remove air freshener smell?

**Teutonics** · 02-09-2006, 01:19 PM

Help! I bought a used car 2 months ago, and it had just been detailed when I bought it. The problem is that the air freshener smell (which I hate!) won`t go away! It`s just as strong as the day I bought it! Especially on warm days it gets worse, and spring/summer is fast approaching....

How can I get rid of the smell?

P.S. Too bad I don`t know what product was used, when searching for an answer I found lots of complaints of air fresheners not lasting long enough! :nixweiss

P.P.S. I`ve lurked for quite a while, and learned a ton from you guys!

**WSUcommuter** · 02-09-2006, 01:55 PM

My girlfriend had this same problem when she bought her car used back in 2002. The air freshener turned out to be hidden underneath the passenger seat stuck in the seat springs.

**White95Max** · 02-09-2006, 01:57 PM

My Protege had THREE air fresheners hidden under the driver`s seat when I bought it. I removed them, scrubbed/shampooed the seats, carpet, and floormats, and cleaned all the plastic and vinyl soon after. The smell was still slightly present, but after a while, the smell dissipated. Just drive with the windows partially open, have the vents on at least moderate fan setting, and obviously make sure it`s not on recirculation mode.

**imported_chpsk8** · 02-09-2006, 05:10 PM

If you can`t find any air fresheners stuck anywhere try shooting a can of Oust into the car. It`s the best OTC deoderizer I`ve used.

**brwill2005** · 02-09-2006, 07:11 PM

Ozone would make quick work of the smell. First, you will need to make sure the air freshener is not hidden in the car. The dealership likely misted a scented oil fragrance on the carpets and seats.

**velobard** · 02-09-2006, 08:57 PM

I first test drove my Chrysler about an hour after it was parked on the used lot at the dealership, fresh from the detailing crew. It glistened with dealer-installed swirls, but that wasn`t the real problem. They slathered the stinky stuff in the car so thick we had to roll down the windows to do the test drive...the salesman was about to have an asthma attack. I signed the paperwork on it that night, but since it took another week for them to do a repair I pointed out that needed to be taken care of, I told them to leave the windows rolled down everyday to air it out. It did tame down by the time and picked it up, but the smell was still very evident.

You might want to check out something I saw at Home Depot today. It was in the janitorial section (I was hoping to find the generic Magic Erasers someone mentioned they found there). They had a small burlap bag you could hang anywhere you wanted odors absorbed, in a basement, closet, car, whatever. It was full of some crystals or charcoal that absorbed odors in the air.

**White95Max** · 02-09-2006, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by velobard

They had a small burlap bag you could hang anywhere you wanted odors absorbed, in a basement, closet, car, whatever. It was full of some crystals or charcoal that absorbed odors in the air.

Activated carbon probably.

**velobard** · 02-10-2006, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by White95Max

Activated carbon probably.

That was my first thought, and though I barely glanced at the bag it looked like translucent crystals of some sort.

**imported_NT2SHBBY** · 02-10-2006, 08:59 AM

how about how do you keep an air freshner smell? those little tree air freshners don`t last too long-I have the fruit punch ones and would like the smell to stay longer

**LightngSVT** · 02-10-2006, 09:26 AM

Either rent an ozone machine from a janitorial supply place, or put a few boxes of baking soda in the car (like your refriderator). That should work, Ive done it before.