Musty Smell

I recently bought a 2010 Trail with 95k with extreme mildew smell. Here is what I did based on these forums :

complete interior detail , removal of seats , no mold or water found under the carpets

ran air through the AC drain and no resistance

no leaks found. Went through the car wash and checked windshield , sunroof and rear window

Changed cabin air filter

when I bought it there was a mouse nesting somewhere and replaced the blower motor. The car appeared to be sitting for awhile before I bought it. I got a $50 ozone machine from Amazon and ran that a few times but the smell always comes back.

any other ideas or things to try?

 

Man, I have gone through this with a Tundra. I shampooed the seats and didn't let it dry enough and the must smell was horrible. I wouldn't do any of the fog air fresheners-that will make it worse and never go away. Look for someone in your area that does odor removal for homes that uses chlorine dioxide gas. The DIY little tablets won't cut it as the must/mold is in the padding of carpet and seats likely. You need nuclear level-200g or so. Chlorine Dioxide gas will kill the odor but not harm the plastics like the ozone machine will. I overdid the ozone on my Tundra and the headliner started sagging. These guys who do this can de-odorize crime scenes, so it works. Wouldn't cost much for a car.

 

I’ll try that! I got on deodorizer from Amazon that someone told me helped get the scent from dead bodies….i did that prior to the detail. I actually did all of it before the interior detail so maybe I need to repeat all those steps now it’s been detailed.

 

The key with CL02 gas is strength and dwell time. It's got to penetrate the foam/fabric. Almost all 'odor' sprays are just fragrance and only mask the smell and it will come back.

 

welcome

 

Toyota Air Conditioning System Refresh Kit

 

Have used the Toyota and BG Frigi Fresh after identifying and correcting the water intrusion issue with very good results.

 

How long does it take for the mildew scent to go away? My patience is thin so I’m expecting immediate results lol

 

If the initial leak and affected area are not addressed, It will drag on for a long time. There really is no cover up with the possibility of mold growth unfortunately.

 

Anywhere else I should be checkin for leaks? It’s cold here and the inside windows haven’t frosted on the inside at all.

 

Shampoo the carpets 3-4x times, that appears to have de-shit smelled my truck from letting wag bags bake in 100+ degree temps while backpacking. The ozone machine was going to be my next go to but O3 can destroy certain plastics so trying to avoid that myself.

 

Ya the Corolla stinks too. I checked the spare tire well one time and it was a pond. Luckily it has drain holes you can open. And I left a gallon of milk in the trunk for two weeks. Went all the way into the front passenger area.

 

I have the cargo slide out in the 4Runner but the odor seems to be stronger when I use the Air. I sprayed Lysol in the vents today and it was leaking through the passenger wheel well plastic piece. Maybe where the condensation is supposed to be? Seemed like an odd place to put it but what do I know.

 

When you say you checked the sunroof, did you check all the drains? The sunroof seal will drip a bit but as long as the drains are clear there should be no issues. Any damp carpets under any floor mat?

Could it be possible a mouse chewed the condensate drain that dumps onto the forward frame rail? So when you were running air through that tube it appeared restriction free but could be failed internally?

When you run the A/C do you get water coming out of the tube in the engine bay above the frame?

 

The sunroof drains are clear. When I got the car inspected for the state, it was something they checked because of the smell.

yesterday I went under the glovebox and took out the black tube from the AC and blew air into it and that was clear.

I’ll turn the ac on today and check for the drips!

The picture above was from the Lysol in the vents outside the car near the wipers, or from under the cabin air filter where I sprayed.

 

You need to pinpoint the must. Leave the windows open and stay away from the vehicle for a few hours or longer. Go back and bury your nose into the carpet at various locations, bury it into the seat cushions, etc. Must smells linger in carpet, carpet padding, fabric and seat cushions. Rarely do they get absorbed into plastics-even vents with the exception of a/c fan condensor-but it would only smell when a/c or fan is on.

Get one of these to find active leaks.

$17 Moisture Meter for Drywall, Wood Moisture Meters for Walls, Carpet, Floor Humidity Detector, Lumber Firewood Moisture Meter for Wood, Like Hardwood and Softwood

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN121JFX

 

I’m starting to wonder if I have a dead mouse somewhere in the engine area? Maybe the heater box or under the dash? When i run the ozone machine and let it sit for days there is no smell. As soon as I start to drive it, all the odor comes back.

 

Did you pull the blower motor and cabin filter?

 

I did. It got a brand new blower motor when I bought it and changed the air filter immediately. I will say the smell went from 100 to 40 with that simple change of the filter. I didn’t drive it much after both those things until now.