Does your car stink? Are you always driving with your windows down because you can’t stand the odor? Isn’t it about time you made your car smell better?
It’s pretty easy to go nose-blind to the smells in your home. You might have pets, but you get used to the smells because your house has a relatively consistent temperature. The same can’t be said for your car. The odors found in your vehicle can become overpowering, especially if you’ve left that car sitting in the sun on a hot day.
What’s that Smell?
Before you can do much to get rid of the foul odors of your car, you’ve got to identify what it is. Some odors come from moisture, others from dirt and still others from items that sit and rot in your car. You’ll need to identify the foul odors of your vehicle before you can get rid of them and create an environment that smells a lot better. If you try the wrong solution, you’ll waste money and still have the bad smell that you’re tired of dealing with. Get in the car and take a big whiff to identify the odor.
Where is the Smell Coming From?
Another part of making your car smell better is knowing the source of the odors. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to figure out. If you’ve got an infant or toddler and the car smells like sour milk, most likely the source of the odor is their car seat. That would be a good thing because these seats can be easy to clean because they have covers you can toss in the washing machine. Other odors might be more difficult to identify and remove.
Does your car smell like cat urine? This can happen even if you don’t have a cat. Generally, the source of this type of odor is the gym bag that’s been sitting in the cargo area of your SUV for weeks. Whether this bag belongs to you or your child, it can begin to smell terrible when the items aren’t washed regularly. Unfortunately, some sports, such as football, hockey, and lacrosse, require equipment that can be difficult to wash. First, remove the bag from your car and then find some of the solutions that other parents of athletes have used to clean up the sporting equipment. Finally, with the bag gone, you can allow your car to air out and smell a lot better.
What if the Smell is Ground into the Seats or Carpet?
Whether it’s a spilled drink, food that went under the seat and rotted, or something expelled from a person that is causing the odors in your car, it might be time for some serious cleaning. Odors that are ground into the fabrics can be difficult to remove from your vehicle. If this is the case, you might need to take your car to the detail shop to let them get the odors out of your car. Bodily fluids such as sweat and vomit can leave a terrible odor in your vehicle.
What Should You Do Next?
Once you’ve identified the foul car and located its source, you’ll need to get rid of the smell. You want to make your car smell better, and a big part of this is cleaning the vehicle thoroughly. If you’re not willing to pay a detail shop to wash the fabrics of your car, you’ll want to do this yourself. Use a shampoo machine and give your upholstery and carpet a deep cleanse to make your vehicle much cleaner. If the foul odor persists, try these three easy solutions.
1. Add Dryer Sheets To Your Car
How does your laundry smell when it comes out of the dryer? Is this a smell that you’ll enjoy in your car? The heat of a summer day can spread the smell from your dryer sheets and make your car smell much nicer than before. The best part about using dryer sheets is that you have some of these in your house right now. You can put a box under the front seats or place a few of them in this area. Enjoy the smell you associate with your clothes, and let dryer sheets make your car smell great.
2. Let Your Car Wake You Up in the Morning
The fresh smell of coffee gives you a bit of a perk up when it hits your nose. You can enjoy this wonderful aroma in your vehicle every day. All you need is a sock; you’ve probably got one or two that have lost their mates and some coffee beans or grounds. Beans would probably be better, but that’s up to you. Fill the sock, put it under the seats, and let your car smell better with the fresh scent of coffee whenever you step inside.
3. Use Some Essential Oils and Give Your Car a Great Scent
Find an essential oil scent that you love and use either cotton balls, a clay disk, or baking soda as a vessel to spread this smell for you. Put a few drops on your vessel to allow the wonderful scent to spread and give you the wonderful smells you want in your car. This gives you the unique smell that you love and allows you to use an easy way to keep the oils in the car without worrying that they could be spilled.
Now, Keep Your Car Selling Great
You went to all the trouble to clean out your vehicle, find the smell, identify what it was, and get rid of the foul odor. Then, you spent a little extra time adding something to make your car smell better during your drive. Now, make sure your car continues to smell great. Don’t allow items to fester in your vehicle and offer the foul odors that can overpower your new car scent. Adding better habits to your daily vehicle experience can help ensure your car always smells the way you want and that you can drive with the windows up and the air conditioning on all the time.
Which one of these three ways to make your car smell better will you use?
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