Getting rid of Lysol smell?

A

asus389

New member
The AC was repaired on my car and the carpet was replaced because of a leak in the door seal. The dealer took it upon themselves to spray lysol in the vents and apparently other areas of the car. How do I get rid of the lysol smell? It's been sitting in my garage windows down for 3 days and I still can't drive it without feeling sick. Is there any way I can ever get the lysol to go away? By my experience with this stuff, they must have used a lot of it because when I have cleaned bathrooms etc, it doesn't last this long. Lysol is pretty toxic to breathe in a confined space like a car. Help?
 
Run the car with the vents blowing on high for awhile, windows down

if not, take it back to the dealer and complain. Id be furious
 
Asus389 --

I am so sorry those obvious Idiots sprayed something toxic in your car and gave it back to you...

They must have found mold in there and tried to kill it - I hope they removed it all...

I know what you are talking about in that I once had a BMW M5 come to me, and the new owner said driving this car made him so sick he parked it for 1 year and it still made him sick after being parked for 1 year in his garage...

Here is what a website is saying about Lysol Spray ---
5 MOST TOXIC HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS:
#1 Lysol

"Lysol Disinfectant Sprays – Anything like this that you are spraying into the air and breathing in is highly toxic. The MIPA-BORATE chemical is said to cause developmental, endocrine and reproductive effects. Other ingredients such as AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE and ETHANOLAMINE cause harmful respiratory effects, general systemic/organ effects, nervous system effects, irritant to skin, damage to vision, and chronic aquatic toxicity. Plus the PETROLEUM GASES damage DNA and are linked to cancer."

I totally agree with ShaneB's advice - run the AC in there on high with the windows and doors open and see if that helps dry the dang stuff wherever it is and then the smell will go away - hopefully....

If it does not go away after this, I would go back there and talk to the Owner of that place and ask him to take your car apart and clean all that mess out and leave it scent-free or you are going to sue his butt off for endangering your health and long-term health of you and your family...

These guys - geeze - read the can why dont you??????

Good luck !
Dan F
 
Is there any chance this stuff will evaporate on its own? What happens if its under the carpet? What gets me is that they replaced the carpet to get rid of car wash soap that has soaked into the pad from the door leak over time, but then upon replacing it with new carpet, the same problem was essentially re-created by cleaning the car with lysol.

If it is in fact soaked into the porous materials in this car, is there any chance shampoo or extraction or something might get it out? What about ozone? would that help or make things worse?
 
If it's in the carpet, extraction with plain water would probably do well to remove any residue if there. I'm not exactly sure how Lysol is made to work. Does it leave a residue? Or does it evaporate completely? I'm sure someone can chime in.

Ozone was was my first thought but I don't think that is necessarily going to help in your case. Maybe it could help. Not entirely sure how it would react to it though.
 
Well, the only BEST way to remove the odor is to locate the source/s and remove the source/s completely...
Nothing else ever works... Bombs, cans of junk that go off in the car, etc., just cover ups trying to mask the real odor which again, will not go until you remove the source/s...

Did you try to open it all up, and run the A/C full blast for awhile ?? Did that help ?

Lysol I think, should not last forever; are you sure it was Lysol Spray ?

If they were dumb enough to use something like Lysol Bleach Toilet Bowl Cleaner, that stuff is really strong and the smell lasts a little bit.. I know this because this is what I use to clean my bathroom toilets... It works great... :)

Did you ask them if there was mold in the car (which in itself when growing is sometimes really toxic and can hurt your health), and if they say yes, ask them what they used to kill it and remove it??

Some chemicals used for Mold Removal are strong but then they dissipate...
Dan F
 
Wish I could help you . That lysol smell is so bad!!

I worked in an office years ago where the owners sprayed lysol after a baby/todler accident and it reeked so bad I could hardly breathe. The diaper smell would have been preferred over that!;)

When I came the following week the lysol smell was gone.

I guess it will depend how much was sprayed how long t will take to get rid of!
 
