I recently got a car for $300. Problem is that it sat in a field with some trees that later grew into full on wooded lot after sitting since 1994. Owner had to cut down a lot of trees just to get the car out. Anyway, the interior smells musty/moldy/stale or whatever you want to call it for being shut closed for years. What's the best remedy to get rid of the smell? Any tips or tried and true remedies would be great. I know there has to be someone else here went thru the same thing I did. 
Fire.
Vinegar. Spray ever surface, then let it sit in the sun. When it evaporates, it leaves no smell.
Lots of Coconut scented pine trees, baking soda, and airing it out.
OdoBan Eucalyptus scent cleaner / deodorizer. But it at WalMart for less than $3. That's what it was designed for. Follow directions on bottle.
Yeah, I work in R&D for them.
I think someone mentioned that spraying hydrogen peroxide works well at getting rid of smells.
J
Be careful spraying vinegar directly on upholstery, it does not play nice with all dyes. A large mouth jar of vinegar left on the floor when it is parked might be a good alternative.
I would remove the seats, clean the entire carpet (either by steaming or with regular spray on carpet cleaner) and give it at least 24 hours to dry afterward, meaning leave it open to air out, maybe with a fan on it to speed the drying process. Clean the seat material, fabric door panels and headliner the same way, or spray with fabreeze if they are not too bad, and definitely change the cabin air filter if it has one. Clean all plastic trim pieces with warm soapy water. If the trim pieces are easy to remove I would clean the back side too, as mold can grow almost anywhere.
I'm a fan of DampRid. Here, free plug for them: http://www.damprid.com
I sprinkle a whole box of backing soda on the carpets and let it sit overnight. Then vacuum it out. seems to work well.
Pull the seats and carpet.
Hose carpet down with simple green, then hit with pressure washer. Let dry completely in sun.
Wipe down all surfaces in car with cleanser.
The seats.. soak with cleanser, rinse, and dry in sun for a week or more.
ultraclyde wrote: OdoBan Eucalyptus scent cleaner / deodorizer. But it at WalMart for less than $3. That's what it was designed for. Follow directions on bottle. Yeah, I work in R&D for them.
Good to know it kills HIV yet I am not sure that is one of my needs:-)
So is this like Fabeace (sp?)
In reply to Sultan:
You mean Febreeze? Well, not exactly - it has a sanitizing chemical in it (hence the testing against viruses, including HIV), surfactants for cleaning, and a specific fragrance blend. The fragrance blend was originally developed to nullify the smell of the owner's kids' diapers ( no kidding.) It's very effective against mildew/moldy smells. OdoBan actually works very well as a non-food-contact hard surface cleaner as well, but the odor-killing power of it is something that most other cleaners don't have. The Febreeze line is usually just a fragrance to cover odor with no cleaning/sanitizing effects - although they are beginning to cross market that fragrance brand in more cleaning products.
If you like the way OdoBan smells, it's your best bet. If you don't like it (and some people don't), then hydrogen peroxide is a good bet. We also have some peroxide based based carpet cleaners (like OdoBan Pet Oxy Stain Remover, Home Depot.)
Sorry, not canoeing here. I don't want to step on any toes.
Apexcarver wrote: Pull the seats and carpet. Hose carpet down with simple green, then hit with pressure washer. Let dry completely in sun. Wipe down all surfaces in car with cleanser. The seats.. soak with cleanser, rinse, and dry in sun for a week or more.
This.
If it's mild an airing out with windows down in the hot sun might do it. I'm hoping that'll take care of my 'rolla after the mechanic left the driver's door not-perfectly-closed in a few days of torrential downpours.
A question from pack rats like me is: how do you get that smell out of old magazines?
Appleseed wrote: A question from pack rats like me is: how do you get that smell out of old magazines?
Put them in a ziplock bag and throw them in the freezer? Worked on some books I didn't want to lose.
Get an enzyme cleaner, they really work.
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