TOP FOUR WAYS TO FIX BAD CAR SMELLS

Dealing with baked-in bad car smells can be a long and arduous process. First, you have to figure out why your car sinks,and then you have to fix the problem. In the case of smells caused by mechanical issues, that may be the end of it. But in many cases, especially when the offensive odor has had time to really seep into every nook and cranny in your passenger compartment, you'll be left with a car that still reeks. There are number of different methods that can be useful in purging a bad odor once the source of the smell has been dealt with, so it's usually a good idea to start with basic and go from there. 1.Break Out the shop vac -> believe it or not, vacuuming is a great way to get rid of a lot of different bad car smells. It may not do the trick all by itself, but it is a great place to start. If you have a shop vacuum or a powerful unit, then you're set. If you don't, then you'll want to look for a repair shop, gas station, or a car wash that has a vacuum that you can use. You'll then need to go over both the carpeting and upholstery, being careful to hit every square inch. Vacuuming often does the trick, but particularly stubborn odors may call for stream cleaning. Or you can move on to one of the other methods and leave the stream cleaning for later. 2.Absorb and neutralize the smell -> lingering odors that just seem to hang in the air, even after you've vacuumed the carpet and upholstery, can often be absorbed or neutralized by charcoal, baking soda, or variety if commercial products that are specifically designed for this purpose. Charcoal is a type of carbon that has a very large surface area in relationship to it's size, which allows it to absorb odors on the molecular level. This occurs via something called the van den Waal force, which is the same phenomenon that allows animals like spiders and geckos to walk up walls. If you're feeling frugal, you can set a few pieces of regular old barbecue charcoal in your car and leave them there for a while or you can buy a commercial charcoal odor removal product that is specifically designed for this purpose. Baking soda is also good at removing odors, which is why people like to keep an open box of the stuff in their fridge. Rather than just leaving a box of baking soda in your car, though, you'll want to sprinkle it on smelly carpet, leave it to set for a while, and then vacuum it up. Other products that are designed to knock out odors in your house, like odor-neutralizing sprays and odor-absorbing gels, can also do the same job in your car. 3. Use an air purifier or lon Generator -> car-sized air purifier and ion generators typically don't have the power necessary to tackle really persistent odors, but there are situations where they work well. If charcoal and baking soda don't do the trick, you may want to look into your air purifier options. 4. Take it to a professional -> The best way to knock out some persistent odors, like smoke and mildew, is ozone. However, it's important to note that so-called "ozone generating" air purifier and filters you can buy for home use aren't up to the task. In fact, the EPA has warned that using air filters that generate ozone can actually be hazardous to your health. Ozone is actually toxic, and exposing yourself to the levels that are required to actually counteract stubborn odors would be very dangerous. So while ozone generator are available to the public, you may want to look for a professional who has experience knocking out stubborn car smells with ozone.