TheSamba.com :: View topic - Rat Feces and Rat Urine Smell... Removal ??

Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:50 pm

1969 Squareback. Sitting under a tarp last 3 years Trying to bring it back to life. Rat Urine/Feces smell is unbearable I've removed the nests, Vacuumed up the turds. The seats were not molested , had a few wires chewed up. No carpet in vehicle.
Sooooo.. Any suggestions for removing that foul odor?
Chemicals? Flame Thrower? Park it next to a Sewage treatment Plant?
Help. :shock:

Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:32 pm

Sandblast the entire car and repaint.

Sun Jun 06, 2010 11:09 pm

WEAR A MASK!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant stress that enough

Mon Jun 07, 2010 5:49 am

A TON of simple green will help... but in the end for the areas that I had like that, sandblast, epoxy primer.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:38 am

maximan1 wrote: Sandblast the entire car and repaint.

I will be applying POR-15 but it is not very healthy inside right now and this summer time heat is only magnifying the odor level.

Medi blasting and repainting will happen in the future. :D

It is sitting at a friends house and I've got to get it moved. Yeah .
Rubber gloves and a respirator are the ticket!

A search on the Net revealed a lot of people selling their products to home remedies involving house hold products like baking powder and bleach.
Looking for that magic stuff that will help get rid of "THAT SMELL!"

I've got some Simple Green so today I'll use it . Until then ANYBODY else??

Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:27 am

Bill, go to WALMART and get the pet stain remover designed for carpet. It will not only mask the smell, but disinfect and neutralize the stench... Get a couple of bottles, mix it up in garden pump sprayer with some water and then spray everything down.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:44 am

Pretty much following up with all the suggestions; start with bleach and water, follow up with the pet stain remover. Since it's metal, there's nothing to soak into to hold the odor, but stuff will linger in the corners and vents. Get the worst up and out, then let it air out for a while.

Definately wear a mask and gloves!

Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:10 am

In the semi-trailer biz, when we get a trailer in that reeks of something awful, we'll clean it out really well, then scatter either coffee grounds or charcoal briquettes in the floor. They will both absorb some pretty nasty odors.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:14 pm

I dealt with a house where the tenants had kept a bunch of pet rabbits that they allowed to roam free. The people moved out, but they left their rabbits for several months only stopping by to throw them some food pellets and water every few days. The smell was unbelievable.

This stuff did as much good as anything, but I would start with OxyClean and then leave the windows open a couple weeks before I used it:

My guess is that you'll never get the smell out of the seats. Even though there's no urine on them, they've still absorbed the odor.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 3:11 pm

At work, we have a saying, fresh air and sunshine will fix almost any smell.

Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:55 pm

i recently had 2 mice die in the heater box of my plow truck. the fuckers melted into my heater core, and death juice was dripping on the floor mat. it was pretty nasty. after removing the culprit's i used lysol fresh scent anti bacterial spray, and lots of it. at first, i thought it was a 'cover up' of the stink, but after working at it, the smell is 100% gone. used a can and a half, over about a 2 week period. may want to try that, it worked pretty good for me

Tue Jun 08, 2010 1:41 pm

After you get the car moved you need to read this entire link. Maybe the best thread ever. The funniest for sure. Or read it now and get some ideas and a few laughs. Forgot you just have the smell--no mice. Good read anyway

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=333518

Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:03 pm

vinegar will neutralize urine and baking soda will absorb odor - cheap and effective.

Be aware of the rodent poop virus - wear a mask, avoid vacume cleaners - wet it down and scoop it out is the safest initial cleanup method.

see here too:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2...mouse+poop

Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:55 pm

Fabreaze - that stuff works!

Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:42 pm

Please google "hanta virus" before you do anything.

Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:32 am

Vanhag wrote: At work, we have a saying, fresh air and sunshine will fix almost any smell.

Yep, uncover the thing on a hot day and let it air out. If that fails resort to the Beastie Boy method...

Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:27 am

BRASS MONKEY?

Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:32 pm

Hire these guys....

Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:54 pm

norcalmike wrote: WEAR A MASK!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant stress that enough
x10,000 :!: We have similar problems in our substations.
HANTAVIRUS:
Read Up! http://www.dhpe.org/infect/hanta.html
Baking soda in the hard to reach areas blown in will help, like in the door pillars etc. Agree if you open it up, time takes it away, but, if you need to use it in the meantime, fabreze and baking soda, tree air freshners, and anything you can bleach without damaging things do it! Good luck and google safe ways to remove rodent activity by scanning the Hantavirus info. Be safe!

Here is a thread from the Vanagon forum from awhile back with some thoughts. Caution, Bread box material :roll: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=319550&start=0

Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:51 am

Harris wrote: After you get the car moved you need to read this entire link. Maybe the best thread ever. The funniest for sure. Or read it now and get some ideas and a few laughs. Forgot you just have the smell--no mice. Good read anyway

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=333518
:shock: I cried I was laughing so hard, What a bunch of crazy guys, That was great, Thanks :D
I hope you got the remains and the smell out to get back on subject.