If you have kids your car probably smells like French fries from last week’s Happy Meal, or it may have that musty smell after several spills from the baby’s bottle or sippy cup, but whatever the odor, here are some tips to remove the foul smell and get Toyota cars smelling like they did when they were brand new-well almost.

First of all, find the lost fries or whatever else is causing the bad smell and throw it away!  The powerful suction of a commercial vacuum is your best bet to really clean deep and get as much of the soil and food out of the car as possible before you begin the deodorizing process, otherwise the smell will just come right back again.  If the source is a previous spill, you will need to spend a little extra time working on deodorizing that area.

The best product that you can use that is safe for your upholstery and will do the job well is household vinegar.   It has a strong scent but the concentration and the scent becomes weaker as it dries so you won’t have  to worry about the inside of your vehicle going from smelling like a French fry to smelling more like a pickle!   Vinegar is also a natural disinfectant so if you are trying to get rid of the residual from a potty training accident or even worse, the flu, don’t forget the vinegar!  Scrub or wipe the soiled/smelly area thoroughly with a cloth saturated with a mixture of 2:1 water to vinegar,  and then let it air dry, repeat if necessary.

After you have scrubbed the smelly area well and let it air dry, try sprinkling baking soda, if the smell persists, baking soda will continuously absorb the odors and you can re-apply as needed.  When you have a spill or an accident occurs in your Toyota from Sprit Toyota, be sure to attempt to clean it as soon as possible and you will be more successful at removing the unpleasant odor permanently.