Interior smells like farts on rainy days...

[Ballsie]

-97 LX450-

We have had a TON of rain lately and the interior smells like wet farts when I get in it on rainy days. All the carpet is dry as a bone. The sunroof is draining properly and the windshield is not leaking. Is it just because the carpet is old and gets smelly in high humidity?

The truck smells great on sunny days, not even a tinge of anything bad.

I wonder if Im the only one witnessing this problem.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, fungus more than likely. Dry fresh air or dehumidifier in car. Mike

 

[86tuning]

How long has this been happening? Ever shampoo the carpets?

 

[bryson]

Stop farting in the car...

Have you checked the air inlet under the cowl for stuff? It could possibly get packed with debris that gets funky when it's wet... There could also be stinky debris built up in your heater box. Have you checked the heater box drain?

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Hi, fungus more than likely. Dry fresh air or dehumidifier in car. Mike

After manually cleaning what can be manually cleaned in the ventilation system, I've heard of a method that involves turning the vent fan all the way up, draping towels over the vents, and emptying a can of lysol disinfectant into the intake.

 

[Kernal]

This thread may help:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/92253-cleaning-ac-system-evaporator.html

 

[greentruck]

Well, looks like that's the last surplus truck you'll ever buy from the Beverley Hills Chihuahua Rescue...

One other possibility since it is an LX...How long since you've changed the pink panties?

 

[Ballsie]

Thanks for all the replies. The ac/heater smell fine, no odor at all coming out of the vents. On nasty days I have to cruise with the windows down for the first few minutes to clear out the odor.

I just noticed it this last rain storm, It does not rain very often here and I didnt notice it last time we had rain.

I bet its the carpet. Id love a new fresh carpet kit!

 

[cruiserdan]

It may be the carpet padding. You could pull the carpet back and get a look (and sniff) at it. You might be successful pulling it out and pressure washing it. Perhaps there was something (like milk) spilled on it at some time.

 

[greentruck]

But seriously, I think Dan has it right. It's not just the carpet, it's all the sound-deadening, insulating padding.

If you could get it out, there are some super-odor absorbing products on the market that could help. The trick is picking one with minimal after-odor. There was some stuff they used in cleaning milk trailers where I used to work in the garage that would put down anything, but kinda lingered, so probably something else is what you want even if I could remember the brand name.

 

[guzzla]

I've found showing more often works wonders. I now do it once a month, whether I need it or not

 

[80t0ylc]

I've found showing more often works wonders. I now do it once a month, whether I need it or not

Would that be "showering"? Yes I've found that helpful ;p

 

[thatcabledude]

Spray Odoban all over your interior.

Also, if you are up to the task, do what Dan suggested. Pressure washing the carpet will do nothing but good.

 

[toddsmith1]

My truck smelled the same way after it rained this summer. I could hardly drive it due to the stink! I bought a can of Lysol and sprayed all the carpets. Problem solved. It has rained for the last 7 days here in Virginia and there is still no smell in my truck.

 

[Kernal]

FWIW my truck had a small and hidden windshield leak for a couple of years; the water would trickle down behind the DS kickpanel then over to a gulley in the DS footwell, from there is would get soaked up by the jute padding. The fix was having the windshield properly re-attached/sealed.

 

[SoCal FZJ80]

Smell in 80 Series Landcruiser / LX450 - How to reduce, or get it out

We encounter this smell problem on many rigs. It is 90% of the time the stink is in the carpet.

You need to pull the seats, center consoles, and trim. Completely remove the carpet from the car to clean. Simple "Extracting" with a machine just isn't as good.

Best is to separate the factory sound deadening from the carpet and toss it. You can install better aftermarket foam style deadener later that doesn't impregnate by liquids. You can do a search for these materials such as second skin, etc. Some have heat blocking as well.

Pull the carpet out and lay it on a clean concrete surface. You need to clean the carpet well with scrub brushes and carpet shampoo. Afterwards hang the carpet over a sawhorse or other tall device to rinse. If you have something with some pressure to hit it with water, it helps out a lot. You would be amazed how much filth drops out of a carpet that "looks clean". You can just imagine what will come out of a stinky one. Next clean the entire metal floor area. You don't want to drop your clean carpet on a stinky dirty floor.

You should see a serious improvement on odor for sure, and humidity will go down without the factory deadener. That moisture retention has also been known to rust out floor boards as well- so don't be surprised if you find some surface rust. If so, seal it with some POR-15 or similar before reinstalling your carpet.

We do this to almost every cruiser we have, even if it doesn't "need" it. It really improves the long term love-ability of your cruiser.

*** Of course fix where the water is leaking into the cruiser first This could be from a multitude of reasons not limited to: The windshield gasket, drain plugs in the floor allowing splash up, sun roof leaking, condensation dripping in from climate control system, or more... ***

Wish You Luck On Your Endeavor!

 

[86tuning]

If you're cheap like me and don't have any carpet shampoo around the house, laundry detergent works really good too.

I had the dreaded wet dog smell in my truck when I got it. Had it detailed by a Lexus dealership used car department and that helped a lot with the surface stains but only cut the smell by a bit.

Tried several odor destroyer chemicals including a product called Pure Ayre which works really well, but that didn't quite do the trick.

Not till I removed the rear carpet and pressure washed it with laundry soap did the odor go away. Still comes back in damp weather. I've got to pull the rest of the interior and carpeting to do the rest of the truck. It's on my 'someday' list. Annoying but not debilitating like the original stench was. Someday.

 

[blkprj80]

My rear windows were leaking and the back corners of the back carpet would get wet. Feel around back there and see if it's wet.
Lots of threads on here for resealing the windows.

 

[Poopy Puppy Paws]

Just take that vent under the steering column and aim it right at your nether regions. It will keep everything nice, dry, and fresh on your drive. As a matter of fact, my wife and I call it "the ball vent".

Seriously though, sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet, let it sit for a bit, then vacuum it up. It is easy, cheap, and it has always worked for me to freshen a carpet. If you have an underlying problem, well, you can still look for that. Why not have fresh carpets while looking, though, right?

I don't live in the rust belt, so I dunno if the sodium bicarbonate will cause rusting somewhere or not... that is the only downside I can think of.

 

[tone33]

+1 on carpet removal and pressure wash. I own a previously smoked in truck and nothing I did really seemed to help until I pulled the entire interior out and pressure washed all the carpet. I used laundry detergent and a stiff scrub brush. I was really surprised that I could keep rinsing brown water out for so long - there was a LOT of dirt build up from the past 19 years. I ditched the padding on the underside of the front carpet because it had been soaked through so many times from some water leak (prob windshield) and was probably moldy. I also installed "quiet c r a p" sound deadener too while I was in there ($250 roll will cover full floor). Smells like roses now, well almost.