cant get rid of the smell

i have an 01 sr5 prerunner and i cant seem to get rid of the funny smell that it had when i bought it, i took out the seats, washed those completely as well as used a carpet cleaner on the rest. It seems that the smell is coming from inside the air conditioner because when i removed the tube for the heater from behind the glove box the inside of the tube smelled more strongly than the rest of the truck. i know that there is no cabin filter, i was hoping someone might be able to help me out

 

can you explain the smell? do you think it could be antifreeze?

 

no it seems to be almost a mold smell, theres a chance that its somewhere in the carpet or seats but i just wanted to make sure i wasn't overlooking something obvious

 

lots of pine tree air fresheners. lol jk
theres a cleaning product out there called 'what smell' from the reviews it sounds like it works. i'd check Amazon!

 

My best advice is to look into an Ozone Generator (not an ionizer). Hotels and some car dealerships use them to kill mold, get rid of smoke smell and sanitize a room or car (perhaps you've a buddy that might let you borrow one). Leaves the room or car smelling like an electrical storm just passed through. Precaution says not to stay in the room/car while operating the device, but I trust them wholeheartedly.

Problem is they're pricey. But they do REALLY work.

My ex and I owned a "hot-yoga" yoga studio with 105 degree rooms and carpeting. Lots of sweat and a great place to grow some mold. But with one in the studio and one in the lobby, the place always smelled great.

Here's some from a google search:

This model is close to the one we purchased-
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/office/air-purifiers/filter/ozone-generator-10000-cubic-1

some others
Look at the MZ-200
http://www.ozonesupplies.com/Residential_Ozone_Generators.html
http://www.buyprozone.com/pz6Ainfo.htm
Here's a rental:
http://www.ozoneapplications.com/rental_programs.htm

good luck and let us know what happens.

 

Take a can of lysol. Turn a/c on. Spray it in the vents on the outside, just below the windshield. It will kill any bacteria that is causing the odor.

Or the dealer will do an a/c refresher for about $40. That will get rid of the smell. I have done the dealer one, before I learned the lysol trick.

Oh & welcome to TW!

 

You need to set the a/c to max cool and set it to pull in OUTSIDE AIR

 

Or check with the auto parts store for this:

 

fbreeze air freshner

 

Seinfeld episode - it's severe BO

 

X2, you beat me to it!!

 

Your coil is dirty & you need to blow/vacuum it out bro', do that & not only will it stop stinking , it'll get cooler/warmer easier & fan motor plus the compressor under the hood will last longer if the coil is kept clean......


P.S. it's BBO

 

There's some really good tips on here. My wife's corolla smells like mold. I'm gonna change out the cabin filter this weekend when I get back into town, and I'll probably try the lysol sprayed into the vents to see if that does something as well.

 

when u reinstall the filter add in a dryer sheet or other air freshener

 

Thanks for the tip genxer.

 

Put some coffee grounds in a couple old (clean) socks and keep them under the seats for a week or so.

Get an empty water bottle and use a 1 part Pine-Sol 3 part water mixture in it. Leave it in the cupholder for a week.

1 week later and you should have a fresh smelling car. +1 on the lysol in the vents

 

YW

 

Awesome, this should help get rid of the smoke smell.


Subscribed!

 

I have an older chevy truck which has a strange odor like what you're describing, very musty smell. I eventually found the odor was coming from the window tint.

 

Figure this out when you were lickin the window?