How to Get Vinegar Smell Out Of Car
Vinegar has a strong smell to it and not everyone can stand the smell of it. Having your car smell like vinegar is the worse because you are trapped in a small area. Getting the vinegar smell out of your car might be a challenge because it doesn’t have to be vinegar in your car that smells like that.
It can be plenty of other things that might smell like vinegar. Below are 6 reasons why your car might smell like vinegar so you know what you are doing when you try to get the smell out.
Why Does My Car Smell Like Vinegar
1. Old Cabin Air FilterÂ
A cabin air filter in a car filters the air that enters the car. So that means the air from outside might be passing through a dirty air filter and making your car smell like vinegar. A cabin air filter can be replaced for 50$ or less and it is located behind the car glove box if you open it then disconnected it.
2. Car FluidÂ
A car engine has a lot of fluid in it to make the engine work properly. The car engine is very hot and sometimes you can smell that fluid. Also, your car transmission has fluid as well so you can be smelling that if your car is leaking oil.
3. Rotten Food
The majority of us eat in our cars but we leave food dropping on the floor and forget to pick them up. Over time the food will grow mold and mildew and cause your car to have a nasty smell similar to how vinegar would.
4. Vinegar Spill From GroceryÂ
This had happened to me before when I bought a bottle of vinegar at the store not knowing it was leaking and it leaked on the car carpet and seat. If you recently bought vinegar and your car starts to smell like it then try to find where it spilled.
5. Air Vents
This is one of the top reasons why your car will smell like vinegar. Dirty air vents that blow all over your car might be dirty by the old cabinet air filter you had in. Replacing the old filter should fix the problem.
5 Ways To Get Vinegar Smell Out Of Your Car
1. Clean Air Vents
Cleaning your car’s air vents can make your car smell like a whole new car again. Your car vents will trap dust in them over time no matter what you do so clean them and your car should smell less like vinegar after doing this.
2. Using Baking Soda To Absorb The Smell
If vinegar was spilled on your car carpet, you can use baking soda to pour on the carpet to absorb the liquid and the smell of the vinegar as well. After that you can spray air freshener in the car to make it smell better. You can also place a box of refrigerator baking soda in the car to absorb any bad odors.
3. Use An Air FreshenerÂ
This might have been the first thing that came to your mind. But using an air freshener will help if you locate the source of the vinegar. Once the air freshener wears off the vinegar smell will come back in your car if you didn’t find the reason why the smell was there in the first place.
So try and find where the source of the smell is coming from and get rid of it then use the air freshener to mask the remaining smell of vinegar in your car.
4. Take Out Old Trash
As method above old trash in your car will cause your car to smell like vinegar. Doing a weekly cleaning of your car will eliminate this smell permanently. If you have a garbage bin in the car and you place food in it, take that food out as soon as you get home because the heat in the car will rot the food fast.
5. Open The Windows
This can be a quick and a permanent fix for the vinegar smell in your car. If you find where the smell of the vinegar was coming from and you got rid of it then you can leave your car windows open to get the smell out of the car. For a temporary fix driving with the windows down will hide the smell until you close the windows again.
Also Read:
How to get rid of rotten meat smell in car
How to get weed smell out of car
Final Thoughts:
If you haven’t spilled vinegar in your car then the main reason for the smell will be rotten old food or a dirty cabin air filter that is spreading air all over the car AC vents. Cleaning your car will fix this problem and replacing the cabin air filter will as well..