Atlanta drivers spend a lot of time in metro-area traffic. Between regular use, too much time between vacuums or car washes, or air filter replacements, your car can start to smell strange quickly. Here are five fast ways to keep your car smelling great so you can breathe easily during your weekday commute.
5 Fast Ways to Keep Your Car Smelling Great
1. Vacuum your car once a week
Whether you take your vehicle to a local car wash or pull out your handheld vacuum cleaner, vacuuming your car once a week can go a long way towards the air quality in your car. Crumbs in the seats and dirt and debris on the floor mats contribute to building odors. Getting rid of these culprits regularly helps prevent odors from building up over time.
Airing out your floor mats once a month (weather permitting) can help them stay fresher longer.
Note: Sprinkle baking powder on the seats and floorboard before vacuuming. The baking powder absorbs unpleasant odors naturally and will leave your car smelling fresh.
2. Hang an air freshener in your car
An air freshener is one of the most tried and true ways to keep your car smelling great. A standard air freshener might not get rid of odors, but it can help mask unpleasant smells. Similarly, you can place a scented (but unlit!) candle under your front seat to help mask the smell in your car.
Depending on your budget and the smell in your car, you may want to consider a car air freshener that contains deodorizing agents. Vent clip-ons can help circulate air fresheners throughout the vehicle’s cabin.
3. Deep clean your car’s interior
If the smell in your car is unbearable, it may be time to do a deep clean. Some car washes offer deep cleans, but you can also make an interior car wash an afternoon project. Just make sure it’s a sunny day!
Deep cleaning your car ideally includes the following:
- Leave the windows open to air out the vehicle while you are cleaning
- Spot clean stains on your upholstery, floor mats, and footwells
- Scrub your dashboard with a disinfectant
- Use window cleaner to scrub the interior-facing windows
- Use leather cleaner on your seats, if applicable
- Vacuum your car thoroughly, including the seats, floormats, footwells, and the crevasses between the seats
- Remove the floor mats from your car, shampoo them, and then air them out, ideally letting them hang from a line or draped over a balcony
Clean up food and drink spills as they happen before the odors have an opportunity to set. Regularly cleaning mistakes as they happen will also help reduce the amount of work you’ll need to do when it’s time to deep clean your car.
4. Deodorize your car naturally
There are a few different ways to deodorize your car naturally. These options absorb the smells and may take time to fully get rid of the unwanted odor.
- Place a box of baking soda in your car, much like you would in your fridge
- Fill a sock with coffee beans and place it underneath the driver’s seat
- Place some lumps of charcoal beneath the front seat
- Put an open box of dryer sheets beneath the front seat
As far as ways to keep your car smelling great, this method is effective but takes time. You may need to wait several weeks for these methods to take full effect depending on how strong the smell in your car is.
5. Replace your car air filter
Sometimes, the source of strange smells in your car isn’t in your vehicle’s cabin at all but is actually caused by your air filter. A strange odor in your car can be a sign that your air filter needs replacing.
Your air filter is easy to overlook when it comes to regular auto maintenance. It traps dust and other road debris and, much like the HVAC system in your home, needs to be replaced regularly. For the most part, you can expect to replace your air filter every 15,000 miles. The exact interval will depend on how often you drive and the types of road you drive (regular dirt road driving will lead to more frequent changes).
Car Air Conditioner Inspections and Repairs at T3 Atlanta
If you’ve tried every DIY suggestion to improve your car’s smell and nothing seems to improve the smell of your car, then it’s possible your air conditioner is the culprit. T3 Atlanta can determine if your air filter needs replacement or another component in your air conditioner needs work. Give us a call and book an appointment at one of our convenient metro area locations today!
This tip ultimately comes down to a personal preference. Slip-ons and sandals are ideal for long drives, but some people live in their sneakers. Whatever your footwear of choice might be, you’ll ideally want to avoid shoes that constrict or cut into your skin to help make your drive as comfortable as possible.
By keeping snacks and other trip essentials within reach, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle when, two hours into your trip, you realize that you need a charging cable for your phone or GPS.
Stopping and stretching helps keep you alert, which is important when it comes to late-night or even overnight drives. When you push yourself past your limits on a marathon drive, your reaction time and alertness decrease, which can be a dangerous combination for yourself and other drivers on the road. Stay safe and rest when you need to; that’s what rest stops are for.
