Howdy, my Maverick was once home to a family of small rodents. (hopefully they enjoyed their stay) I've replaced the carpet however there is still a urine smell coming from underneath the rear seat where they were nesting. Does anyone know of any products or techniques to help get rid of this? It's not always obvious but when it get humid the smell is...less than ideal.
Is it in the seat itself? There is a bunch of that cotton batting in there that the mouses love to get into. If so, take it to an upholstery shop and have them redo it with fresh batting. You can try leaving the seats out of the car to air - but the smell will return if it is in that cotton. If not the seat - replace the asphalt underlayment and while it is out you can scrub the metal down with an ammonia killing detergent (like pine sol). If you have a friend with a commercial ozone machine you can leave it in the car overnight. But I'm afraid you need to get whatever is soaked with mouse pee removed to make it go away completely.
It SEEMS to be in the seat foam. The asphalt is gone and replaced with newer sound deadening. I dont think i can afford new foam padding as of right now, unless they sell it pre-made, which i severely doubt
I know several products that will cover the smell. But then your car will smell like that cover scent. About the only thing to do without replacing it, is get them out in the fresh air and sunshine and let nature clean it up. I know, not easy to do in winter. Cloth seats? A good cleaning and upholstery shampooing will help.
If you have a friend that owns or works at a hotel / motel - or owns apartments, chances are good that they have a commercial ozone machine. Commercial units are very good at eliminating odors. If you popped one in the trunk and the cabin for awhile it would do some good. In that tight a space I'd run it on a lower setting, as the higher settings will do a entire room.
Vinyl seats thankfully (in this case). I'll ask around about the ozone machine, I've seen one in use in a car once before. The head liner did have some nesting material in it as well...but the odor is definitely stronger from under the back seat.