How to get rid of "barn smell"

[CWilson]

My truck had been in storage for years in a barn. It has been stored in my garage for a year, and it still stinks like a barn. I've wiped it down with cleaners, sprayed Fabreeze, left a opened tub of baking soda in the cab, nothing works. Any suggestions?

Chris

[Mitch//pa]

install a new interior

[Ian in Mississauga]

I have had good results with charcoal (not brickets) for gas fumes and other smells but no experience with barn smell.

[billwill]

Call Halr Ton Fun in new jersey for new interior Good luck

[harleytoprock]

Try spraying "Natures Miracle" all over the interior. It's an enzyme that breaks down organic odors. The longer its wet the better.
http://www.natures-miracle.com/produ...r-remover.aspx

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Also make sure there are no mouse droppings anywhere, and wash all the metal with a good soap, then rinse and dry. I've heard coffee grounds work to get rid of odors.

I had an Omni where the mice nested, and it took 3 years to even make it bearable to enter the car without the windows open. I worked on my uncle's 1949 Ford that was stored in a chicken coupe, and it only took a week in the fresh air to make it smell OK.

[Marcus]

CWilson - I am assuming you cleaned well, to include under the seat and the dash, all the obvious places. Go on line and Google EdenPure; check out their air handler systems. Also, check Living Air for theirs..... I have a convertible that a rat got into and died (car was parked for an extended period all closed up) and the stink was unbearable. I placed the air handler into the car, closed it up for a weekend and by Monday AM, the smell was gone. Then a thorough cleaning with a strong disinfectant, and I've not smelled rat since.

[Tinker]

My family truck was used on a farm. I can still smell stuff in the hot sun, and I'm okay with that. You have to gut it and air it out.

[C26Pinelake]

There is a relatively new product on the market called cedar balls. Same as moth balls except it is aromatic cedar. I found it very affective and it is a whole lot cheaper than replacing the interior. Wayne

[Mitch//pa]

putting something in to mask the smell is not the way to go.. you need to attack and remove it

[Tinker]

No offence to anyone, but mothballs are highly toxic. You don't want to breath that stuff for too long. But not sure if that's worse then mouse or rat poop. Wear a mask if you decide to pull any critter nests.

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by CWilson

My truck had been in storage for years in a barn. It has been stored in my garage for a year, and it still stinks like a barn. I've wiped it down with cleaners, sprayed Fabreeze, left a opened tub of baking soda in the cab, nothing works. Any suggestions?

Chris

My 1933 didn't smell like a barn but smelled strange.
I wanted to capture the spirit of 1933 in my original interior car so I found a popular perfume that a classy gal would wear way back in 1933 when she might have been out on a date with Dillinger in 1933 and poured it on the rugs. Now every time I go for a ride, its like I just had a date with a 1933 showgirl.
Funny..Rather smell a gals perfume rather than a barn..Have fun.
Don't use cheap perfume, remember you have to smell it, but something classy.

http://www.nstperfume.com/2006/09/11...ar-in-perfume/

Here is the one I used

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guerlain-Vol...item4ae98272f7

[fiddlybits]

I have one of these in the back of the A and the 'old' odor vanished in about a week.
It also took the 'driven hard and put away wet' smell from my truck that has 430,000 miles on it and same for the prius with 200,000 miles of accumulated smell.

They are great, cheap and at home depot.

[31 Model A]

Originally Posted by FrankWest

Here is the one I used

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guerlain-Vol...item4ae98272f7

Could 1933 be when that old saying originated, "Damn!!!! Phew!!!!you smell like a French whorehouse!!!!!"

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by harleytoprock

Try spraying "Natures Miracle" all over the interior. It's an enzyme that breaks down organic odors. The longer its wet the better.
http://www.natures-miracle.com/produ...r-remover.aspx

Originally Posted by fiddlybits

I have one of these in the back of the A and the 'old' odor vanished in about a week.
It also took the 'driven hard and put away wet' smell from my truck that has 430,000 miles on it and same for the prius with 200,000 miles of accumulated smell.

They are great, cheap and at home depot.

Smart move on your part ! Wayne

[Steve Plucker]

A good wipe down with Simple Green worked for me.

Pluck

[SeaSlugs]

i learned that febreeze smells good when its cold but man if its parked where it gets hot this weird hot car/sweat/febreeze funk comes out... smells like the bottle of febreeze got set on fire...

[Gold Digger]

I have a friend that works at a auto salvage yard and they sometimes get mechanically perfect cars in that have had a died body in it for sometime and leaves a terrible order that most of the time the insurance companies decide to just go ahead and salvage out. One of the tricks the salvage yard tries is buy a fresh shuck gallon of paint and open it and leave it in the car with the windows up for a few days. Sometimes it works and sometimes it don't. Be careful what you buy.

