How to Diagnose Car Smells

Khodrocar -  It also might just mean that you spilled food in your car and have a mildew problem, though. Either way, it's important you diagnose and eliminate any car smells. Some of them can be very dangerous.

Get rid of other common smells in your car. If your car smells are unpleasant but aren’t a sign of mechanical malfunction, there are ways you can make your car smell better.

*Try baking soda. This will remove odors from carpet. Maybe some food spilled on the carpet. Remove what you can, and then sprinkle baking soda on it. Rub it in. Leave it for a couple of hours, and then vacuum it up.
*Charcoal also absorbs smells. If you leave a chunk of grilling charcoal in the car for a couple of days, the charcoal will absorb a lot of the car smell.
*You could also put vanilla or another scent on cotton balls, and leave them in your car. Or you could put a container of ground coffee in the car.
*To deal with the smell of cigarettes, open your hood and spray air deodorizer in the intake valve. This is necessary because cigarette smoke also enters your car’s duct system.

Protect your car from growing smells. Use a little preventative maintenance so that bad smells don’t take over your car.

*This can be as simple as vacuuming your car regularly to remove dirt that’s been tracked in it or food crumbs that have spilled.
*Don’t let trash accumulate in your car. Keep a small plastic bag in the car to immediately deposit trash inside, and throw it away every few days (or even every day).

Shampoo your car regularly. If you've got a problem with food or drink spills, it's a good idea to shampoo your car's floor mats or seats.

*Remove floor mats, and shampoo them immediately if food spills on them. Just take detergent and water, and scrub them. You can also buy car upholstery shampoos in many auto stores.
*It's a good idea to test the detergent on a small spot first. You can also use carpet cleaner, and a wet/dry shop vac. Just spray the carpet cleaner on the seats. Vacuum it up.

Diagnose the odor as mildew. One of the most common odors in a car is mustiness. It can smell like old gym socks. Just hanging up an air freshener won't permanently eliminate the problem.

*If you smell this odor, especially when you turn on your heater or your air conditioner, it’s probably mildew that grew because moisture condensed inside your air conditioner.
*The key is to dry out the air conditioning system. You can do this by turning off your air conditioner and running the fan on high for about a mile.

Remove other causes of car mildew. You’re not going to be able to camouflage this one with a bunch of air fresheners. You’ll have to get at the root of the problem, which is likely moisture or humidity inside the car.

*Look for condensation inside the car. Remove the floor mats to see if they appear wet. Look in the trunk and in the spare tire storage space. It’s also possible that the air conditioning filter is causing the musty smell. See if the floor mat is wet near the air conditioner.

*If you smell the odor from the floor or trunk, remove all floor mats. If the smell is coming from the air conditioner, remove the filter in it. Just open up the front cover of the unit to remove the filter.

Get rid of the moisture that's causing the mildew. Take a rag, and wipe off any moisture that you can find. If you see any mildew or mold on the area, use a nylon scrub pad to remove it. Try not to scratch the car.

*Now you will need to dry the area to remove the moisture causing the smell. You can use a hair dryer if the area is small enough or a wet vacuum for larger areas. You could use a cotton swab in the air conditioner.

Source: WikiHow.com