Hi All,

My newly acquired (story of the buy and photos will make the subject of a separate thread) 1998 XK8 Coupe is in an amazing state - both interior and exterior.

Exception makes this kind of "old mushy mildew" smell that gets in your clothes and hair. For me it's funny it reminds me of an old british lady (whom she is) but my wife says she wouldn't get in )

Thought it was coming from the textile lining. Went to the best detailing company around, did the interior using product like Leatherique and odor removals from Meguiar's (that can be applied on textiles only). The interior looks spectacular, the smell momentarly dissapeared from the seats and flooring but it seems the roof has a strong scent (although it looks perfecly clean and it was thoroughly cleaned).

The detailer says microbiologically speaking all the visible interior is cleaned. So the next step would be to dismantle the roof and see if there's something humid or rotting there (like a sponge lining or soundproofing material). Any other ideas/suggestions before making this move? Was this wildew/mushy smell encountered by anyone?

Will also change the particle filter and use again a Meguiar's product to clean the climate system but i doubt the smell comes from there.

Thank you very much

 

The typical source of these musty odors (in just about any vehicle) is indeed microbiological growth in the HVAC system, often in the ductwork. There are various products on the market that may or may not completely address your issue. Do more research before you decide to try another one....

Have you also thoroughly checked for dampness underneath the carpets throughout the vehicle?

 

The detailer said there's no humidity on the floors. I don't know how to check underneath the carpet (does that include ungluing it?)
Waiting for the particle filter and then i will use this Meguiar's product to clean the HVAC system (heard it's the best product around). However the source of smell IS the roof. The floor smells like clean.
Thank you

 

You might want to view this video, while it talks about smoke, it's the same thing bacteria embedded in fabric. If you can find a detailer with this equipment it may solve your problem, also as stated above clean the vents as well.

 

Thank you, i wrote him an email. Not sure steam would help eliminate something that is grown by humidity but for sure ozone would.

I checked out some detailing forums and i tend more and more to believe that the problem is in the HVAC system. That is why clothes and hair smell after driving it i guess - as in theory leather and plastic do not hold odors. Waiting for the new filter, will hit it with the odor cleaner and then see what happens. If things go bad will try with ozone (anybody tried this?). Hope i won't need to dismantle the roof.

 

Steam has a High enough Temperature above boiling and will kill any bacteria it hits. More people probably have Steam over Ozone machines, Good luck and keep us posted on your results.

 

Hi Trilapis,
I am responsible for, amongst other things, the health and safety on board large super yachts. It is a large amount of people living in very busy confined areas. The vessel must always be presented as new at all times. We use a new American product called Vital Oxide it is a hospital grade disinfection with the same chemical structure as water. you can use it anywhere, it damages nothing and It works, really works.
Check the blurb: Vital Oxide | VitalProductsCo.com
Best of luck, Sincerely, Colin.

 

Colin,

Thank you so much for the tip. I've written to them, hope they ship to Europe.

Any tips of using it? Just spray liberally i guess?
You've just added another option on my list. Will try the ozone first, than this. Key i think is finding the source. I really hope i won't need to dismantle the roof lining.

Thank you so much

Radu

 

We use an electrostatic sprayer to do each room quickly but a spray bottle works perfectly well. A good soaking to get the vital oxide deep into the material and just let it dry will box the whole job off perfectly.
You will find you end up using the VO just about everywhere. If you can smell mold or bacteria, it is just that. Trust your nose.
Have fun,
Colin.

 

the usual method for mildew is a salt water solution sprayed on and left to dry, most mildew bacteria is killed by the salt.

 

i promised some updates so here they are:

Seems like the first detailer was a fraud, he took my money and just semi-vacuumed the car (not even entirely). Found a friend of a friend that has the car for three days already, took out the seats, went under the carpets, used ozone etc. he found a lot pf mildew under the rear seat. He is now treating the seats with a lot of Leatherique (seems like the first guy just boasted he uses Leatherique...). He also thouroughly cleaned the HVAC system. He used also ozone/steam and everything he could throw at it. Amazing guy.
He said today he will give me a verdict if everything is cleared. Fingers crossed.

 

He sounds like he's doing a complete inside detail. Good to hear and I'm sure it will be nice to have no more mildew / damp smell. The 'detailers' come in all sizes and varieties... some hoping the owner doesn't look past the steering wheel when returned others get the job done!

 

You're absolutely right. I think that is another lesson learned in "always work with somebody by recommendation". I picked the first guy from a detailing forum. Called him and he seemed really nice and professional. Met him and had the same feeling...we've chat for like two hours. Better have spend those scrubbing instead of talking...

 

So yes i found the King Of Detailing! After cleaning all that was visible, there was still a bit of smell. So he removed the leather lining from the back seats and found a bit of mildew on the foam shape. Then he removed the door panels. Again some traces of mildew.

Now he's removing the back lateral panels and he will spend the next week cleaning everything, blasting ozone and odor remover. Hope we won't have to take the roof down but anyway given that everything is out it won't be such a big deal.

So i'm hoping at the end of next week the smell will be gone.

While removing the door panels i saw that the oem cardboard speakers need replacing. I have the base sound system i guess (speakers brand was philips) so i ordered some new ones that seemed to fit (16,5 cm diameter). Was thinking to upgrade the system with a jaguar amplifier and subwoofer. Would that work without a lot of wiring work? Read all the sound system upgrade threads but didn't find something like this.

