How to Get Rid of Car Odors

Mysterious and unpleasant odors are never welcome, and they somehow become even more offensive in tight quarters. One place you don't want an odor is in your car. With the windows rolled up, a car makes a breeding ground for unpleasant odors, intensified by warm weather. Worse yet, the odors seem almost impossible to subdue. Fortunately, if you know a few simple tips, you can banish these odors and have a great smelling car.

Things You'll Need

• Baking soda
• Vacuum
• Steam cleaner
• Odor eliminating spray
• Garbage bags

Instructions

Cleaning out Your Car

1. Roll down your windows. While you are cleaning out your car, leave the windows open. Airing the car out will make cleaning it much easier on your nose.

2. Take your garbage bag and clean out your car. Discard any and all paper, leftover food, clothing and any other items that do not belong in your car. These things can harbor bad odors from sweat and decaying food. Clean out the trunk, glove box and console, ashtray, and don't forget the side pockets of your doors.

3. Vacuum out the car. This includes seats, dash and air vents, floors, crevices and under the seats. Make sure get into the glove box, ashtray and console as well, you never know what little crumbs or bits might be causing the odors.

4. Steam clean the upholstery. If you have a steam cleaner with an arm, this should be relatively easy. If you don't, you can stop by your local self service carwash. Many have stations you can rent time from to get your steam cleaning out of the way. Make sure you get the fronts, backs and sides of all the seats, and wash your mats and carpets as well. Once this is done, let the fabrics dry thoroughly. For non-cloth interiors, use appropriate cleaning solutions. Steam cleaning is not an option for non-cloth interiors.

5. Wipe down all the hard surfaces of your car. Dash board, steering wheel, pedals, air vents and consoles are frequent points of contact, and are often much more dirty than you realize.

Additional Odor Control

1. Spray all the cloth or fabric surfaces in your car with an odor eliminating spray. Spray lightly and cover the areas without saturating the fabric.

2. Leave your windows cracked or down as much as possible. Fresh air will do wonders for odors. Be careful of incliment weather and safety precautions should you leave your windows down and your vehicle unattended.

3. Pour baking soda into the ashtray or change container in your car. Baking soda absorbs unplesant odors left in the car. Change the baking soda every month or so.

4. If the odors are persistent, sprinkle baking soda onto the upholstery, and leave it for 15 to 20 minutes. Vacuum it up. Repeat if necessary.