Cleaning trunk carpet..

[jimmycinla]

My prob :
The previous owner drove the NSX very little and sometimes it sat for quite a while.
The trunk carpet has a very musty odor.
No mold, just a deep "old air" musty smell. Everytime I put something (gym bag, - etc.) in the trunk it comes out musty smelling.

My question - best way to get rid of this considering Honda wants $882.76 for the three new pieces?
Much thanks -jim-

 

[Da Hapa]

Febreeze? Usually works pretty well for me.

Are you sure you don't have the dreaded condensation issue with your trunk? That can lead to the musty smell you're describing and the only way of really fixing that is new tailamp gaskets.

 

[jimmycinla]

Febreeze? Usually works pretty well for me.

Are you sure you don't have the dreaded condensation issue with your trunk? That can lead to the musty smell you're describing and the only way of really fixing that is new tailamp gaskets.

Yea, that was taken care of but i'm stuck with the musty smell deep in the carpet. I've used many different air fresheners for a few months with no avail.

Has anyone hosed it off (out of the car :wink: ) and really gave it a good scrubbin'?
Did it damage the carpet?
If it didn't where can I get the padding on the back to replace after the scrubbin' ?
Thanks again.
-jim-

 

[white93nsx]

You mentioned it wasn't mold? but

If it is mold and mildew due to condensation in your trunk from a leaky gasket and lights, you need to kill the m&m, otherwise it will come back again and again since your masking of the odor will wear off.

If you wet shampoo the carpet (which is more a felt than a carpet), be careful with the scrubbing since it can ruin the felt. You may want to just remove the trunk carpeting and let it sit in the sun in San Diego to let it dry out (the sun kills mold and mildew) and then spray it with a m&m killer (http://dyepro.com/odor.php).

The other issue is that the m&m may also be in crevices within the trunk so you will need to leave your trunk open and let it sit in the sun for many days to let it completely dry out and kill everything. Unfortunately, this is a very difficult problem in our car to solve and takes time. The right course of action would've probably been to fog the entire trunk while the lights were being replaced (b4 installing the new lights) and then reinstall the new lights and new carpeting.

If the carpets are alraedy installed, you may want to try the foaming carpet freshner or the fogger.

Good luck with the resolution.

 

[jimmycinla]

You mentioned it wasn't mold? but

If it is mold and mildew due to condensation in your trunk from a leaky gasket and lights, you need to kill the m&m, otherwise it will come back again and again since your masking of the odor will wear off.

If you wet shampoo the carpet (which is more a felt than a carpet), be careful with the scrubbing since it can ruin the felt. You may want to just remove the trunk carpeting and let it sit in the sun in San Diego to let it dry out (the sun kills mold and mildew) and then spray it with a m&m killer (http://dyepro.com/odor.php).

The other issue is that the m&m may also be in crevices within the trunk so you will need to leave your trunk open and let it sit in the sun for many days to let it completely dry out and kill everything. Unfortunately, this is a very difficult problem in our car to solve and takes time. The right course of action would've probably been to fog the entire trunk while the lights were being replaced (b4 installing the new lights) and then reinstall the new lights and new carpeting.

If the carpets are alraedy installed, you may want to try the foaming carpet freshner or the fogger.

Good luck with the resolution.

Cool.
Thanks for the detailed answer. :biggrin:
Much thanks,
-jim-

 

[white93nsx]

You're welcome. Remember that it takes time to resolve the problem so have patience as you work it.