Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. I bought an 02 Focus 3 months ago and am delighted with it apart from since it has started raining (the floods of Noah??). Whenever it is wet there is a disgusting smell inside the car as though some small creature has died. I've had it cleaned in and out and tried to mask it with freshener but it is gross!! Someone said the drainage channels may be blocked and that when it rains the wet reactivates the grunge in there?? Does any of that sound possible?? Any ideas please as I am desperate (and my baby grandchildren are not keen on the smell either). Thanks in advance, Val. :(

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. I bought an 02 Focus 3 months ago and am delighted with it apart from since it has started raining (the floods of Noah??). Whenever it is wet there is a disgusting smell inside the car as though some small creature has died. I've had it cleaned in and out and tried to mask it with freshener but it is gross!! Someone said the drainage channels may be blocked and that when it rains the wet reactivates the grunge in there?? Does any of that sound possible?? Any ideas please as I am desperate (and my baby grandchildren are not keen on the smell either). Thanks in advance, Val. :(

when it rains, check to see if your passenger side carpet is getting wet. sounds to me like your pollen filter is letting in water.

when it rains, check to see if your passenger side carpet is getting wet. sounds to me like your pollen filter is letting in water.

I have checked all inside the car and there is nothing damp at all. Thanks for the reply and advice though.

Is it possible that by some massive coincidence you happen to step in some dog poo every time you get in your car when its raining?

Or that maybe rain has some sort of strange effect on your passengers that causes them to !Removed! when they get in?

Or maybe theres a dead badger in the glove box that has some strange reaction with the rain causing it to become some sort of !Removed!-Badger?

It might be worth checking this stuff out, just to be sure. You know how it is these days, you have just got to be soo careful.

Best of luck :)

Check the pedals, maybe something nasty stuck on them that the heater gets warmed up!

Do you have a sunroof...those be the drainage mentioned.

Also, when you put the heating on first thing, does the car steam up and take a long time to clear??...if so look into a leaky matrix, warm anitfreeze isnt the nicest of smells.

Also, is it related to when you use the A/C??

Piggy :)

Check the pedals, maybe something nasty stuck on them that the heater gets warmed up!

Do you have a sunroof...those be the drainage mentioned.

Also, when you put the heating on first thing, does the car steam up and take a long time to clear??...if so look into a leaky matrix, warm anitfreeze isnt the nicest of smells.

Also, is it related to when you use the A/C??

Piggy :)

if its a curry like smell it will be the heater matrix leaking the car will also need the water topping up every so often otherwise ide say damp you need to check under the carpet not just feel the top check the boot front and rear footwells also

if its a curry like smell it will be the heater matrix leaking the car will also need the water topping up every so often otherwise ide say damp you need to check under the carpet not just feel the top check the boot front and rear footwells also

Air-conditioning systems in general, have to be sanitized regularly, more-so if they havn't been run regularly. the condensate created by them needs to drain away, as foul micro-bacterial growths are created by these systems. Garages have sanitizing sprays. The main risk is Legionaires Disease, which a colleague of mine got while on holiday in Orlando, Florida. That was 3-months to recover from a months family holiday.

You should run the A/C regularly anyway, as there is a lubricant in the coolant, which keeps the compressor seals moist & supple.

Air-conditioning systems in general, have to be sanitized regularly, more-so if they havn't been run regularly. the condensate created by them needs to drain away, as foul micro-bacterial growths are created by these systems. Garages have sanitizing sprays. The main risk is Legionaires Disease, which a colleague of mine got while on holiday in Orlando, Florida. That was 3-months to recover from a months family holiday.

You should run the A/C regularly anyway, as there is a lubricant in the coolant, which keeps the compressor seals moist & supple.

thanks for all your good suggestions (re the dead badger - nice to know all forums have a wiseguy!) have had pollen filter changed and drainage channels cleaned (filter was a bit yuck so sorry I dismissed that bit of advice) and it didn't smell quite as bad this morning. I will certainly get the air con sanitized cos I haven't used it at all - prefer fresh air and keep thinking about the cost. Anyway, thanks again for all your help.

Is it possible that by some massive coincidence you happen to step in some dog poo every time you get in your car when its raining?

Or that maybe rain has some sort of strange effect on your passengers that causes them to !Removed! when they get in?

Or maybe theres a dead badger in the glove box that has some strange reaction with the rain causing it to become some sort of !Removed!-Badger?

It might be worth checking this stuff out, just to be sure. You know how it is these days, you have just got to be soo careful.

Best of luck :)

Nearly fell off my chair reading this one!!!

Just got a bad image of an dead badger in my glove box pmsl

i must add this quick comment

my friend had this in his car he was trying to work out what it was for weeks, one day his dad decided to take it to work he also noticed the smell, he left work early took it home and dismantled the air-con unit, were guess wat he found..not quite a dead badger but he did pull out a dead rat didnt smeall after that.

I still think that this could easily be dog chod

YO!! Winchmore!

Have you sorted out your smell yet?

My Dad had a really bad smell in his fiesta not long back. When he traced it, it was the washer fluid in the windscreen washer bottle that had gone off and stank really bad.

