# How long does it take for a car detailing detergent smell to go away?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** corolla, toyota\
**Created:** [March 23, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927 "2011-03-23T22:17:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mary\_Robin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mary\_Robin](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mary_Robin)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927/1 "2011-03-23T22:17:41Z")

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If anyone has had their car detailed and was bothered by the smell of it afterwards, did the smell go away within a reasonable amount of time. It makes my sinuses raw and gives me a slight headache

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927/2 "2011-03-24T11:10:48Z")

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Leave the windows open slightly whenever possible. This will help.

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**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927/3 "2011-03-24T13:00:25Z")

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If they cleaned the carpets, maybe they didn’t do a good job of rinsing them. You might want to go back and see if they can rinse them once more.

Did they use any products like Armor All on the dashboard? Those really aren’t needed, so I’d try to wipe that off now and skip that in the future.

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**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927/4 "2011-03-24T14:57:03Z")

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It depends on the cleaners that they used. Normally the scent will be gone in a couple of weeks. Leaving all the windows down whenever you can will help as mcp has already suggested.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-car-detailing-detergent-smell-to-go-away/62927/5 "2011-03-24T15:05:47Z")

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If it’s that bad I’d go back and ask them to rinse the carpets and seats. I always ask for ‘no fragrence’ when I have my car washed.