crashed my 06, got 05 next day, any idea on how to get rid of mildew smell?

[grandpapa]

I made a stupid left turn while the light was yellow and the guy on the other side speed up at the last minute trying to pass the yellow as well.

I know I should-n't have made that left turn, it was my fault. But I do believe the accident could be prevented if the other guy (from out of state) no to speed up at the last second.

Anyway, my bad stupid me! I have clean record until few days ago
Well, the 06 has t-boned on the right side, both door was not able to open, airbad was out. The next day, I pick up an 05 limited. Even before this accident, I already decided to pick up this car so now both cars are in the garage.

The 05 is in good condition except the bad smell from inside. Mildew? Mold? I can tell the car was not parked inside. Now I need help on how to get rid of that smell? Any idea? Will hot water carpet shampoo works? ( that's my 1st approach, but not sure what to do next)
remove the floor carpet? I put baking soda on carpet for couple days but didn't help. If anyone has good idea, please let me know. How about professional detail? Never done that before so not sure they can able to help on that.

thanks for any input.

[Doobiewah]

There are sprays that you can get that you put into the A/C vents that will kill the mildew there...check with your auto parts store. They also have a tub of crystals you can get that when you open it up it absorbs moisture...you could put that inside the vehicle for a day or two.....I've seen it here at Home Depot.

I would imagine that if the carpets, etc. are dry, then the mildew smell is coming from inside the ventilation system. When I was an genl mgr of an big auto repair shop, we used it all the time and it worked well. You may also have a shop check the drain hole in the a/c system as if it is even slightly clogged, it can keep moisture in the system and cause the smell.

HTH. Good luck.

PS: I feel for you on the accident...I guess we've all been there at some point. At least you are OK.

[Tech1984]

Also check those sunroof drains. Too many times I've seen the drain hose has come off and gets the carpet all wet.

[hghflyrjd1]

yea I wouldnt think it would be the carpets etc..Prolly the vent system..But detail shops have machines that remove smells after they shampoo etc your interior.

[Tom in Tacoma]

I'd first want to know why it smells that way. Call me suspicious but I'd peel back the carpeting to see what's underneath; rust, mold, mildew or soaked carpet padding. That's gotta be taken care of before you start shampooing or spraying stuff into the air vents. That's the last step you'll need to take. Make sure the car's fully dried out first and any leaks are dealt with.

Glad you're okay from the wreck though.

[Black Knight]

This might sound dumb and you probably already checked...

My last car - I made the mistake of washing my carpeted floor mats at the car wash (sticky soda spill) and letting them dry inside the car with the windows rolled down some of the time (I feel like an idiot for doing so) anyway, to make a long story short the car smelled like mold the next day and until I disposed of the floormats. Perhaps someone else was dumb like me and the smell is comming from the floormats?

[grandpapa]

i feel like a dog, putting my nose everywhere The smell seems to be near the front row, not as strong on the rear. The floor mat does smell funny and I have it removed already. still have that terrible smell. Hopefully the weather will turn better and I can try to do some more cleaning.

Thinking about renting a Rug Doctor from Fred Mayer to see if I can get the smell removed. Will also check the AC vent, drain plug...

FYI, the repair quoted $9K to have my car fixed They are not going to totaled it since it value at ~$17k.

[IWAKE]

Originally Posted by Tom in Tacoma

I'd first want to know why it smells that way. Call me suspicious but I'd peel back the carpeting to see what's underneath; rust, mold, mildew or soaked carpet padding. That's gotta be taken care of before you start shampooing or spraying stuff into the air vents. That's the last step you'll need to take. Make sure the car's fully dried out first and any leaks are dealt with.

Glad you're okay from the wreck though.

+1.

Car may have been "detailed" before your purchase. In addition, let car dry out with windows open for a few days. Fabreeze worked for me with cigarette smoke. Also, if mildew, it is something that grows so anything that can kill it should help.....I used windex to spray into carperts as the ammonia seemed to kill mildew growth....

[mdlife]

After you have tried to locate and remove the source of the smell....try an electronic air cleaner that gererates ozone. This will eliminate any smells. They can be purchased on ebay...brand name is Eqoquest. Expensive but worth it.

Dean

[mcardo99]

cabin filter under glove compartment may help.

[grandpapa]

Originally Posted by mcardo99

cabin filter under glove compartment may help.

thanks for the tip.
here is a little update on this.

I checked the filter and it was new. Tried sharper image ionic breeze overnight, it collected a bit of mold so I cleaned it. The smell came back the next day

I am going to wait until summer, will have the carpet shampoo, hold a good sunny day might help kill the mold out. Probably will do a AC clean as well. It doesn't smell so bad for now but enough to bother me

[Tom in Tacoma]

At the risk of repeating myself - you have to get to the sourcre of the odor first. If it's moisture under the carpet it won't do you any good to shampoo it. If you have something that crawled into the ventilation system and died I can guarantee you that carpet shampoo won't help that either.

Keep repeating this till it sinks in; "That would be like perfuming a pig."

[csaxon]

I hope this isn't a flood survivor. They've been shipped all over the country and sold to unsuspecting people.

[grandpapa]

Originally Posted by csaxon

I hope this isn't a flood survivor. They've been shipped all over the country and sold to unsuspecting people.

I am pretty sure it's not the case. It's a one local owner clean autocheck, carfax. I picked it up at Lexus dealer (actually I picked up both of our Avalon there).

I will wait until summer to see if I can remove the seat and underfloor carpet to find out what's going on. I did find mold on the trunk cardboard (the small piece that cover the jack) last time.

Oh, as for my 06 Limited, it's gone. they did totaled it at the end with a $18200 paid out