Judging from the fact that he hasn't been back for a while I'll take it that his car still stinks of dead badgers and dog chod

how unfortunate for him

Judging from the fact that he hasn't been back for a while I'll take it that his car still stinks of dead badgers and dog chod

how unfortunate for him

We could just put it down to we fixed the problem and it was a dead badger covered in dog chod and we'll wait till he has another problem before we see him again. Dunno why people dont stick around and become part of the forum instead of just using us when they have problems for free advice. That way they might learn something from other people problems.

Dead badger and dog chod, he is prob's sat there reading this thinking what a bunch of wan***s. lmao! might just be the smell of the car or a pervious owner could of been a hunter and let him a present behind the dash or something.

merry crimbo folks

Mike

anyone go shopping asda etc and stick the shopping in the boot? bough while you were there? ive noticed that when it comes to car smells the boot is the likely culprit get youre snout down and sniff the boot carpet you may find that the smallest amount of milk leaked out of the bag and onto the carpet as time passes it will stink the whole car out

We could just put it down to we fixed the problem and it was a dead badger covered in dog chod and we'll wait till he has another problem before we see him again. Dunno why people dont stick around and become part of the forum instead of just using us when they have problems for free advice. That way they might learn something from other people problems.

Dead badger and dog chod, he is prob's sat there reading this thinking what a bunch of wan***s. lmao! might just be the smell of the car or a pervious owner could of been a hunter and let him a present behind the dash or something.

merry crimbo folks

Mike

I agree with both of you!

Lets face it, dog chod smells, and thats a fact. If he was keeping a dead badger in the glovebox (which I suspect he was) it would have caused a smell, that is also a fact.

I mean, why the hell was he keeping a dead badger in his glovebox? why would somebody do that? He must have know that it would have been as bad as dog chod, but he went ahead and did it anyway Then when we sussed out his weird 'dead badger glovebox' obsession, he pegged it!

Maybe the badger had trodden in dog chod before it died?

Maybe the badger had trodden in dog chod before it died?

Thats an interesting possibility SY99. Maybe the OP should think about wiping the dog chod off of the dead badgers, before putting them into the glovebox. Should hold the smell back by a few days untill the badgers 'death-rattle'. However eventually the badger is bound to become putrid anyway so I have some further suggestions

1. Install a refrigeration device into the glovebox itself, this should increase the 'shelf-life' of the dead badger

2. Pickle the badgers to preserve them for years at a time

3. Practice 'stock-rotation' of the dead badgers. ie: replace the old dead badger with a new dead badger before the old dead badger becomes rancid

4. Keep some 'wet-wipes' in the car to cleanse the dead badger before its installation into the glovebox itself

I have more suggestions so feel free to ask for more help if the above options don't work for you

I'm not very helpful to the OP really but on reading some of the comments I had to tell you my story!

My hubbys car absolutely stank! I noticed it every time I got in it. Subtle smell at first but over the weeks the smell just got worse. He hasn't much of a sense of smell so didn't notice it.

Anyway, I decided to have a good rummage under the seats and in the boot one day. To my disgust I found a filled dog poo bag in the boot!

Suddenly it all came flooding back! I'd taken the dog for a walk and had collected his doings but there was no bin about so I'd stuck it in the boot for disposal at home!! Then forgot!!!

In hubbys car too!!

Another time, when I worked in a care home I'd brought a bag of bacon fat home to stick on the bird table. Again I'd forgotten about it and it had gone under the seat! That was vile too!

It is worth having a really good rummage around, you never know what you may find!! You may have brought food shopping home and something has slipped out under a seat or into a nook and cranny somewhere!

To my disgust I found a filled dog poo bag in the boot! a bag of bacon fat That was vile too!

lol!

Excellent news!!! :)

I'm glad that you found the cause of your disgusting smell :)

Shame we never found out if Winchmore had solved their problem :(

Maybe this thread should be pinned to help people in future who also have a disgusting smell

lol!

Excellent news!!! :)

I'm glad that you found the cause of your disgusting smell :)

Shame we never found out if Winchmore had solved their problem :(

Maybe this thread should be pinned to help people in future who also have a disgusting smell

Glad you got it sorted...interesting source lol

My husbands Focus stunk after our daughter spilt milk/juice in the car without us noticing. My DH shampood the carpet scrubbing by hand, then sprinkled baking soda on the diagnosed areas and left a small plate of white vinegar out in the car cabin. Worked a treat after a few days...no sign of the original smell!

Glad you got it sorted...interesting source lol

My husbands Focus stunk after our daughter spilt milk/juice in the car without us noticing. My DH shampood the carpet scrubbing by hand, then sprinkled baking soda on the diagnosed areas and left a small plate of white vinegar out in the car cabin. Worked a treat after a few days...no sign of the original smell!

I must admit, Baking soda is excellent for smells! I make my own carpet freshener with it and essential oils.

Once I'd found the source of the smell it disappeared immediately, luckily! It was awful!

I must admit, Baking soda is excellent for smells! I make my own carpet freshener with it and essential oils.

Once I'd found the source of the smell it disappeared immediately, luckily! It was awful!

LauraGeeGee you're a star! :)