Thank you

 

So final verdict: the smell is 95% gone! After two weeks of completely dismantling the interior - except the dashboard and treating it with a solution close to the one mentioned in this thread plus a lot of ozone and steam, going in all nooks and crannies, removing the leather from the seats (yes there was some mildew even there), it's all gone. Now it smells like a clean carpet - due to the mildew killing substance and a very vague smell of old. Will continue to ozone her once in a fortnight and i think the smell will completely dissapear. Thank you all for all the kind advice.

PS using this opportunity of the dismantled interior i also changed the speakers - found some from Focal that were bolt-on. Will let you know about the result for the moment the radio is asking me for the code, not really sure why ))

 

Hi Tril, too bad you do not have a convertible. Firstly I would recommend leaving you car in the sun with the top 1/2 way down for a nice sunny day. Second, if she was a drop top you'd probably have the pleasant aroma of green hydraulic fluid. ( I pretend its the leather seating). My real recommendation is to place a de humidifier in the vehicle for a few hours. See how much moisture you pull out of the interior. Open the window a little as the de humidifier pulls a good deal of air in a small area. Theory with the removed moisture goes a good deal of the odor. Keep doing so if the container continues to pull water. If you keep pulling moisture. Look for a leak. Hope it helps, good luck. Rich

 

Hi Rich thank you for the advice. The de-humidifier was the first thing i've tried. There is no humidity in the car. It's just like (and my mechanic, that has seen a lot of collection cars) it was stored somewhere for a long time. The places where mildew was gathered were really remote: inside the door panels, on that "cardboard" materials, underneath the leather of the back seats (between the leather and the sponge form), underneath the rear lower lateral panels. No sign of it under the floor, though. The car smells like furniture in exotic islands, if you've ever encountered that smell. It was kept in a warm and humid environment. The car comes from Italy, somewhere near Venice so maybe a damp garage is the answer. Considering its age/state it has sat for a lot of time.

Took it for a spin and i believe the front seats upholstery should be removed and checked as for example my trousers caught the smell (leather has been bathed on the exterior in Leatherique multiple times) He's thoroughly cleaned the hvac system but i'm thinking that maybe the dashboard is still hiding something. Still it smells like 5 times less than it did, so we're on a good track.

Thank you

 

Radu,
You're not going to be happy until 100% of the stink is gone. I don't know how your detailer cleaned the HVAC system without dismantling it. There is still a possibility some of the smell is from the AC. This is the text of a post I made a couple of years ago. The smell in my car has not returned but I keep a can of the stuff on hand just in case. It is that effective! ....
Right after I bought my XK8 I noticed a pretty foul smell when the a/c was on. I searched high and low for the cause. Cleaned the drip vent, which didn't need it. Cleaned vents at base of windshield. Opened the dash to get at the diffuser box. Couldn't find any reason for the stink. But the odor was bad enough to keep me from using the a/c unless it was raining. On a chance I bought a can of air conditioner duct cleaner from AutoZone. Shot half of the can into the vents at base of windshield and the rest directly into the cabin air intake under the dash on the passenger side. Immediately I was sorry I did. The perfumey smell was worse than the stink. For the next day or so I had to drive with the windows open. And then ... like magic ... all the smells disappeared. I could not have been happier. There was absolutely no smell even when the a/c was on high. That was about a year ago. Yesterday I noticed just a hint of a watery smell returning, so I stopped by AutoZone and bought the last can they had in stock (being sort of a seasonal item there was none on the rack, but the clerk found it in the back). If you've been plagued by a similar stink, give it a try. Comes in a skinny green and white can with a short nozzle for directing the spray. The manufacturer is IDQ and the name on the can is A/C & Heater Duct Cleaner. $7.99 and worth every cent. Someday maybe I'll find the cause of the smell, but for now this'll do.

Good luck. Smells stink!

John

 

Hi John,

So yes, we followed your advice and we dismantled the A/C system. You can't imagine what we found there...and the smell...

So far we've dismantled and cleaned as follows:

Trunk - the easiest. Smell is completely gone.

Rear seats - removed, found mildew under, removed the leather cover, cleaned the foam. Mildew under there too

Front seats - removed, removed the leather and the foam, cleaned, found some mildew under the cover too.

Front door panels - removed, cleaned

Rear panels - removed, cleaned

Carpets - removed - NO SIGN OF MILDEW there. That is strange but i'm happy as this is a sign that the car was not flooded.

HVAC system - removed - the part in the right under the dashboard - there was a lot of mildew there and the smell boy the smell! Plus some rotten isolation marerial that looked like a sponge that was stinking like hell. I think that was the origin of all mishap.

So we are now putting it back together, blast again with ozone and then see if it still smells.

If it does i don't know what to do next. Maybe taking down the roof and the entire dashboard?

Thank you all guys for the kind advice fingers crossed to get rid of this smell without having to rebuild the whole interior...

 

So the saga continues...

Still i think the problem is in the HVAC system, although after a two hours ride again the back of my t-shirt and trousers was smelling (although seats were removed, leather taken down, sponge cleaned, interior of leather cleaned). The detailer managed to reach that heating cylinder but didn't dismantle it totally as he needed to take down the dashboard and he was afraid.

While this 2 hour ride i turned the a/c on and almost nothing happens, even at max fan speed. I think either the tubes are clogged or the a/c unit is full of this mildew stuff.

So i think i need to take down the dashboard and the entire HVAC system. Not easy i believe...but now this mildew war is getting personal. Plus, i will try to source that Vital Oxide mentioned earlier in the posts...