To beg you for your help - musty smell

[ThatFlakyOliveEater]

AIBU to put this in AIBU?

Absolutely. But I’m desperate!

In winter my car leaked under the boot but it took ages to find the source. Fixed the cause of the leak BUT the damp had gotten into the upholstery. It’s been months and I can’t get it out. The musty smell is horrendous. If I’m in the car for even five minutes it clings to my clothes. DC and I stink. I’m so embarrassed, I’ve had to casually mention it to so many people, including pre-school in the worry they were going to think DC we’re being neglected.

Ive had FOUR valets but multiple different people.
I’ve used:
white vinegar
baking soda
Car bomb things
different types of air fresheners
Febreeze
wet vacuum
leaving the windows open at every opportunity

Nothing works. I’ve looked everywhere for a source and can’t find it. It’s like it’s just…everywhere. Everything has been cleaned including the ceiling, seats, carpet and all material bits.

It’s really stressing me out. Someone told me I smell like I smoke 40 a day with my kid in the car and I am so embarrassed.

The last professional to vale the car has got out sick, weeks old dogs wee, cigarette smoke, and he couldn’t get this smell out after two attempts.

Has anyone got any ideas? I looked at replacing the seats but Christ, I cannot afford it.

Please help me 😭

My friend had this problem after wet clothes sat in her car for a few weeks. She cleaned the car, then left all doors open for as long as possible. You need air and draughts and lots of them.

I leave my windows open all the time. I don’t have my own drive so I can’t leave the doors open. It’s not working! It’s been months of leaving the windows open and it’s still the same!

There must be mould growing inside the seats. One thing you could try is vodka. I used that when I could not get rid of mould around a vintage chair.

I dont know about this in a car but I had this awful awful musty smell in the garden for years, couldnt work out where it was coming from, turned out to be the underside of a small patio aluminium table and the underside was a sort of melamine/plywood board I think, which had obviously got wet, being an outside table, and the rot or musty smell was coming from that

So is there rigid structuring within the seats somewhere, that is plywood or some sort of organic material which might be rotting? Particularly the stiff bit at the back of the boot where you lift it up for the spare wheel?

Yes that’s my concern, that there is mould. How did you use the vodka, please? Did you let it soak in or just rub it on top?

oh jeez, I hadn’t considered this. I’ll ask my husband as cars are not my specialty at all.

I wish we had some really dry weather as I’m sure that would help.

Might work, i don't know but... i bought two big boxes on washing power (Persil Non-bio) on offer. Put one in a a cupboard and now that cupboard smells of soap power weeks and weeks later.
You could try leaving a box in your car boot.

Leave car in sun to get very hot, with windows open. You need to dry the car out but you need windows open to allow the moisture to go

I’ve been doing this every time it’s not raining for months. When it’s windy, sunny, all of it. It’s not helping! I think I need a spell of really hot weather but it’s not happened here yet.

Good idea, maybe it’ll soak up the smell!

Plumber had an accident and soaked the inside of the airing cupboard. I wiped it out as best I could, but couldn't reach behind the tank to do that bit as well as I would have liked. I left the cupboard door open, and did not put the linen back. After a couple of weeks it was definitely dry, but still smelled horrible and musty. I got some Neutradol gel air fresheners and sat one in there. The smell was completely gone in a couple of days.

Have you got a small dehumidifier? Or maybe could borrow one. If you could run an extension lead to the car it might be worth leaving it running when it’s parked and see if it absorbs any moisture.

I’ve got one of these in my car right now, the purple jelly thing? It hasn’t worked!

the car valet guy said he’d never known such a stubborn smell! 😩

That’s an idea, I haven’t yet tried this no. My big issue is parking as I don’t have any outside my house, I have to park across the road, but maybe I can come up with somewhere at my husbands work place

Have the valets removed the seats or just cleaned from above?

I could have written your post word for word! I'm having exactly the same problem! Nothing is shifting it! A friend of a friend has lent me an air purifier (I bought a dehumidifier but that didn't do anything). I've booked it in for an ozone treatment which is apparently a blue gas system. I'm desperately hoping it works or we'll have to get rid of the car... it's THAT bad

Just from above. The last guy said about removing the seat but in the end he didn’t. Not sure why?

Oh isn’t it just!! I wouldn’t mind if the car smelt. It it clings to everything - clothes, food, my kids bike!! It’s awful, I’m so embarrassed. I haven’t heard of that treatment, off to Google! Fingers crossed for you. It sounds stupid but it’s really impacting me mentally as i can smell it everywhere and feel like people are constantly judging!

Put an open receptacle of scented cat litter in the car somewhere? With any luck the cat litter will soak up the bad smell, so it doesn't get into your clothes?

If it still smells musty after so much cleaning this suggests it’s still damp. Have you pulled out the back seats? I had a leak in the boot over the winter too. I pulled the seats out and it was like a marsh underneath. I couldn’t identify the source of the leak so had to take it to be fixed professionally. To dry it, everything had to be stripped, hung up and put in front of heaters and blowers for several hours a day. It took two weeks. If yours is anything like as wet as mine was, you’ll never be able to dry it out properly as it is.

Good idea!

Argh, no! How do you pull out the back seats? It’s got its MOT next month, I wonder if they might be able to locate the issue…

Cat litter and cut up lemons 🍋 xx

Get a couple of bottles of that antibacterial laundry liquid, a plant sprayer bottle and absolutely let rip in the car. Literally, soak the car with the stuff then park it in the sun to dry out.

One of my kids left the car window open and forgot to tell me. It rained a lot that night and I couldn't get the stink out for love nor money. Its a kind of bacteria that causes the smell. I also had those crystal gel dehumidifier things in the car to dry it out afterwards. One won't be enough, you need a LOT or it won't dry out quick enough and will start to smell again. Thankfully the chap at the local market did me a good deal on 2 boxes of the things.

Try one of these , they absorb moisture and smell quite subtle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scented-Wardrobe-Dehumidifier-Condensation-Lavender/dp/B013KB46FU/ref=asc_df_B013KB46FU/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697206472297&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14792696606707225031&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006907&hvtargid=pla-847615720032&psc=1&mcid=91b92cdf1154362ea72dc3945b11eef3&gad_source=1