area with Pong-Go. Leave the vehicle parked with the doors open until everything is completely dry before closing it up again.

If mould has become established, you'll need to be much more thorough. Be sure to use the correct PPE here! Vacuum the affected area first, then clean it with Fabra Cadabra using an upholstery brush like our Plush Brush if necessary. Steam cleaning or using an extraction machine afterwards will greatly improve the result. Once dry, apply several sprays of Pong-Go to the affected area and allow the vehicle to air dry for several hours. If the smell persists, repeat the treatment once or twice before considering more invasive repairs.

Where mould has spread through the carpet underlay or the car has suffered significant water damage or flooding, the only proper solution may be removing the interior so the carpet, underfelt and affected components can be thoroughly cleaned or replaced. It's a much bigger job, but it's often the only permanent cure for severe mould infestations.

 

Tobacco smoke and other overpowering smells

Smoke, stale interiors and those mystery smells that seem to be everywhere are a little different to localised spills, as the odour has usually settled into every surface inside the car. Cigarette smoke in particular leaves behind a sticky residue that clings to plastics, leather, fabric, carpets, seat belts and even the inside of the glass.

Start by completely emptying the car. Remove all rubbish, floor mats, baby seats, anything in the glove box, centre console, door pockets and boot, then give the entire interior a thorough vacuum, paying particular attention to seat creases, under the seats and other hard to reach areas where dirt and odours tend to build up.

Next, clean every interior surface. Wipe down plastics, vinyl and trim, clean any leather surfaces, shampoo fabric trim and carpets, and don't forget the seat belts and interior glass, as these are common places for smoke residue to linger. Once everything is clean and dry, lightly spray Pong-Go over the carpets, fabric seats and other absorbent materials, then close the car up and allow it to dry naturally. Particularly stubborn odours may need a second application, but a properly cleaned interior combined with Pong-Go will remove the vast majority of lingering smells.

Mould and smoke smells in the air conditioning

If the unpleasant smell only appears when you switch on the air conditioning, the problem is usually inside the ventilation system rather than the cabin itself. Moisture left on the evaporator can encourage mould and bacteria to grow, while an old cabin filter can trap dirt and organic material that eventually starts to smell.

The first step is replacing the cabin air filter, as this is often the source of the problem. With the new filter ready to install, treat both the fresh air intake and the recirculation intake with Pong-Go while running the ventilation system through its various settings. This allows the product to circulate through the ducting, evaporator and heater core where odours commonly develop.

Once complete, install the new cabin filter and repeat the treatment if required. A simple habit that also helps prevent mould is turning the air conditioning compressor off a few minutes before reaching your destination while leaving the fan running. This helps dry the evaporator before the car is parked.

Ozone Treatment (Last Resort)

If you've thoroughly cleaned the interior, removed the source of the smell and used Pong-Go without success, an ozone treatment may be worth considering. Ozone can reach areas that are impossible to clean by hand and is very effective at breaking down stubborn smoke, mould and other deeply embedded odours.

However, it should always be treated as a last resort. High concentrations of ozone can accelerate the ageing of some plastics, rubber and vinyl, and it is unsafe to breathe while the machine is operating. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions, run the treatment in a well ventilated outdoor area and allow the vehicle to air out thoroughly before using it again.

For the best results, clean the entire interior before carrying out an ozone treatment. Removing as much dirt and contamination as possible allows the ozone to focus on eliminating the remaining odour molecules rather than working through surface grime. Once the treatment is complete and the vehicle has been fully ventilated, a light application of Pong-Go to the carpets and fabric trim can help freshen the interior while any remaining ozone smell dissipates.

Step 1 - The Clean Up

Spray with Fabra Cadabra 

Once you have removed the heavier material sitting on the top, give the area a thorough vacuum using the crevice tool attachment of your vacuum. Work methodically in an up/down, and side to side motion.

Mist the area you are cleaning with Fabra Cadabra and allow it to sit for a minute.The way Fabra Cadabra works, is to release the stains and bonded particles from the fibres of the material, while not doing anything to affect the feel or colour of the cloth.

After waiting for a minute, blot the area with a microfibre applicator like our Square Bear, or a microfibre cloth like our Dirty Deeds. Do a second application after this, gently agitating the area with the other, clean side of the applicator pad or cloth so it can suds up - you could also use an upholstery style brush like our Plush Brush for this job. Wipe clean while the product is still wet so it doesn't dry back into the fabric with a separate, dry microfibre cloth once you're happy the area is totally clean. If it's a particularly bad mishap, look at steam cleaning or using a shampoo extractor machine. We have a separate guide on using the SpotClean here - 

Step 2 - Spray Pong-Go

Let it dry & spray with Pong-Go 

After 15 to 20 mins drying time, spray the Pong-Go odour eliminator into the general area around where the stain was, wind up the windows and close the doors, leaving it to slowly dry until the bad odour is gone. Depending on how bad the odour is, it can take two to three applications of Pong-Go till the smell is totally gone from the car. Once the odour has gone, if there's still any damp bits in the carpets, be sure to open the doors and windows and allow these to completely dry.

Once totally dry again, spray your favourite Air Refresher for lasting fragrance!

Get the good gear - Any questions?

In this article we use the following custom made car care products; Pong-Go, Fabra Cadabra, Orange Agent, Vinyl Care and Leather Love.

All of these products can be found at many of our great retailers nationwide in Australia. Quickly find your closest store by clicking here.

If you have any questions, please email info@bowdensown.com.au or FREECALL our office on 1800 351 308.