Help with a stinky leather steering wheel.

[nittany1]

I bought a used Mazda with a peeling leather steering wheel. The previous owner, instead of getting it redyed, threw on one of those cheap padded steering wheel covers, the kind with the neoprene padding. When I took the cheap steering wheel cover off I wasn`t surprised to see the leather peeling, I was, however, surprised to smell the stench the cheap steering wheel cover left behind.



Things I`ve tried so far:

1) Dawn dish soap and a soft sponge.

2) Turtle Wax Leather & Vinyl Cleaner.

3) Lexol pH Leather Cleaner followed by Lexol Leather Conditioner.

4) I`ve had the steering wheel redyed.



I`m curious about:

1) white wine vinegar and water with a soft sponge.



The stinky neoprene/rubber/padding smell remains, although the steering wheel looks gorgeous after the redye, looks better than new in fact.



Maybe some old pros will know a trick how to get rid of the smell from the steering wheel.

[Scottwax]

I know my gloves and bar tape get really funky after a few weeks of riding in the summer, so I can imagine what you are dealing with. I`m guessing the stench is down into the foam under the leather, you might have to remove that and really clean the foam underneath then use some sort of anti-bacterial spray to help kill off whatever smell remains. Then let dry completely before putting the leather back on.

[David Fermani]

I`d just buy a replacement at the junkyard and have a shop install it.

[nittany1]

I ordered this non-toxic stuff called Odorcide 210 ready-to-use. It`s safe on leather. I`ll let you guys know how it works.



Odorcide 210



It comes in concentrate form too:

Odorcide Main Page

[David Fermani]

Please do.

[nittany1]

WOW! The Odorcide works! The version I bought comes as ready-to-use, if you need a lot of it they sell it in concentrate version that you mix with water in a bucket. The application is simple, I just dribbled a little out of the mini-showerhead shaped nozzle onto some blue shop towels and rubbed the steering wheel with it. The rubberized/glue/yucky stink is gone. There is the smell of the Odorcide product but it smells of light cleaning product like a pro housecleaner would use and that smell is already going away. Just to be sure I`m going to do another Odorcide treatment and then do a Lexol ph cleaner then Lexol conditioner.

[Accumulator]

WOW! The Odorcide works!

Thanks for posting back about it, and I`m glad it worked on your problem. That`s a product I`d never heard of before...