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Mousey Car
love2shoot
Member Posts: 576 ✭✭✭
Cousins car has been sitting for three years and has acquired a mouse smell. I scrubbed off the outside and vacuumed the carpet several times. You don't notice the smell inside till you turn on the fan, then it's mouse p all over. I stuck the air compressor hose down all the vents I could and let it eat but nothing came out. I figured there might be some nesting material, even a small amount, blow out but nothing did. It's a 2004 Ford Explorer V6 4wd and runs great, just stinks!
Any ideas?
Comments
peppermint oil and alcohol mix in a spray bottle , spray in every vent . This worked for me in the past, now I spray once a week and the mice stay out
I buy McCormick Peppermint Extract in the baking isle, a lot cheaper than heath food store stuff
The blower cage is a favorite place for nests.especially if it's horizontal.
ArmorAll makes a car vent cleaner that works good on tobacco smoke and other odors. I haven't tried it for mouse odor but it worked well for the other smells. Might be worth a try. If I recall correctly it was only about 5 bucks for a small aerosol can. Bob
My experience with mouse urine odor is that you cannot get rid of it. If it has soaked into something it will take six months to a year to dissipate. Possibly some of the suggestions will work to cover the odor. Good luck. I like the peppermint oil suggestion.
Check the blower for nesting material. They pee in it so that can be a big source of the smell.
Use a leaf blower to blow out the heater/AC passages.
Set it in the sun with windows open and a fan blowing across the dash/footwells.
Hang a dozen Black Ice trees from the mirror🙄
Find a china virus survivor that can't smell and sell it to them.
Glad to help.
Joe
I didn't have a mouse problem with my car, but when I turned on the ac I got a musty/mildew type smell. Not real bad but noticeable. I used Lysol disinfectant spray (see video below) and changed my ac cabin filter when done. It worked for me, but as I said mice weren't involved.
I have had to remove mouse nests 7 times. As the guys have said, the rodents build the nest in the heater/ac blower fan. It is a "squirrel cage" or in this case, a rat cage. Having built the nest then they wee wee in it.
Take it to your mechanic, believe me, he has seen it before.
Once you get the nest removed, get a spray bottle of Febreze. Set the a/c on recirculate and fan on high, squirt febreze onto the front floor board for 30 seconds, this will draw febreze into the a/c system, and saturate the fan with febreze. Do this every other day for 8 days.
Have fun, I always did.
If they went into the heater housing, best to remove it, disassemble & clean/deodorize from the inside. Happened to me & I just had the car dealer do it. Mice dribble pee everywhere they go, leaves a scent trail they can follow in the dark.
Happened to me with a car a few years ago. Sprays do no good. Mice had gotten into the AC system and nested on top of the cabin filter.
There is a company called NILODOR 800-443-4321 call them they have seen it all.
Ozone is your answer after removing the cabin air filter or the nest.
Try buying a can of cheap coffee, set the open can on the floorboard for a few days with the windows closed, running the fan occasionally.
Coffee works! Lay out a sheet of newspaper on the floor and dump out a pound of cheap ground coffee. The coffee will absorb the wee wee smell. Leave that coffee there for four or five days. I have used this trick several times.
Plus it makes your car smell like coffee.
As in any of these helpful tips, the FIRST THING you must do is to get into that duct work, and remove the nest.
Another vote for pulling/checking blower housing, cabin filter(if it has one), and possibly heater core. I assume all the vents are in good shape, if not then maybe also a nest in the ducts!
Find and remove nest, then time will help with the smell.
OK, IF you do each of the above "suggestions" I think your problem will be cured.