I just picked up a new to us 2014 Chevrolet Equinox. The dealer’s detail peron had cleaned the interior. It was a hot day and the dealer parked the vehicle in the shade and opened the windows knowing we were on the way. We could smell the cleaning products from twenty feet.
It is a strong scent, like an air freshener. I searched the vehicle for one in an obscure spot. The smell has permeated the upholstery. Unscented Febreeze knocks down the scent in the air but it doesn’t last. I have a sack of odor absorbing rocks in the car and it has been outdoors with the doors open. I think it is weakening, but the smell is still there. My wife is allergic and I got a bit of a headache after a 30 mile drive home from work with the AC running.
I’m looking for advice on how to deodorize the vehicle. I’d been in it prior to purchase and it did not smell like this so I’m sure it is the detailing. There are lots of products but they seem to focus on pet odors or smoke. Any suggestions? I don’t want any scented products due to sensitivity.
Ozium spray, available many places, Walmart included.
Another trick I’ve tried… a glass pie plate with a little ammonia and a dozen cotton balls tossed in. Sit it outside in the sun, closed windows. Cook it a day, air it out overnight and maybe the next day.
Can you return it for a different SUV? This one may not work out, it seems. The chemicals are used to mask other odors. This SUV is likely to smell forever. If you can return it now, you avoid the big risk of your wife not being able to ride in it.
I have used Ozium many times. while it does work well it has a scent. you can try baking soda in bowls. it absorbs smell. you can sprinkle in on the rugs and let it sit for a couple of days and then vacuum it up.
I’ll try ozium. Is it unscented? If so, the ammonia / cotton ball trick seems like it might hold some promise.
I don’t think so. The dealer is a man I’ve known for years. He seemed a little baffled by this situation and noted there ar some things the detail person does not use. I think it got sprayed by a strong air freshener as it didn’t have any odor the first time I looked at it.
Good luck. I hope it works out for you.
Ozium has a light smell but no real scent. The smell goes away in short order
another thing you can do is rent a rug cleaning machine with a upholstery cleaning attachment and clean the rugs. and the seats if they are fabric.
Why should the person have to do anything. The wife can’t be in the vehicle , take it back and tell the dealer to solve the problem or take the vehicle back .
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+1
Ozium’s odor is very slight and it does seem to disperse quickly.
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Maybe it’s that Polish asphalt…
“Some of the best odor eliminators are coffee grounds, tea, vinegar, oats, and baking soda . Leaving a bowl of any of these odor absorbers out in a room that’s due for a little freshening up will help clear out the less-than-pleasant smells from the air.”
Using vinegar is an old sailing trick. Baking soda has the advantage of being good for hornet stings and is, like vinegar an all-purpose tool for cleaning, etc. Would much rather have my car smell like salad than air-freshener.
The dealer has offered to swap vehicles but the other one he has with a fabric interior has, per my wife’s superior sense of smell, a lesser, but similar odor. He had one (a parts vehicle) that had an intact leather interior that did not have any scent. We have about concluded that it must have something in the material from which something likely the seats, were made. I am now trying a ozone generator. It has lessened in intensity but is certainly not gone.
The ozone should help. Beyond that, have you tried using a fan & blowing fresh air through the vehicle, in one window and out the other? Seems like a few days of that would do a lot to diminish the odor.
All vehicles have odors of course, so it’s possible there’s no solution.
There has been no solution, to date. What I have tried: General interior cleaning of all surfaces, using cleaners with vinegar, spraying unscented Febreeze, activated charcoal, bag of odor absorbing rocks, jar of Odor Sponge, shampooing the entire interior, seats and carpet, hours and hours of ozone treatment, Ozium spray. That’s all I can recall at the moment. Nothing works. The thing still carries this scent and it gets way stronger as the weather warms
Then why do you still have this thing ?
I didn’t see any mention of sanitizing/deodorizing the ductwork for the HVAC system.
If that hasn’t been done, I suggest that you give it a try.
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My dad bought a car, and a smell got really bad in it. The dealer found someones lunch inside the door!
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No suitable replacement has been found. It is a rebuilt vehicle and the dealer/rebuilder is looking for a replacement.