There are a few problems in life that a simple life hack cannot solve. One of the most prevalent problems has to do with removing foul smells from your car. Maybe it’s from a recent fishing trip, sweaty clothes from soccer practice or you had a little too much fun while drinking with your friends over the weekend.
Whatever the case may be, it can be simply solved with two household items – a clothespin and essential oil. I know what you’re thinking, there is no possible way these two items will combat the foul odors in your vehicle, but read on.
This do-it-yourself air freshener is constructed from rubbing essential oil on the clothespin and then attaching the clothespin to your air conditioning vent. That’s all it takes to get the car smelling clean again. You can also use this trick for your home air conditioning unit.
Another trick to remove odors is done using powdered baking soda and powdered charcoal, Lifehacker details. The substances can be easily vacuumed and cleaned and they’ll remove foul odors like cigarette smoke in no time and much more easily than common remedies like coffee grounds.
One solution to remove foul odors that is often overlooked is to wipe the surfaces of the car, Wikihow reports:
Use a soft cleaning cloth to wipe every plastic, wood, glass, and metallic surface inside the car. If you want to use anything other than warm water, rely on mild detergent as it will be safe for most surfaces, and glass cleaner for glass. For leather seats, use an appropriate leather cleaner. Alternatively, you can ask for a suitable interior car cleaner at your automobile store. If it’s a really hot day, leave the doors and windows open to let the car cool down first or it’ll be hot and unpleasant as well as super odorous!
Vacuuming your car also does the trick, as does sprinkling deodorizer. Steam cleaning is another good idea, but Wikihow gave some important tips to follow if you go that route:
Try to get an extracting machine that has a clear nozzle. This will allow you to see the water that is being extracted from the seat. As soon as the water turns clear and you don’t see any dirt coming up through it, this means your car seats are clean and that there is no more dirt inside them. It also indicates that when they dry, they’ll come up looking like new again.
Sassy Liberty