If you think it is in the vents, I would try a stream cleaner or ozone. I would most definitely take it back to where they did the work at and get them to pay for it
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have a call into the service people to try to find out what exactly was used and where. I am concerned about both the lingering odor and also some of these cleaners are very corrosive and shouldn't be used to clean certain materials such as metal.
 
OK so the info I got that it was actually Pine Sol, not Lysol. I'm not sure if this changes anything. I am going to talk to them about what/where exactly they put it. But honestly, I need to understand how to get this stuff out of there in a timely manner. I don't really want to wait weeks for it to air out if possible, but OTOH I don't want to make it worse.

I took off the cabin air filter cover yesterday and it smells like they coated the inside of the AC/Heater element/blower area with it also. So I don't think running the heater will help. At best it will probably just blow more of the odor/chemical into the cabin.

I'm trying to avoid having to take the car interior apart (or having them do it), but maybe thats the only option at this point? The question still stands of how to get it out of porous surfaces like the carpet/headliner/seats.
 
Asus389 -

Wow - PineSol !! That stuff reeks !!!

The biggest question - Where - Exactly Where - did they apply it ????

Its pretty obvious they were too dumbo to actually rinse it all off and that is why it still smells like that...

So, I would be asking them, where they applied it, and then make an appointment for them to take the car apart and rinse it all off...

PineSol has an oil in it and that stuff - (similar to oil based paint which smells for months sometimes) - may never go away completely...

Yeah, I would be down there, first tell them they owe you a Loaner and they are paying for it, and they are then going to carefully dismantle your car, rinse all that dang stuff off wherever it was applied to, and if not rinseable, then they have to replace the affected parts...

You will NOT take it back until you cannot smell anything in there, and will keep the Loaner for however long it takes the dumbos to fix this...

Tell them this huge inconvenience and possible damage to the health of you and your family is UNACCEPTABLE !!!

I am so sorry this had to happen to you....

A good Detailer would have never used PineSol for anything on a vehicle..
I think they found a bottle in the Mens Bathroom and said - heck, lets just use this - ... :(

Good Luck-
Dan F
 
Called the makers of pine-sol and they responded "thats not the intended use of this product". Well yeah... Only suggestion was to clean it with water. Also, its corrosive to metal.
 
OK car was taken apart and cleaned. Interior is better, but I still get the smell of pine sol when the AC was run. This is after they cleaned out the heater box. Would ozone get rid of this stuff? Or would it make it worse? Its been two weeks and it still is quite bad. I know some people like the smell of this stuff (hence air fresheners) but man it makes me dizzy.
 
asus389 said:
OK car was taken apart and cleaned. Interior is better, but I still get the smell of pine sol when the AC was run. This is after they cleaned out the heater box. Would ozone get rid of this stuff? Or would it make it worse? Its been two weeks and it still is quite bad. I know some people like the smell of this stuff (hence air fresheners) but man it makes me dizzy.
Click to expand...

If this smell is Still in the car, then they Have Not Finished the Work...

What did they use to clean out the heater box? More Pine Sol ?? What exactly did they not do, because the smell is still there ???

Are these guys dumb-bunnies or what ???

Tell them the smell is in the A/C Ducting because their drunk clown with Pine Sol must have sprayed it in the ducting...
Tell them they should have checked it after their supposed "cleaning" to insure the smell was gone...

Tell them it makes you very dizzy to drive like this and if you end up crashing the car and injuring your family or someone dies as a result of this Poisoning, the biggest lawsuit known to them and Pine Sol is going to take all their jobs away from them...

Then ask them who their legal counsel is because you are getting an attorney ready to file charges of negligence and endangering human lives through toxic poisoning they caused to you and your family...

