Got My Replacement!

[AtTheDriveIn]

After looking at many,many rotbox Explorers, dealing with idiotic (sometimes heavily drug-influenced) sellers, I FINALLY found a decent Explorer to replace mine that was totaled. See original posting here:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3353934&posted=1#post3353934


..Except it wasn't an Explorer..well technically it is..It's a 98 Mountaineer 5.0L (Which I LOVE. DAMN that 5.0 sounds nice.) I really like how the Mountaineers have a more aggressive looking front end compared to the seemingly wholesome looking Explorer front ends lol.

I ended up getting $1900 for the Explorer and I bought this Mountaineer for $1200 and it only has 142,000 miles on it. It needs an alignment, front tires and will eventually need wheel bearings as they're just starting to make noise.

The worst part of this truck is...well...It has quite a repugnant smell coming from the back seats. The previous owner had car seats in the back and well...You guys know how kids are if you don't clean up after them...There aren't stains on the rear seats and there isn't food,etc on them or on the floors but the smell which smells like rotten milk, is horrific smelling.

Other than dropping money to get the inside detailed and renting a steam cleaner, do you guys know how get rid of this damned smell? I was thinking of getting a crapton of baking soda and throwing it all over the seats, letting it sit there for a while and then vacuuming it up.

 

[chefduane]

I'd take them out completely. Scrub them down good with a carpet cleaner (maybe steam clean them) and deodorize them . Then let them air dry for a good while.

EDIT: Upon further review I see you are in RI. ..going into winter. So letting them air out outside is probably not an option. I used to get to Providence and Newport on business once in a while and it can get pretty chilly up there come this time of year. Do you have a spare room or garage where you could let them air out?

 

[biff9703]

If you're going to take the seats out, take the carpet out as well. Either pressure wash it, which is what I did, or replace it. Once the seats are out, it's only a little more effort to remove the carpet. I got some of that sound deadener from Lowes and put it in before I reinstalled the carpet. I don't know how much it helped, as I only drove the truck for a couple of days before I took the seats out, but it wasn't an expensive job, nor was it hard. Also, see if you can rent an ozone generator if the smell is still there after cleanup. Detail shops use them to rid cars of nasty smells.

 

[masospaghetti]

Taking the seats out and pressure washing them (those DIY car washes would be perfect) is a great way to do it, as long as you can dry them out. Winter in RI may make that difficult, since if they stay wet too long they will smell terrible again.

Try a carpet cleaning machine like this one, which is the one I own. It is incredible how much crap it will pull out of the carpet even when it looks clean, and its downright gross how much it will get out of dirty carpet.

http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-ProHe...593834&sr=1-7&keywords=bissell+carpet+cleaner

 

[swshawaii]

Ditto, the Bissell Little Green ProHeat works quite well. Only thing is the spray pattern is very wide and gets messy unless you are very close to the cleaning surface. Hot water is key to it's effectiveness. I also found the vacuum weak and used a good shop vac to remove residual moisture. Sears normally stocks the cleaning solution. Same #14259 unit on Amazon for a better price below.

http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-ProHeat-Compact-Multi-Purpose-14259/dp/B002KCMH6Q

 

[my98nnj]

Let a professional detail shop do the seat cushions, that Bissell has nothing compared to 100 PSI, piping hot water the pro's have. Even the vacuum the extractors have is so much stronger, it will get much deeper into the cushion.

 

[AtTheDriveIn]

Let a professional detail shop do the seat cushions, that Bissell has nothing compared to 100 PSI, piping hot water the pro's have. Even the vacuum the extractors have is so much stronger, it will get much deeper into the cushion.

I think I'm going to do this and just ask for a gift certificate to one of those places for Christmas. I managed to make the smell a whole lot better just by buying some shout carpet cleaner and vacuuming the crap out of the truck.

It was downright disgusting what I found buried behind the backseats:
-Old chicken wings
-Melted candy
-Pieces of a freakin' diaper
-Misc. unknown food in whole pieces.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


But yeah the smell is a billion times better and these carpets and seats would benefit so much from a 100PSI steam cleaning.

 

[Flash]

I think I'm going to do this and just ask for a gift certificate to one of those places for Christmas. I managed to make the smell a whole lot better just by buying some shout carpet cleaner and vacuuming the crap out of the truck.

It was downright disgusting what I found buried behind the backseats:
-Old chicken wings
-Melted candy
-Pieces of a freakin' diaper
-Misc. unknown food in whole pieces.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


But yeah the smell is a billion times better and these carpets and seats would benefit so much from a 100PSI steam cleaning.

I'm sure removing this stuff alone made a huge difference.