Need help - eliminating dead animal smell from car (1 Viewer)

[Dentist]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

 

[gianmarco]

ETA -- Please make sure whatever option you suggest costs little to no money. TIA.

 

[Dentist]

ETA -- Please make sure whatever option you suggest costs little to no money. TIA.

good point.

it's a 2004 blazer with over 125K miles so it's not worth that much

 

[eoMMan]

Drive it into a lake. That should clean it out.

When done, push it into a garage filled with rice to absorb the moisture.

You're welcome.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Any sprays, etc. aren't going to work if you don't find the carcass and remove it. I guess once it finally rots into nothing, the smell will go away. It's bound to be in one of the air ducts, no?

 

[Bucky86]

Any sprays, etc. aren't going to work if you don't find the carcass and remove it. I guess once it finally rots into nothing, the smell will go away. It's bound to be in one of the air ducts, no?

How much did that spray cost you? That could easily have been invested somewhere else that could've made you money. I feel sorry for your retirement fund. You should go sell something double to make up for the lost compound interest.

 

[KCitons]

find something that eats mice. Maybe a snake, put that in the vent. Then find something that eats snakes. Maybe a mongoose, put the mongoose in the vent. etc...ect

 

[Dentist]

Drive it into a lake. That should clean it out.

When done, push it into a garage filled with rice to absorb the moisture.

You're welcome.

Thanks, should I get out of the car first or just wear a life jacket

 

[Dentist]

Any sprays, etc. aren't going to work if you don't find the carcass and remove it. I guess once it finally rots into nothing, the smell will go away. It's bound to be in one of the air ducts, no?

you'd think so.. i just am not car savvy enough to remove the duct work on my car

 

[Dentist]

Any sprays, etc. aren't going to work if you don't find the carcass and remove it. I guess once it finally rots into nothing, the smell will go away. It's bound to be in one of the air ducts, no?

How much did that spray cost you? That could easily have been invested somewhere else that could've made you money. I feel sorry for your retirement fund. You should go sell something double to make up for the lost compound interest.

I spent $20 on the spray.

I accepted that fact that I'm going to have to work 1 additional day to make up for what I spent on that

 

[Fennis]

light a match

 

[Dentist]

light a match

I just did this... it quickly burnt out in my hands, can you be more specific?

 

[rick6668]

Watch the Mythbusters episode titled "Stinky Car"

Once that smell get into the vents, not sure what you can do. They did mention a few different cleaners though.

Couldn't find a link to the episode directly online.

 

[Cawdor]

You can find someone that has a deionizer which will break the odor particles into smaller particles without odor. My professional carpet cleaner has one. Used it in my rental apartment after tenants moved out. Worked very well. However, as stated before, if the mouse is still decomposing the odor could come back.

This one is as close as I could find to what they used.

http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2011/03/car-air-purifier-ionizer-reduce-odors-increase-auto-sales/

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

Take a dump on the mouse's chest.

 

[Quez]

Take it to another mechanic. There has to be a dead carcass in there somewhere.

 

[Fennis]

light a match

I just did this... it quickly burnt out in my hands, can you be more specific?

burn the ### #### car to the ground

 

[Dentist]

Take a dump on the mouse's chest.

I don't poop roses

 

[Dentist]

light a match

I just did this... it quickly burnt out in my hands, can you be more specific?

burn the ### #### car to the ground

i dropped my comprehensive coverage on the car a year ago, that's going to be severely -EV

 

[dickey moe]

Take it to another mechanic. There has to be a dead carcass in there somewhere.

Seriously, a competent one should be able to find it.

 

[Dentist]

Take it to another mechanic. There has to be a dead carcass in there somewhere.

Seriously, a competent one should be able to find it.

i've used these guys numerous times over the years and their competency rate in the past has been superb...

They did say they could keep digging but they weren't sure whether i wanted to spend that type of dough for them to start taking crap apart given the car's age and milage

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

You need one of those tiny flexible straw thingies with a camera attached. Got any doctor friends with a scope you can borrow?

 

[DrJ]

Kill a hooker, leave her in the trunk. You won't notice the dead animal smell after long.

 

[Tiger Fan]

dot

 

[Dentist]

Kill a hooker, leave her in the trunk. You won't notice the dead animal smell after long.

well i killed a hooker, but this car doesn't have a trunk, it's an SUV... so now it's kind of awkward.. advice?

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

Take a dump on the mouse's chest.

I don't poop roses

... but you won't notice the dead rodent smell anymore.

 

[DrJ]

Kill a hooker, leave her in the trunk. You won't notice the dead animal smell after long.

well i killed a hooker, but this car doesn't have a trunk, it's an SUV... so now it's kind of awkward.. advice?

Damn, I didn't think that far.

 

[Dentist]

Take a dump on the mouse's chest.

I don't poop roses

... but you won't notice the dead rodent smell anymore.

I'm not so sure.. i can handle the smell of feces... but death is a pretty rotten smell.

I can't imagine what wartime must smell like... i think of the civil war or the roman wars with swords and stuff... grossarooey

 

[Quez]

Take it to carmax

 

[Fat Nick]

We got some shrimp one time and they leaked all over the refrigerator. The smell was awful. We tried a ton of things to get the smell out. You could try putting some of those shrimp in the vents. I'd bet it'd make you forget about the mouse smell.

 

[Henry Ford]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

Is it the same smell when you're recirculating air as it is when you're getting air from the outside?

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

Shave the car and rub tomato paste all over it.

