If your vehicle’s interior has been properly detailed, then there shouldn’t be any lingering smell after the cleaning. You may have a light chemical smell that disappears after a day or so, but nothing too extreme.
However, unfortunately, not all detailing goes to plan. There may be a lingering smell, so how do you eliminate it?
What Can Cause a Car Smell After Detailing?
As we said, there may be a light chemical smell after detailing. This is just the shampoo and whatever other cleaning products have been used. It shouldn’t be an awful smell.
It will just smell ‘fresh’. We are sure that you all know what clean smells like. That’s what your vehicle should smell like. This is fine, but we doubt that this is the scent that you mean.
Most car smells after detailing for two reasons.
Firstly, too much water was being used to clean the seats. You only need a little water. If the water does not dry after an hour, bacteria will start to grow. Bacteria will cause an awful smell.
In other cases, the bacteria was already in the seat. By cleaning, you have reactivated it. This often happens if the car is a bit older.
Thankfully, both of these should be easy to deal with.
How To Remove the Awful Smell
If you have had your vehicle detailed by a company, then take your vehicle back to them. Don’t bother going through the rigmarole of trying to fix the problem yourself.
It isn’t on you. You paid somebody to clean your car, so ensure they clean it properly.
If you cleaned the vehicle yourself, things are on you, but, as we said, the problems should be easy to deal with anyway.
Open The Windows
If you have had your vehicle’s interior detailed, then you should keep the windows open for around 24 hours. It helps air it out and ensure the seats dry nicely and quickly.
If you didn’t do this, then you are much more likely to get that awful smell.
So, let’s start on a good note and keep your vehicle windows open for the rest of this process.
Use an Enzyme Cleaner
An enzyme cleaner is a soap. There are a few on the market.
An enzyme cleaner is great at killing bacteria, though. Use it (with very little water) on the parts of your vehicle that seem to be generating a smell.
This should kill the bacteria inside, ridding you of the smell once and for all.
Remember to wipe the seat clean after. It is fine if it is a little wet, but you don’t want it drenched, nor do you want a ton of soap just hanging around.
Steam Cleaner
Steam cleaning can help to remove odors by breaking down and removing any dirt, grime, or other contaminants that may be causing the smell.
To use a steam cleaner, simply fill it with water and turn it on, then use the nozzle to direct the steam at the surfaces inside your car.
Be sure to pay extra attention to areas like the seats, carpet, and dashboard, as these are common sources of unpleasant odors.
Dry The Seats With a Fan
As we said, keep the windows open for 24 hours.
You will want to ensure that the seats start to dry out as quickly as possible. The best way to do this is to point some fans at them.
The air from the fans will dry out the seats pretty rapidly.
Once they are dry, leave the windows open (if it is safe to do so) to air the last of them out. The fans will only get some things.
Use an Ozone Generator
By now, that rather musty smell should have disappeared. However, it may only do so in some vehicles.
The best way to get rid of a smell in a vehicle is to use an ozone generator. It will get rid of even the worst smells.
So, why was this not step 1? Well, because they are expensive. An ozone generator is a bit of a kit that is the last resort.
If you can’t get rid of the smell, get one. Leave it running for a few hours in your vehicle, and we are sure you will never be dealing with that smell again.
Do note that using an ozone generator can be dangerous. Not for the vehicle, but you want to avoid sitting in a vehicle while one of these is running. It can hurt your throat and cause breathing issues.
Natural Deodorizer
Such as baking soda or white vinegar. Baking soda is a natural odor absorber and can help to neutralize any lingering smells in your car.
Simply sprinkle a small amount of baking soda over the affected areas and let it sit for a few hours before vacuuming it up.
Alternatively, you can use white vinegar to remove odors by diluting it with water and using it to wipe down surfaces inside your car.
Both of these natural deodorizers are effective at removing unpleasant smells and are a safe and environmentally-friendly option.
Final Thoughts
If you followed this guide, you should have been able to rid your vehicle of that smell.
The next time, you can prevent that smell from actually occurring. Take your vehicle to a pro to be detailed. If you must do it yourself, use as little water as possible and ensure that the seats dry out quickly afterwards.
If they take more than 2 hours, you have used too much water and the risk of that smell returning shoots up.