Old potato smell problem

[dtalk]

If you can get your hands on an air ionizer that might be able to get rid of the smell, had a problem with a smell in my old car an used it with windows up for 2 days and never had the smell come back.

[misterhoney]

Originally Posted by hd72m

I wonder if someone did not spray or spill something either on purpose or by mistake and have not said anything?
Anyone mad at you? There is ALL kinds of things you can mix up and put in spray bottle.
I would leave doors open and maybe even run a fan to help air it out then use leather cleaner on the seats and wipe down all of the inside with a cleaner of your choice. You can also put baking soda on the carpet for a day or too them vacuum. If that does not do it shampoo carpets.

There is nobody mad at me but you never know, my car is parked on the street downtown of a big city, still the windows and doors are always shut and locked. Also, I have never permitted any food or drinks to be consumed inside the car.
I sprayed the baking soda (3 boxes) everywhere onto the carpet and will wait a few days. I hope...

[BlueGreg]

I had a stink problem with my 97 that I also couldn't find. Everything was visibly clean, but i could smell mildew. After some time I figured out that the OEM style floor-mats (which i had replaced a few times) were taking a very long time to dry out and leaving a stink behind. The smell would get into the seats, and so it would smell bad even when there was no rain and the mats were dry to the touch.

I Replaced all 4 with rubber winter mats, and after about a month the seats aired out and it's been fresh everyday since.

[03rav4inPA]

Also, pop your hood and look for mice/squirrel nests. You could have a family near the battery location under that piece of plastic that hides it. I'm willing to bet that the smell is mice poop.

[ronbo1313]

To remove odors, Charcoal Briquettes in a cloth bag or activated charcoal. Baking soda is not good at order control. google it , your'll see

[Willow]

or a cloth bag of fresh ground coffee (not old used coffee grounds). They are good at eliminating odor and your vehicle will smell great as well.

I noticed you are from MTL and not from anywhere in NB so that idea was a no go.

[carlman]

Great advice here.. I smelled up my '05 Rav when I went on a camping trip and used the car as a locker for 5 guys' wet gear for a day or so as we canoed down a river. When I got back to the car the windows were fogged up on the inside from the moisture of all that gear.

It was a mildewy kind of smell... and a bit of funk mixed in (rotten potato maybe). I tried everything prior to going this route, including time. I aired it out for days, waited months, various cleaning, baking soda, etc.. For months my wife complained about it.

The only way I was able to remove that smell is to take it to a company that did an Ozone treatment for about $100... Now it just smells like an old Toyota... The ozone has a bitter scent but it went away after a week or 2. I never thought I'd hear the end of it.. wish I'd done the Ozone thing much sooner.

-C