I personally would not be driving a car that is blowing Pine Sol in my face and making me dizzy or sick... You are hurting your health, man, along with putting everyone else in the vehicle at risk of getting sick or victims in an accident, etc...
Dan F
 
Glad to hear they took care of it! (For the most part)

ozone I dont think would make it worse, also not sure how effective it would be in terms of making it better either. Since its pine sol not Lysol I would think maybe it would help???? Not sure. Wouldnt hurt to try. It sounds like its in your vents which are almost impossible to really clean deep into, so that may be the biggest issue. Ozone can only do so much, and if you dont locate and remove the source of an odor, odds are it wouldnt be very effective.
 
I would most definitely get them to fix the issue. If its a chain, call higher. If its a dealer, call higher. If theyre independent, seek legal advice.

Both versions of Pine-Sol (Original and the new formulation) contain things that are pretty bad for you. Even the pine oil in the original formula can cause serious issues if there is prolonged exposure or youre exposed to too much.

Second thing, Pine-Sol is acidic. They have potentially created a future problem for you. Acidic cleaners dont tend to play nice with interior components or metals. The acidity (3-4) could cause corrosion on numerous components including, but not limited to, electrical wiring and contacts, heater core, sensors, and the list goes on.

Get them to fix it or pursue legal action.

My $0.02.
 
Thanks for the responses. My concern is I have brought the car to them many times at this point and every time I get it back they create some sort of other problem. They fixed the AC, but then cleaned with an irritating chemical. Then they cleaned again, this time with water, but apparently not well enough to get the residual pine-sol completely out of the vents and HVAC system. I certainly will contact the service manager again and see what they have to say, but I really dont think they know how to fix this problem that they created. This is part of the reason I posted here, to try to get an idea of what can be done to get rid of residual odors like this. Because I guarantee if I just give it back to them and tell them to "fix it" they will try really hard, but not fix it or make it worse.
 
Also, one of the things I dont understand is why, in this case the pine-sol odor isnt dissipating on its own. I rarely use cleaners like this because they are frankly not healthy, but when I have used it, the smell usually dissipates within a few hours. Certainly in a day or two.

The past two days I left the car on the driveway with all of the windows down, doors and sunroof open, and the hood open with the cabin air filter removed to air it out. It has been in the 60s here and moderately humid. Yet somehow, the smell persists.

I even removed the blower motor which in this car sits below the glovebox (very easy, took 5 mins) and I can see the AC evaporator. I then took a garden sprayer with plain water and sprayed down the evaporator. This caused some water to drain out of the AC condensate line as if the AC was running. Yet still, it smells.

Also, is there a way to change the title of this thread to reflect the pine-sol product, since its not lysol?
 
asus389 said:
Also, one of the things I dont understand is why, in this case the pine-sol odor isnt dissipating on its own. I rarely use cleaners like this because they are frankly not healthy, but when I have used it, the smell usually dissipates within a few hours. Certainly in a day or two.

The past two days I left the car on the driveway with all of the windows down, doors and sunroof open, and the hood open with the cabin air filter removed to air it out. It has been in the 60s here and moderately humid. Yet somehow, the smell persists.

I even removed the blower motor which in this car sits below the glovebox (very easy, took 5 mins) and I can see the AC evaporator. I then took a garden sprayer with plain water and sprayed down the evaporator. This caused some water to drain out of the AC condensate line as if the AC was running. Yet still, it smells.

Also, is there a way to change the title of this thread to reflect the pine-sol product, since its not lysol?
Click to expand...
If they used the original formula Pine-Sol it actually contains pine oil. Water is not going to rinse the pine oil out of your car. If you have a cabin air filter (or more than one as is sometimes the case) the Pine-Sol has been absorbed into that. There also tend to be foam seals for any HVAC door or duct joint. We smell because there are particles of whatever you smell in the air, that means there are now particles of Pine-Sol all throughout you HVAC system, possibly your cabin, and wherever else they may have used it. The only real options to completely eliminate the odor are pretty much a complete disassembly and cleaning,or replacement. There may be some other chemical to break down the oil or mask the smell, but the first probably wont be any better and the latter doesnt fix the problem.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
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