Getting rid of Lysol smell?

[asus389]

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?

[ShaneB]

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

[Stokdgs]

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

[asus389]

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?

[ShaneB]

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.

[Stokdgs]

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

[ca.detailchick]

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!

[jtford95]

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

[asus389]

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.

[asus389]

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.

[Stokdgs]

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

[ShaneB]

I agree with everything above. May want to get a lawyer involved as well just in case

[asus389]

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.

[asus389]

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.

[Stokdgs]

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.

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