My car stinks!

[Curlybrunette]

Hi all,

Can I pick your brains for a mo, my car is fairly new, about a year old, I got it 5 months ago from a dealer. 2-3 weeks ago I noticed when I got in that there was a bit of a smell and now it really stinks.

I've looked under the seats and can't see anything (wondered if something from the supermarkets had fallen out the bag and gone off), nothing has been spilt in the car that I know off, I just can fathom it out.

I could buy an air freshener but the smell is bad and I don't want to just mask it.

Any ideas of how to get rid of the smell?

Thanks
x

Bicarbonate soda. Sprinkle it all over the upholstery and carpets and then rub it in. Leave it for as long as you can (a few hours at least but overnight better). Then hoover it thoroughly. Wash the trim/seatbelts any of the plastic bits with bio washing powder solution. Have you checked the manual for all the hidden places or ways things move (e.g rear seats) just to make sure that you havn't overlooked a hidden crevice thats hiding something rotten?

Does it have air con? If it does are the filters clean?

Have you got a child's car seat in there? I had a similar problem this summer and eventually worked out how to remove the cover from DD's car seat. A deep groove at the very back of the seat had turned into a pond of slime (presumably from all the crumbs and raisins that had dropped down in there over the years). It was a nightmare to clean as it was hard to reach and absolutely disgusting. No more snacks in my car!

Air con?? Mine had a musty smell turned out needed air filters in air con sorting.

Check just inside the bonnet by the windscreen. My dh's car got clogged with leaves, then it all seeped through the aircon in when it rained, and flooded the footwells and the carpet stank. Disgusting. Get it properly valeted if you can't find the source.

Thanks guys I'll check the car seats and air con. Actually I have no idea how to check the air con filters, I'll look in the book!
Superene I had the same problem with my last car and the floors were constantly soaking, the floors are dry in this one so I hadn't thought of that.