Mouse pee and carpets

[diymirage]

Over the winter some critter (I'm guessing a mouse) got into the charger and peed all over the carpet

It's a police model, so the upper part is plastic, can be hosed out but there is some insulation below it that I guess soaked up the pee

Can't tell to much untill you run the heater towards your feet

I had a company detail the car, check the heating ducts, pull the blower motor and we are convinced it's the carpet

Is there any way to get this smell out, or do I just need a whole new carpet ?

We ran an ozone generator and that didn't do the trick either

 

[abdywgn]

watching. careful, when it gets airborne it could have health effects.

 

[marksmopars]

When I was a young fella I worked in a body shop where it was no unusual to get a mouse in the vent system usually ending in the blower motor. We disassembled, cleand and painted the parts to kill the smell.

I doubt that you can get the smell out completely without replacing the carpet, but if you shampoo it well and then put a couple drops of peppermint on it you won’t notice. You can get peppermint oils any place that sells essential oils. Good luck

 

[diymirage]

When I was a young fella I worked in a body shop where it was no unusual to get a mouse in the vent system usually ending in the blower motor. We disassembled, cleand and painted the parts to kill the smell.

I doubt that you can get the smell out completely without replacing the carpet, but if you shampoo it well and then put a couple drops of peppermint on it you won’t notice. You can get peppermint oils any place that sells essential oils. Good luck

Thanks, i called the Body Shop i work with and asked them who to have it detailed, they gave me the number of the Kid who worked on it and he checked the vents and all, were pretty sure its the 'carpet'

Im sure he shampooed it and what not, but as soon as the floor heater hits it, it smells like a mouse peeing in your face

I think my next move is removing the carpet altogether and driving it like that, see what that does.

 

[marksmopars]

Thanks, i called the Body Shop i work with and asked them who to have it detailed, they gave me the number of the Kid who worked on it and he checked the vents and all, were pretty sure its the 'carpet'

Im sure he shampooed it and what not, but as soon as the floor heater hits it, it smells like a mouse peeing in your face

I think my next move is removing the carpet altogether and driving it like that, see what that does.

It soaks thru the carpet into the backing, new carpet is in order, might even want to paint the floor while carpet is out just to be sure.

 

[4mulas]

Put all new carpet and underlay in.

 

[4mulas]

Rock auto sells ACC carpets and is hands down the best place to buy a carpet price wise. I recommend one with mass backer.

 

[diymirage]

Rock auto sells ACC carpets and is hands down the best place to buy a carpet price wise. I recommend one with mass backer.

Thanks, I did some looking and completely forgot about them

What's a mass backer ?

 

[4mulas]

Thanks, I did some looking and completely forgot about them

What's a mass backer ?

A thicker coating attached to the carpet itself. Deters noise and heat. Go to ACC carpets and they will explain it. I’ve installed with and without and prefer mass backer version the most. Not that much more money too

 

[diymirage]

A thicker coating attached to the carpet itself. Deters noise and heat. Go to ACC carpets and they will explain it. I’ve installed with and without and prefer mass backer version the most. Not that much more money too

Looked up rock auto, zero carpet there

Checked ACC, they only carry mats for the charger (did I mention this is a 2015?)

 

[Demonracer]

Get some real charcoal, not the BS sold at Wally World and put it in some plastic bowls in the foot wells. Close the car up and let it sit for a few days, change it out and drive the car around for a day or two and change it out again, letting the car sit again closed up. It may take multiple changes, but sooner or later, the smell will disappear. We had a car that a cat died in and it took almost a year before the smell was totally gone.

 

[Scody21]

Baking soda and white vinegar

How to Easily Get Rid of Mouse Urine Smell: Expert Tips

Eradicate the stench of mouse urine and make your home smell good againMice might be cute in cartoons, but a real-life infestation is anything but. Even after you've managed to eradicate the little rodents, their urine can still leave...

www.wikihow.com

10 Things to Do If Your Car Smells Like Mouse Urine - Pest Pointers

If you've noticed an unpleasant odor in your car, it could be the result of a pesky visitor leaving their mark. Mouse urine has a strong, distinct smell that

pestpointers.com

 

[RustyRatRod]

I agree with replacing the carpet. It's a health issue now. Don't you have children?

 

[diymirage]

I agree with replacing the carpet. It's a health issue now. Don't you have children?

3 of em, the oldest being 15 and this will actually be his car (long story short, is bought this car a few years ago for the wife, but she never warmed up to it, so I bought her a journey and handed the charger down to the boy)

 

[A56]

Replacing the carpet is a great idea but the problem are the rodents. What's to stop them from doing the same thing again? Usually if there's mice pee there's also mice droppings. Does your car have a cabin filter?

