Getting rid of sweat odor in the cloth seats

**chuckie669** · 03-06-2014, 04:53 PM

I bought a truck and had a similar issue.wife wouldn't even ride with me.ultimately I replaced the seats headliner and the padding mat under the carpet. Gl to you

**JayTA98** · 03-06-2014, 05:06 PM

Thanks chuckie. So far the seats are good. Headliner in question. Carpet is fine,no smell coming from it.

**JayTA98** · 03-08-2014, 01:00 PM

all right so I decided to shampoo the headliner myself. I tested a corner of the headliner backing and it held really good when it was wet. I couldn't find the small bisell unit I used to own. I decided to buy the cleaning solution with a spray bottle. I sprayed the headliner fabric with solution and worked it in with my fingers. once done I used my wet shop to suction as much I could. I then sprayed water and re suctioned again.

I did this process twice and let the headliner sit under the sun for 2 hours. it was dry to the touch. the headliner smell clean now.

my wife left car under the hot sun today for 4 hrs and no smell since I replaced the speaker grills. I have to put the headliner back in.

**JayTA98** · 03-08-2014, 06:09 PM

Well headliner is back in. I think I finally put an end to this awful smell. It also cleaned all the stains on the headliner. I will get the bisell shampoo machine when it is available again. Well worth it. This is what I used:

**Dzel** · 03-08-2014, 07:15 PM

Nice I can't stand that mildew smell

**JayTA98** · 03-09-2014, 04:59 AM

Originally Posted by Dzel

Nice I can't stand that mildew smell

This smell was worse than mildew. Damm cheap plastics.

**Dzel** · 03-09-2014, 07:03 PM

When I use to detail cars I would get a vacuum and some foam close all the vents and leave the vacuum on over night. Got any smell out of any car.

But it sounds like you got it already.

**JayTA98** · 03-09-2014, 07:39 PM

I got it so far. We are just airing out the strong smell of the cleaning solution. When we 1st got in it was a little irritating on the nose and eyes. I had a feeling it might happen since I couldn't got all the soap out. It got better as the day went. Im sureit will go away in a week or two.

I still take this smell over the original one. I just got to replace some clips I broke.

**JayTA98** · 03-21-2014, 03:48 AM

well the cleaning solution smell is gone to normal and the car smell great. Took a long time to figure it out but I will now remember for sure to check the plastics next time I smell this awful smell. Thanks for all the suggestions.

***SMWS6TA*** · 03-21-2014, 08:03 AM

So when do you start a car cleaning business?

**JayTA98** · 03-21-2014, 06:50 PM

not anytime in the future. I hated every second of it lol. I'm glad is over. now I got my house projects to finish. that will keep me busy for a while.

**KahanaReef** · 03-21-2014, 07:43 PM

At least you got it figured out and take care of.

**Z06-Goose** · 09-10-2014, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by JayTA98

Hi Guys. I just bought my wife a 2006 toyota camry with cloth interior. The car is in excellent shape. We bought at night time so we didn't had the smell issue. When the car sit in the sun or it is a hot day the seat release this nasty sweat odor. It is pretty strong.

I took the car to get the seats shampoo. It cut down the smell in half but is still there. I brought the car back and explained the situation to the manager. He sprayed the car with an odor eliminator but I can still smell the sweat odor. He told me sometimes they have to pull the seats and carpet out, pressure wash them and it takes care of the issue.

I'm trying to see if there is some products out there that I can try before I go back and try pressure washing. I'm never heard of this procedure and I do know some seats have weight sensors for the airbag.

I had a car from a smoker and I pulled the seats out (they were leather) cleaned every surface, shampoo the carpet myself (I had a small machine back then) and used ozium. After 3 months the smell went away.

I'm wondering if ozium will work on this. I can only smell the sweat odor coming from the seats. I tried feebreze and it last a day before the smell is back.

Any other products you guys suggest? Thanks in advance.

You need to shampoo the carpet, not just the seats.
Wipe and clean all surfaces inside the car, not just the upholstery.
The roof liner can also trap bad odors. Use some odor eliminator type spray on it, but make sure you test first as to not leave stains, etc...

**JayTA98** · 09-11-2014, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by Z06-Goose

You need to shampoo the carpet, not just the seats.
Wipe and clean all surfaces inside the car, not just the upholstery.
The roof liner can also trap bad odors. Use some odor eliminator type spray on it, but make sure you test first as to not leave stains, etc...

No, i don't need to shampoo the carpet at this time since the smell was not coming from it. the smell was coming from the speaker grills and got trapped in the seat and headliner. Since I cleaned all those and replaced the speaker grills the smell is gone. The carpet is in great shape and is clean. Thanks.