[ThomasN]

Well, laugh if you want to, but my Dad had a similar problem. A friend suggested he put a box of apples in the back seat and leave them to totally rot. A few months later the smell was gone and the apples smelled like sH&t

[M2M]

Doesn't a "barn-fresh" smell add thousands of dollars to the value of an old car?

[ronn]

try "odor gone" doesnt mask-breaks down the odor and rids.....................

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by 31 Model A

Could 1933 be when that old saying originated, "Damn!!!! Phew!!!!you smell like a French whorehouse!!!!!"

That's if you use cheap perfume.

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by CWilson

My truck had been in storage for years in a barn. It has been stored in my garage for a year, and it still stinks like a barn. I've wiped it down with cleaners, sprayed Fabreeze, left a opened tub of baking soda in the cab, nothing works. Any suggestions?

Chris

If the smell is really bad...You will have to always keep the windows open at all times especially when driving ...Sooner or later the smell will vanish? Or it may always be there and you will have to cover the smell with another smell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pEhqiCD27E

[Rex_A_Lott]

I'm going through the same thing right now with an old coupe. I've tried several things, mothballs, febreeze, leaving it out in the weather with the windows down....nothing helps much.
I believe that Mitch is right, replacement is the best way...but this car is driveable, and its far from being ready for a new interior. I was just trying to make it bearable for a little while.
Thanks for some new suggestions.

[clinton perry]

Chris Try burning a couple of plumbers candles a couple of days. Works good for cat smell in mu pump house. Good luck. Clinton

[30aadoodlebug]

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Originally Posted by M2M

Doesn't a "barn-fresh" smell add thousands of dollars to the value of an old car?

Embrace and enjoy it! That's why windows roll down. Otherwise, I agree with Mitch/Pa. It may be time for a new interior or some type of carpet shampoo.

[FL&WVMIKE]

You might try products, that are sold in pet stores, to get rid of odors. They get pretty strong, at times.
MIKE (mikeburch)

[burner31]

I have no sense of smell, so I'll take it, it's a win, win

OK, I'm lying, I do smell...wait...what?

OK, let me try that again, Yes, I can smell but I don't care, I'll gladly take Ole' stinky off your hands.

[Tiny]

Sprinkle baking soda all over everything. Don't cheap out on the baking soda either apply liberal amounts of the white powder everywhere. Make it look like a drug deal gone bad. Do this and then set a few open jars of vinegar in the truck. Change the vinegar every couple of weeks and vacuum up the baking soda and re apply on the same schedule I would do this with the windows up. I inherited some furniture from my grandmother, this is how I got rid of 60+ years of nicotine smell. If it works for smokers smell I'm sure it will take care of barn smell. In my case it took about 6 months.
Good luck

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Ted scooped 5 gallons of rat/mouse poop, from a coupe! Got rid of the smell by washing out EVERYTHING with BLEACH!
Bill W.

[Keith True]

No matter what you do,you need to get rid of where the smell is coming from first.If all the traces of mice and chipmunks have been cleaned out,the smell will slowly get better.When you say it is staying the same or worse with time,that tells me that there are still old nests in there.You will find them in the doors,in the cowl panels,hip panels,in the seat cushions,and in closed cars,in the headliner.In open cars they will also nest in the padding over the top irons on each side.I've seen coupes and Tudors with nests in the upper corners between the rear window and side windows.I've seen those nests go from the beltrail wood right up to the very top.If they are in the headliner,it really is almost impossible to do anything except replace it.You will ruin it taking it out to get behind it.

[CWilson]

Thanks for all the good suggestions. It doesn't smell bad... just smells like a barn. Never had mice in it, nothing like that. I will try removing the seats and spraying down the under sides of the seats that might have absorbed the odor. I'm sure it is in the cloth or whatever its made of. At least it's a pick up with no carpet or fabric seats.

Actually, it wasn't in a "barn", but a completely enclosed pole building that had farm equipment and what not. More smells like a mixture of fertilizer/used motor oil/diesel fuel/ stale gasoline... No rodents.
Chris

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by CWilson

Thanks for all the good suggestions. It doesn't smell bad... just smells like a barn. Never had mice in it, nothing like that. I will try removing the seats and spraying down the under sides of the seats that might have absorbed the odor. I'm sure it is in the cloth or whatever its made of. At least it's a pick up with no carpet or fabric seats.

Actually, it wasn't in a "barn", but a completely enclosed pole building that had farm equipment and what not. More smells like a mixture of fertilizer/used motor oil/diesel fuel/ stale gasoline... No rodents.
Chris

air it out real good...it may take time..You set up fans blowing fresh air into a an open and another fan blowing out the other door. Continue this for weeks..
Never close the doors and roll down thee windows. Open the windshield too..to get fresh air to circulate in and carry the stink out the other side.