 

[diymirage]

Replacing the carpet is a great idea but the problem are the rodents. What's to stop them from doing the same thing again? Usually if there's mice pee there's also mice droppings. Does your car have a cabin filter?

Im hoping what will stop them will be the rotation of the car

Since i had bought the wife the journey, and the boy hadnt gotten his permit yet, the charger dat for a few months

He since for his permit so the charger will be used a lot more again


Yes, it does have a cabin air filter, there was a little bit of droppings on it

 

[A56]

Im hoping what will stop them will be the rotation of the car

Since i had bought the wife the journey, and the boy hadnt gotten his permit yet, the charger dat for a few months

He since for his permit so the charger will be used a lot more again


Yes, it does have a cabin air filter, there was a little bit of droppings on it

I'd carefully and thoroughly hose down the engine bay. Not sure what would be considered a safe detergent, but that and hot water could help. You can usually smell burning engine oil when you're in the car so that pee and more droppings could be coming from under the hood..

 

[diymirage]

I'd carefully and thoroughly hose down the engine bay. Not sure what would be considered a safe detergent, but that and hot water could help. You can usually smell burning engine oil when you're in the car so that pee and more droppings could be coming from under the hood..

the engine was detailed when i brought it in

 

[4mulas]

. (did I mention this is a 2015?)

No you did not. Not sure where to get new carpet for new cars other than maybe the dealer.

I still think it should be replaced

 

[diymirage]

No you did not. Not sure where to get new carpet for new cars other than maybe the dealer.

I still think it should be replaced

yeah, im leaining that way

my plan of attack now is to remove the carper alltogether and drive it for a few miles
if that shows a marked improvement ill know its at least part of the issue, and if it is, i guess im looking at LKQ or the likes for a low mileage replacement

if not, at least ive narrowed it down some

 

[FISHYPETE]

I totally restored my 59 pickup that sat many yrs and had some mice. Painted interior , replaced rubber floor mats, fixed and painted seat springs and all new pad and vinyl upholstery. Cleaned the heater box and repainted it. Still a slight smell when using the heat. I’m thinking the smell is coming from the heating system? Way more areas in a newer car to have mouse pee in system

 

[RustyRatRod]

Replacing the carpet is a great idea but the problem are the rodents. What's to stop them from doing the same thing again? Usually if there's mice pee there's also mice droppings. Does your car have a cabin filter?

Mothballs and or dryer sheets have been known to work. A good cat also.

 

[Bodyperson]

Mothballs and or dryer sheets have been known to work. A good cat also.

I had to glue in some hardware cloth over the entrance to the cabin filter on my car. They use the body valves like doggy doors too. I found the only thing to work is good old fashioned mouse traps. I eliminated the body valves on my sisters car. That was one nasty clean-up. An aborted mess of babies behind the back panel and this car was driven every day. I took out seven nests, some were in the headliner. She tried all of that peppermint dryer sheet stuff. Keep a box of tissue in your car. You will know real quickly if they are inhabiting your vehicle.
P.S. REAL cop cars should have rubber floors and removable body plugs to flush them out.

 

[pauly]

Boneyard might be a carpet source considering the age.

 

[diymirage]

Lets do an update on this

I had it detailed, and i ripped the carpet out, No luck, still smelled terrible

At some point i called the dealer and asked them if they ever dealt with this, their response ?

Nope, we usually send it to a body shop and let the insurance deal with it

Ok, Great idea

So i took it to the Body Shop and told them they could spend 500 dollars worth of time looking for it, because that s my deductible, if they hadnt found a nest by then well reevaluate

Point of clarification, the insurance said they would cover it IF we could show proof something got in there, a nest, a big wad of chewed up wiring, a dead mouse, something tangible

Well, the body shop pulled half the car apart, ran a camera through the ducts and basically found nothing

Great

The insurance decided to close the claim (but said they could reopen it if we found something)

I talked to the body shop and he thought we should replace the ducting, $1900 dollar job and he was about 70% sure that would resolve the issue

Ok, go ahead, I mean, it's probably gonna cost me 12-16k to replace the car if we don't fix it, and I simply don't want to drive it like this, so have at it


About 3 days into the job he send me this

Apparently, a mouse climbed into the dash and build a nest there

this was all the insurance needed to pick up the bill, and hopefully we can convince them it needs new carpet too (doesn't sound like that will be a stretch)

This is what the car looked like yesterday, waiting on a new dash to arrive