Unfortunately, a VIN check doesn’t always tell you if a car has been water damaged. The previous owner could be deliberately hiding the damage or may not know that the vehicle ever experienced water damage. In addition, water damage that was not reported to the insurance company may not show up on a VIN check.
4. You Notice Rust or Corrosion on the Vehicle
The short answer about whether car airbags can be replaced is that it depends. Some vehicles have curtain or side airbags which further complicate the question. Some newer cars even have knee or rear airbags to reduce your chances of injury during a collision.
Newer vehicles are equipped with airbags that do not expire, or at least, not quite. The airbags are designed to last for the life of the vehicle.
Older vehicles generally feature airbags that work on a different system – if they have airbags at all. The first airbags appeared in the 1970’s. With the technology being so new, manufacturers at the time were uncertain how long airbags could last and still be effective.
Buying a car is an investment, so it’s important that you do your research before you buy. The more informed you are, the better equipped you are to spot problems with candidates.
In addition to these more general research points, you should also take an in-depth look at the specific vehicle you plan to purchase. A car that has a lot of repairs, especially if they appear to be for the same thing, is at an increased chance at being a potential lemon.
While you may not be able to identify mechanical problems on your own, a visual inspection can still tell you a lot about the car. Check the inside and outside of the car to look for engine, structural, and water damage that can cause long-term problems. Of these, water damage is by far the worst from a long-term cost standpoint. After all, water and mechanical parts don’t mix!
After-market accessories like mufflers, electronics, speakers, or other electrical system add-ons might sound attractive, but there are a lot of hidden dangers with these neat extras.
There’s nothing like the excitement of new car ownership crashing to a stop because of an unexpected repair bill. T3 Atlanta recommends that you have any vehicle that you are strongly considering inspected before you buy. If the dealer you’re planning to shop with refuses to let the vehicle be inspected by an independent mechanic, that’s a red flag you should not ignore.
A sun screen is an affordable and easy way to not only keep the temperature inside your vehicle cooler but prevent damage to your dashboard and electronics caused by regular exposure to heat and UV rays.
Just like keeping your car’s window open for your dog can help keep Fido cooler while you’re at the store for a few minutes, keeping your windows cracked can help keep your vehicle’s electronics from getting damaged.
While this may not always be a possibility, parking in the shade can help keep the temperature in your car cool. When combined with a sun screen or keeping your windows open a crack, your car will be a comfortable temperature when you’re ready to go.
Ethanol, also known as bioethanol, is a type of alcohol produced by certain crops. Corn, sugar beets, barley, potatoes, sunflower, grains, wheat, and many other types of crops can all be converted into ethanol.
That means manufacturers can offer consumers a cleaner-burning, cheaper fuel that doesn’t sacrifice power. However, ethanol does reduce fuel efficiency in cars that are not optimized to run on ethanol. Vehicles that are designed to run on fuel that contains ethanol will have a smaller margin of decreased fuel economy.
You may that certain gas stations also feature a standalone pump that, much like diesel, advertises its own selection of fuel. Flex fuel contains up to 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and can only be run by certain types of vehicles.
It’s possible that an overly enthusiastic pull on your parking brake can cause it to become stuck. In this case, the parking brake has become clamped against the brake shoes too hard and may actually require a professional to unstick.
Ice can actually freeze your parking brake in place. While this isn’t a common problem in the Atlanta area, it’s a possibility to keep in mind if you’re traveling out of town during cold weather.
There are a lot of fluids in your car at a given time: transmission fluid, oil, brake fluid, and coolant, to name a few. Transmission fluid often appears dark, slick, and shiny like oil, but unlike oil, it usually has a burnt smell. Leaking transmission fluid generally appears around the front or middle of where your car is parked.
Gear slippage refers to a few different possible symptoms. These directly impact how your car performs. In turn, they can lead to safety issues if your engine performance means you cannot respond promptly to changes in traffic.
There are many types of fuel grades, but the ones most commonly seen at U.S. gas pumps are 87, 89, and 93. The numbers refer to what’s known as the ‘octane rating’ – a number that measures how much pressure fuel can withstand before igniting. The lower the rating, the more readily the fuel will combust. The higher rating, the more resistant the fuel is to ignite.
It might seem like a great idea to put Premium gas in your car, but the truth is that manufacturers have done a lot of testing and calibration to optimize engines for certain grades of gas. Putting Premium gas into an engine that runs on Regular may actually do more harm than good, and vice versa.