[Tinker]

10 yrs later till removing the all the dirt from the frame and suspension that had natural fertilizer, a little bit would still come through on a hot day. Dryer sheets and stay in the shade if ya can. ��

[1crosscut]

One way to think of it is if you can smell it it means that the molecules that are causing the smell are drifting away thus leaving the car. If parking it out in the hot sun makes it smell worse it means you gaining ground.
I know I'm a bit off sometimes.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I remember the smell of walking into the old machine sheds on farms and smelling the mix of oils and grease. If I could get my car to smell like that I'd be glad.

[CYB4]

Hello, try an ozone treatment to get your "barn smell" away. Have a look to the attached link:


http://m.wikihow.com/Do-an-Ozone-Sho...t-on-a-Vehicle

[theHIGHLANDER]

I read that an open container of alcohol sealed up within an enclosed area will take the old book smell away. Something about the vapors as it evaporates will attack the offending odor molecules. Caution advised as always due to the flammable nature, but a few bottles poured into a bucket and close it up for a week? Sounds like a cheap experiment to me, but just use caution.

[mshmodela]

Surely clean the car. I'm guessing it is your seat and or interior.. You may wish to try some pet odor enzyme spray in a small known section that smells. Naturally, you'll need to do the same in a small section in each different type of material that you suspect has oder..

[desotoguy]

Spray the inside with vanilla extract. Will cover most odors.

[5851a]

Bought a car once that had more mice in it than a old corn crib. Guy delivered it on a trailer one hot August day with the windows rolled up, neither one of us could unload it for awhile. I cleaned every square inch, all interior out, cleaned washed and dried and still smelled. Took it to a auto detailing shop with a ozone generator, left it with them overnight. Don't recall the cost but 7 years later still no odor.

[Stew Masche]

Ace hardware (and other stores) carry a product called Fresh Wave. Put a few containers of that in and give it a try.

[Ted Duke]

Wear goggles, mask, gloves. Remove all dead mice, droppings, etc. Scrub what you can reach with bleach. Use an ionizer. type ionizer in your search engine to find one.

I bought a nice used car once that smelled so bad of cigar and ? that I was tempted to burn it. Used an ionizer overnight and next day and have never had a sniff of whatever it was again.

[Bob-A]

I keep glass pickle jars with the metal tops punched with holes. Full of mothballs and placed under the seats of my three old cars. I don't detect any mothball smell or have any problems with pests.

In reference to what Tom Wesenberg said. In my shop I sometimes leave
my original '31 deluxe roadster and '29 Chevrolet 2-dr coach parked side by side in it. Neither car has ever been actually restored. Just maintained to stay running. Both cars just ooze patenia. At times I'll walk into the building and just stand there enhaling all that beautiful historic
American automotive aroma! For real, it is indescribably delicious!

Bob-A

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by 5851a

Bought a car once that had more mice in it than a old corn crib. Guy delivered it on a trailer one hot August day with the windows rolled up, neither one of us could unload it for awhile. I cleaned every square inch, all interior out, cleaned washed and dried and still smelled. Took it to a auto detailing shop with a ozone generator, left it with them overnight. Don't recall the cost but 7 years later still no odor.

An excellent solution! Wayne

[SHEC]

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I have found good success with the Arm & Hammer Baking soda refrigerator boxes. They cost about .25 cents each.

You open 3-4 of those baking soda guys and it absorbs the smell. It takes about a week or so..................

Good luck -

Be well -

SHEC

[Synchro909]

We once stayed in a rented house where the refrigerator had broken down who knows how many weeks before. The contents were VERY ripe. A tray of coffee grounds cleared it in no time. Virtually no cost so give it a try and please let us know how it goes.

[CWilson]

I removed the seat and backrest from the tuck for a day,and put them outside. Next day I walked out to the garage, and the smell was all but gone. Obviously the seats were the problem. Turned them upside down and sprayed the bottom sides of the seats where there was some foam and burlap, (just used fabreeze) until they were good and wet. Few days later I installed the seats back in the truck, next day went out to the garage, smell was gone. Thanks for all the advice.

Chris

[redmodelt]

Vinegar works on some things, like cat pee. I don't mind the vinegar smell so I would spray every inch of the car including the under and back side of the seats good. Check for color fastness first. Leave the car out in the sun doors open and seats out if you can let it air out.

[Rex_A_Lott]

Originally Posted by redmodelt

Vinegar works on some things, like cat pee. I don't mind the vinegar smell so I would spray every inch of the car including the under and back side of the seats good. Check for color fastness first. Leave the car out in the sun doors open and seats out if you can let it air out.

I'm not sure about fresh vinegar straight out of the jug, but I've seen the havoc hot vinegar spewed out of a leaky radiator will cause...I wouldnt recommend it. It might cause rust and/or discoloration.

[redmodelt]

"havoc hot vinegar spewed out of a leaky radiator will cause.." the reason to put vinegar in a radiator is to break down and dissolved rust and build up, so I guess HOT spewed would contain the that dissolved stuff would make a mess . Anything wet has the potential to cause rust and I have not seen any damage done to painted surfaces, yet. Vinegar sold in the store is only a 3% acid solution.
You will note I did say check for color fastness.