What do y'all use to get rid of rat p$$$ smell?

[Roadhouse]

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 72 K20. It took about 4 hours to get it running and drive it 45 miles to my house. It was sitting out in a buddies field. It started out as his project truck and he put alot of money into it but lately has not had time to work on it. Even though it was tough for him to sell it, he decided it he would rather sell to someone who was going to do something with it.


Now my plan is to use it while I am working on it, but this thing smells like it was home to 100 rats. I just used a full can of tough stuff interior cleaner and a roll of blue towels just to get the floor board half way cleaned. It has reduced the smell but not enough. Sorry i know I'm taking the long way around the barn.
What do y'all do to clean a nasty cab?

I know I'll try to get some pics posted.

[littlechub]

that's a tough smell to get rid of for sure. I bought a Toyota 4wd one time that had the same issue. I got the truck running and driving and would use a scrub brush and dawn and hose out the interior a couple times a week and leave the doors standing open. the smell seemed to fade but if you left the truck cab shut up for a week or so it was right back. id say if you havnt already, ditch whatever floor mat/ carpet is in it would be the first step.

[Roadhouse]

I plan on doing the interior/ cab corners when I get the funds to get the A/C working. That way when I tear it all down I go back new with everything. Right now I am in gathering parts and acquiring funds. I have been leaving the doors open when I can and plan on cleaning out the vents and blower motor housing.

Thanks for the reply.

[BLT gmc]

I use Nature's Air Sponge Odor Absorber. Produced in Canada. "all natural" I usually buy off evilbay as it is hard to find otherwise. Bruce

[Roadhouse]

Originally Posted by BLT gmc

I use Nature's Air Sponge Odor Absorber. Produced in Canada. "all natural" I usually buy off evilbay as it is hard to find otherwise. Bruce

Thanks, I am gonna head over to evilbay right now and look.

[littlechub]

if you have a hvac supply house near you, look for a product called x odor or clean air. they might help you out.

[Classic Heartbeat]

5 pound tin of coffee grounds. Dump the coffee grounds into the truck and scrub them around. Let set with the doors closed for several days. your truck will smell like a fresh brewed cup of coffee then. I use this method to get rid of gasoline smells out of cabs that have had the gas tanks leak into them. WES

[Coley]

There are some great ideas here....I like the one about the coffee grounds!!
Also, you have to think of just where that smell comes from now?
Any organic material in that cab....seat foam, insulation, carpet...anything that can 'absorb' is holding that smell.
So I would look to replace all of that stuff.
Then I would put a full, new coat of paint on everything in the lower half of the truck. and physically scrub the rest of the metal in the upper half.
My two bits!!

Coley

[Roadhouse]

Thanks all. A question, do you wet the coffee grounds or throw them in dry. I plan on eventually changing out the floor and insulation.

[leftybass209]

Urine is acidic. Coffee works because it's alkaline based and neutralizes it, but any alkaline ph based cleaner will have similar results. then neutralize the alkaline with water and you should be good. I've never had trouble removing urine from carpets using proper cleaners.

[Roadhouse]

Originally Posted by leftybass209

Urine is acidic. Coffee works because it's alkaline based and neutralizes it, but any alkaline ph based cleaner will have similar results. then neutralize the alkaline with water and you should be good. I've never had trouble removing urine from carpets using proper cleaners.

Now we are getting down to the science of the problem, thanks.

[Daddy'O]

FeBreeze is supposed to work. I know you think I'm joking but have you tried it? Not saying it will work, but the TV commercials sure makes you think it should. If this has been tried by others I'm sure they will post about its effectiveness, or lack of.

Good luck!

[kwmech]

I've used simple green in the past, seemed to do the job pretty well. But, at the same time I scrubbed everything in the cab and sprayed anything that wasn't going to be colored with epoxy primer. As stated before, you'll have to remove any moisture absorbing material in the cab

[sboris]

All great suggestions so far. The blower motor is a good start, but the heater core housing and most likely the duct work on the inside needs removed and power washed.. Voice of experience. Good luck

[Roadhouse]

Originally Posted by sboris

All great suggestions so far. The blower motor is a good start, but the heater core housing and most likely the duct work on the inside needs removed and power washed.. Voice of experience. Good luck

Any tips on removing the duct work?

[DPowers]

Had a '79 Malibu with the same problem. The barn cats were always crawling all over it.

[davischevy]

I pulled the seat and used a power washer inside the cab and the seat, before I used the deodorizer.

[Classic Heartbeat]

I just use the coffee grounds dry. Just scrub the dry grounds around the cab then close the cab up for a few days. The coffee odor gets absorbed into the interior also. The longer you leave them in the better the results. WES

[litew8]

Originally Posted by Daddy'O

FeBreeze is supposed to work. I know you think I'm joking but have you tried it? Not saying it will work, but the TV commercials sure makes you think it should. If this has been tried by others I'm sure they will post about its effectiveness, or lack of.

Good luck!

x2

[John in SoCal]

I've got the same problem. The truck had sat around for many years and became a rat play ground. We cleaned the rat poop and pulled the dead ones out. Used some deodorizing spray, vinegar and now baking soda. Improved a little but not enough. Eventually everything will get pulled out and cleaned or replaced. In the mean time I'll just try to make it better. I'll be trying some of the suggestions I have seen here. Hopefully I'll have some luck.

[1971 3/4TON]

Tuff Stuff is an excellent interior cleaner. Unfortunately, no matter what you do to mask the smell, you never will eliminate the filth that rats cause. Rats and mice are downright, nasty bastards that can quickly destroy a perfectly good interior.

I ended up ripping out and redoing my entire interior after it was attacked my mice this past December. One mouse, in particular, was getting through an unsealed 1/4" gap of my transmission tunnel, and storing dog food, of all things, under the accelerator pedal.

As I tore up the old carpet, useless factory firewall padding, other jute padding, and removed the gas tank, I found many other surprises to my dismay, that I would have never found had I just masked the situation with Tuff Stuff. Again, Tuff Stuff is great, but only after you eliminate the problem at it's source, even if that involves tearing everything apart and starting all over.

And coffee grounds? Well, let's just flag that idea as...

Anyway, after two solid months of cleaning, sanding minor rust, priming, sealing holes, and laying Stinger Expert Roadkill (sound deadener), reflectix (heat insulation), and carefully cutting and mending non-molded custom carpet- from the corners of the rear window up to the very top of the firewall/dash, I can safely say that I have that "new car smell" (okay, more like adhesive). Nonetheless, I would rather huff adhesive fumes than smell rat piss any day.

Case in point- the more time and money you spend on your interior will ultimately determine the outcome of what you will be smelling, and more importantly, sitting amongst, in the near and remote future.

[Dirt's72]

I removed about eight dead ones from my blazer, one the size of a rabbit under the battery tray. About four from condensor. I removed the cowl where the worst odors were, hood, removed heater core, opened doors l, hatch and tailgate. After about three months the smell aired out. Finally got the motor running last weekend. Now I plan to steam clean it next.

[70Custom10Nut]

Ammonia and Vinegar. We had to clean our current house that the previous renters had 4 dogs and 5 cats in. (the house smelled like the city pound) After abpout three spray downs and maybe a steamcleaning the smell should be pretty much gone.

[mgkgmc]

If you steam vac the carpet you can mix some febreeze with steam vac carpet cleaner seems to work well also.

[budnikguy]

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