This has to be a common problem in older cars. The interior on my 1973 Olds smells very musty. The carpet is in good shape as well as the cloth seats. I think I have a leak fixed that was along the rear window, but the interior still smells VERY musty. Any ideas on how to get rid of the smell? Thanks.

 

You pretty much have to set fire to the interior to get rid of the smell.... The carpet takes on this smell, and the seats and padding, headliner,door panels etc. You can mask the smell with air freshiner etc but to get rid of it you need new interior pieces. Yes a very common problem for sealed stored away cars. It is mold and it loves to grow on vinyl and the like. You can try cleaning all the vinyl and possibly replace the carpet and it may make an improvement.

 

+1.

There's absolutely nothing you can do that will permanently get rid of it (rather than covering it up), other than completely gutting the interior, including the heating / A/C system, cleaning all metal and plastic surfaces with bleach (including the roof), and installing a new interior and all padding and asphalt noise dampeners.

If you're satisfied with getting rid of some of it, then the worst culprits will be the carpets and the padding under them, and possibly the padding behind the kick panels and on the firewall, which often absorbs water from windshield leaks, but it's in EVERYTHING and won't go away until everything is changed or disassembled and treated with something serious (like bleach).

Sorry.

- Eric

 

I have never done it but I would try putting some containers of baking soda in the car. One other thing that might be worth a try is going to place that sells commercial cleaning supplies. They have stuff that get pet urine smells out of carpet. Might help. You have to get the odor out. Deodoriser just covers it up.

 

Am I crazy for loving that smell? Further, it seems to me that old Oldsmobile smell differs from old Cadillac smell from old Buick smell etc. Maybe it's just me.

 

Well, there's the "old car smell," and then there's the "sittin' in the swamp for a few decades smell." I'm not entirely clear on which one he means, but I suspect the latter.

And, yes, you are crazy. But it's never for the reasons you think it is.

- Eric

 

I would bet dollars to donuts it's the carpet and jute. It can also be the venting system. Try the baking soda trick first.

On a related note our cat peed in a corner of the house. I tried getting the smell out by lifting the carpet, steaming it both sides and also replacing the underpad and tack strip. What I found that eventually neutralized the smell and made the carpet fresh was a urine neutralizer from Petsmart. I bet ya that if you used it on the worst areas the smell might just disappear. No, I haven't done this to my car because it doesn't smell. When I store it for the year, it is inside, covered and the windows closed.

In a worst case scenario, if your carpet is trash, replace it and the jute to see if that makes a difference. I think carpet for your car would be around 130.00 or so.

 

Home depot has a crystal in a bag in the cleaning section . Take out musty smells in basements and things like that used it in the kids room back in the diaper days worked wonders . after a few weeks you just tossed it in the sun and it recharged the crystals .

 

Carpet and pad replacements are not that expensive. If not in the budget now, try Natures Miracle enzyme cleaner from pet stores. Wipe all hard surfaces. For carpets and fabric, mix with some water, spray on and shop-vac out like a steam cleaner would. Would not try on a show car, but might help a driver. Or your indoor cat pee issue.

 

That's the stuff I was trying to remember the name of. It really works. You pour it full strength onto the carpet and saturate both the carpet and underlay. It leaves a light chemical (fresh) odor that lasts a week or so, then there's no smell at all. IIRC The bottle says not to dilute with hot water or the enzymes won't work properly.

 

You could also open up a bag of charcoaland place half in the front and the other half in the back. Charcoal absorbs the smells, just place it in bags & leave in there over 24 hour period. It should work, it takes vomit & pet smells out. Its also cheap!

 

Yes, but activated charcoal is different from just plain charcoal.

Regular charcoal is an effective absorbant of all kinds of stuff, but activated charcoal is the stuff used in gas masks, and for gastric lavage.

- Eric

 

Activated charcol (also called activated carbon) is a controlled substance and classified as a Dangerous Good, so I don't think that's an option. It's also used in Catalytic converters and water purifiers. Handled wrong, it is highly explosive. Don't worry, by the time it gets to the open market, it is safe for use. I like the idea of regular charcoal, that way if you don't like the smell, you just light it and have a weeney roast in the back seat! That'll get rid of the smell and force the interior do-over

 

What I did was to remove all of the seats, carpets and panels I could. One at a time vacuum all dirt, febreeze them front/ back and sides and let dry before reinstalling. One of piece of insulation in the back seat partition was trashed and pretty smelling so I trashed it out and bought repro online for $20. Obviously, this won't remove any mildew or major castrophies but I didnt have either to deal with on my 70 CS. Any questions, let me know.

 

Thats what that smell is.....I been taking 3 showers a day thinking it was me all this time!

 

Did you resolve your 'old car smell'? I know there are lots of ways to mask it, but I think you were looking for a way to actually get rid of it. One more thing you might consider. The air venting system on the older cars was not all plastic like today's models. Some of the flex lines were made of a type of reinforced paper like material that can break down with time and actually get moldy. You might be getting some of the smell from the vents. The tubing can be replaced with aftermarket stuff available at most auto stores.

I'd bet that most of the smell will be the jute backing under the carpet, and the seat foam breaking down. It turns to a dust like material as it does this so it could get airborne easily when you sit on it.

I wish I could tell you what it was with certainty so you don't have to rip the interior apart looking for it.

 

For most part I think its gone, but thanks for mentioning the vents which is a good point. The jute board and insulation behind the rear seats was wet, musty and unsalvageable- was replaced. The jute under the carpet wasnt too bad for being over 40yrs old. There were a few stains, but obviously its been well taken care of by someone. I did'nt mind taking out the seat as I was looking for the factory build sheet. Then I decided to clean them and reinforce the foam. In short, when it comes to smell you have three choices- remove, replace, or clean the problem area. See you around.

 

I like old car smell! Well maybe not the been wet inside forever mold under the carpet smell but regular old dry dusty old car smell!