My wife broke a glass bottle in the rear of my 2003 Tahoe and I was unable to get to all the places under the carpet and jute to clean it out. Now the car smells real bad. Any ideas on how to get the smell out? or do I have to remove and relace the entire rear section of carpet and jute?
Maybe take the rear seat out if it’s in the way and steam clean/shampoo that area?
I have had good luck with odors by using Arm & Hammer laundry detergent. I sprinkle the dry powder around the area and vacuum it up in a few days. Repeat the process. I even sprinkle some in my outside trash cans to keep odors down.
Two approaches I use.
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Soak the area in Resolve or some kind of deodorizing cleaner, scrub it in with a wet cloth. I’ve also had good luck with a Bissel Green Machine. Get the area soaking wet. Put a clean towel over the wet area, weigh the towel down. The water should be drawn up into the towel. Use as many towels to get as much of the moisture out of the area as possible.
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After a slight miscalculation concerning the width and depth of a mudhole my first time off-roading, I had to remove the entire interior of my 2000 Blazer to get 3 - 6 inches of mud and water out of the interior. Once the seats (Torx T50 or T55 for the seat mounting bolts) and trim were removed, the carpet and jute came out easily. I scrubbed the carpet and jute and dried them out over a couple of days before I put everything back together. There was a little mustiness for a few months afterwards, but keeping the windows cracked fixed that. Hopefully, option 1 will work for you.
Ed B.
Elbow grease ie. remove and clean.