Got a car here that has that damp musty smell like an old Morris minor left outside too long. No dampness inside now so Maybe leak was fixed. What do folk use to help combat it?
cjohnw,
May 31, 1:02am
My boat used to smell really musty and fish baity (?) especially when it had been left parked up with the road cover over it for a couple of months. I used a product call NILODOR (just a few drops here and there) and placed a couple of those moisture absorber pots around the inside. It was something that needed doing regularly but I imagine a boat would have been worse than a car.
kazbanz,
May 31, 2:10am
I’m betting it was groomed before sale and seats/ carpets were damp . I would suggest wetvac again ie reshampoo. Then leave a dehumidifier in it to dry it right out
tamarillo,
May 31, 2:13am
hadn’t thought about that, ta
gpg58,
May 31, 2:16am
Any airconditioning? could be a mouldy fan coil, or even heater coil. Have you checked boot and spare wheel well is dry?
tamarillo,
May 31, 2:35am
Seems dry everywhere I can find, hadn’t thought of those options either!
richardmm,
May 31, 2:45am
I had a car that had a random leak. The carpet felt dry but when you lifted it, sure enough it was wet. Kitty litter was great at absorbing moisture (Crystal type) and it can be dried and reused. What kind of car do you have?
s_nz,
May 31, 3:46am
My corolla had an issue with a musty smell that was ultimately due to an issue with growth on the Air Conditioning coil.
In short, when the air con is running the metal fins on the coils are cold, which causes moisture in the air to condense onto them, making them wet. This is fine, there is a drip tray, and a pipe to drain away excess moisture, and while running it is cold enough not much will grow. However on older car's (where the anti growth stuff has worn out), moisture remaining while the car is parked is enough to allow the growth of stuff that causes odour.
Ultimately used some commercial focused foaming product where I stuck a hose up the drain pipe, and discharged an entire aerosol can into the unit. Subsequently turned the air con off, and ran the fan on full for the last couple of minutes of each drive home, in an attempt to at least partially dry the metal fins. Solved the issue for me. All my other cars have been fine, and I just leave the climate control auto all the time.
There are also can's that will "Bomb" the entire car that might be a bit more available and DIY friendly than the route I went:
Is there any buildup of leaves etc by the intake vent? Any compost heap there will smell.
tgray,
Jul 30, 8:16am
I know is obvious, but have you checked in the boot? Not just the boot carpet, but underneath to see if there's a moat around the spare wheel?
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