Does Your Car Stink? Tips for our Long Beach Auto Body Shop

For the amount of time we spend in our cars, it’s not a surprise that sometimes our cars get a little stale smelling. Some of the common culprits responsible for stinking up our cars can include food and drink containers, coffee spills, pet odors or lack of cleaning.

The good news is that there are several simple inexpensive remedies for this issue. Below are some ways to keep your vehicle delightful smelling great:

1. Give your car a good interior clean

Sounds obvious but the best remedy is a good clean out, wipe down and vacuum. Get all the junk out of your car. Then use a surface cleaner designed for vehicles for all plastics, leather and trim. Make sure you get down into all the cupholders, books and crannies. Then give the carpets and seats a really thorough vacuum. For pet smells sprinkle a good dose of baking soda on the seats and carpets, let it sit for a few minutes while you’re wiping other stuff then vacuum it up. 

2. Spray freshener and dryer sheets

Not just for the laundry, you can spray Febreeze  or indoor air freshener in the car. Then grab a handful of dryer sheets and put them under your car seats or in your side door pockets for more fresh scent. You can also rub the fabric softener on all the fabric surfaces on the ceilings, carpets, and seats before stashing them. 

3. Put coffee beans in a sock

Fresh coffee beans can cut down even the most stinky of cars! Fill up 2 socks (knee-high nylons work well) with coffee beans or ground coffee, tie them, and place them under the driver’s seat and passenger's seat.  Brown paper bags under the seats work just as well.

Those are 3 really easy ways to spruce up your car. When you bring your car in to our shop for auto body repairs we always return it back to you sparkling inside and out.