 

[Drifter]

You might want to research this but I think I remember a Click and Clack where a caller had problem where his dog actually puked into one of the dash vents. They actually suggested gently running soapy water through it. Like I said, you might want to research that but that's what I remember.

 

[Dentist]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

Is it the same smell when you're recirculating air as it is when you're getting air from the outside?

I haven't checked that because the idea of rolling up the windows and recirculating sounds bad.

I've only done the recirculating with the car running and me outside of it whilst i blast lysol in the car, roll up the windows, and run

But why do you ask what's your angle?

 

[playin4beer]

Any sprays, etc. aren't going to work if you don't find the carcass and remove it. I guess once it finally rots into nothing, the smell will go away. It's bound to be in one of the air ducts, no?

Only right answer...

It won't stink forever.. once it rots away, it'll go away... but in the meantime, you can't "cover it up"... you'd have to tear it apart and find the carcass...

 

[Henry Ford]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

Is it the same smell when you're recirculating air as it is when you're getting air from the outside?

I haven't checked that because the idea of rolling up the windows and recirculating sounds bad.

I've only done the recirculating with the car running and me outside of it whilst i blast lysol in the car, roll up the windows, and run

But why do you ask what's your angle?

Location. If it's in the intake area under the hood, it'll be worse when it's being pulled from outside than when it's recirculating.

 

[Dentist]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

Is it the same smell when you're recirculating air as it is when you're getting air from the outside?

I haven't checked that because the idea of rolling up the windows and recirculating sounds bad.

I've only done the recirculating with the car running and me outside of it whilst i blast lysol in the car, roll up the windows, and run

But why do you ask what's your angle?

Location. If it's in the intake area under the hood, it'll be worse when it's being pulled from outside than when it's recirculating.

ok, this is the best piece of information in this thread...

I definitely notice it fairly strongly with the vented exterior air.. will check the re-circ.

if it's worse with the vented area, where should I look?

 

[The General]

Is there a large freezer you could park it in?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Is there a large freezer you could park it in?

Just for good measure, put a large box of baking soda in the freezer.

 

[Henry Ford]

So for the 2nd time in 6 years I had a mouse build a nest up into the blower fan on my Trailblazer.

The last time it just clogged up my fan, I had it cleaned out, and resumed operation

This time some animal died up in there somewhere and the mechanics weren't able to find a carcass.

So for 3 weeks now I"ve been driving with my windows wide open, I took all the valuables out of my car and I park it outside at the office with the windows open, I've had it in the garage with the windows open, I've been running cycles of Lysol through the car with the windows up on "recycle air" mode...

I found the #1 pet odor remover on amazon and have liberally sprayed it into my vent duct networks, etc...

But it's not working.

The car doesn't smell at all when idle, but once air starts moving through the vents, it reeks... If I even turn on the blower motor it blows death into your nostrils.

Any advice other than get a new car and the Seinfeld "BBO" jokes?

Is it the same smell when you're recirculating air as it is when you're getting air from the outside?

I haven't checked that because the idea of rolling up the windows and recirculating sounds bad.

I've only done the recirculating with the car running and me outside of it whilst i blast lysol in the car, roll up the windows, and run

But why do you ask what's your angle?

Location. If it's in the intake area under the hood, it'll be worse when it's being pulled from outside than when it's recirculating.

ok, this is the best piece of information in this thread...

I definitely notice it fairly strongly with the vented exterior air.. will check the re-circ.

if it's worse with the vented area, where should I look?

Under the hood, close to the windshield there's a vented area that may or may not have the windshield wiper motor housing under/in/around it.. Under that vent and/or the windshield wiper motor housing is a fairly empty space that probably has a dead mouse in it if it's worse when there's intake than when there's recirculation.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

if all else fails, this

it will be handy to have around when the apocalypse goes down too, so think of it as an investment in your future

 

[Abraham]

Drive it into a lake. That should clean it out.

When done, push it into a garage filled with rice to absorb the moisture.

You're welcome.

 

[Otis]

Have you considered getting a different car?

 

[identikit]

Have you considered getting a different car?

That would cost money.

 

[Dentist]

Have you considered getting a different car?

Yes but I can't sell this car until the stench is gone. Value would be at a new low. Also I had a personal goal to get to 150000 miles on the car

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

Park over an ant hill. Those rascals will remove it tiny piece by tiny piece. When the food source is gone they will abandon it, unless of course they move their queen into your car.

Alternatively you could borrow a leaf blower for every vent. Duck tape them securely in place inside the car blowing back through the vents and out into the engine compartment. Turn them on all at once and force that carcass back out from whence it came.,

 

[Johnny Rock]

I've had this happen in two different vehicles.

First check in the air filter area under the hood. Take out the filter and see if it's chewed up, droppings, etc. Vacuum it out and try to get suction so it pulls from deeper down the tube. Then replace the filter.

Next go into the space under the glove box on the passenger side and remove what you need to to get to the HVAC blower fan. When you take that baby out it's likely all messed up. One was even out of balance because they chewed the fan blades. Clean all that up. If it can't be cleaned well enough buy a used blower fan at a junkyard and plug it in. Put it back together. It will immediately be better but will dissipate more with time. Febreze that mf.

Get a mouser cat so hopefully it doesn't happen again.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Or trade it in on a day when it's 72 degrees with a light breeze. No need to run the fan. If they turn on the fan yell out wtf!

 

[Das Boot]

Start studying the art of Zen: eventually you'll be able to completely tune out the odor.

 

[KCitons]

Start studying the art of Zen: eventually you'll be able to completely tune out the odor.

Didn't you read the OP? The mouse is in the vent, not the radio.