Date:         Fri, 28 Jul 2000 16:41:04 -0400
Reply-To:     Gary Stearns <gstearns@sprintmail.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gary Stearns <gstearns@sprintmail.com>
Subject:      Re: Odor removal (A refreshing topic)....

Been there done that!

My (now ex) wife and kids used to take their new litter of kittens for
"rides" in our van.  That urine stench drove me crazy for 2 years (only
after baking in the sun with the windows closed though).  I got pretty crazy
with my attempt to correct.  All of the seats and all of the carpets (incl.
all of the padding behind) came out one sunny summer day.  They were hosed
down, scrubbed with diluted laundry detergent and clorox.  Took a week for
everything to dry.

Much, much better.  Whites whiter, brights brighter!

Then, several weeks ago, on a hazy, hot humid day, I opened up the van to
find...well you know what I found.  The same smell lingering in the air.

Though about it and realized that the storage areas under the front seats
would have made delightful kitten hideouts.  Moved the seats, ripped out the
foam padding in each, and voila!  Smell is now well and truly obliterated
(sure wish I'd thought of that before 10 hours of labor removing and washing
everything that was not welded down.

Give it a try.

Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel Schmitz <djs@gene.com>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 4:11 PM
Subject: Odor removal (A refreshing topic)....


> Since it's Friday, and I am fresh out of important (and unimportant)
> technical topics...
>
> My '87 Westfalia has had an unpleasant odor in the cab area since I
> purchased it. It smells like (can I say this on the list?) urine, and I
> suspect that an animal of some type must have caused this at some point
> in my camper's past. Anyway, the smell comes from the driver side
> footwell area. I've tried shampooing, which lessened it a bit, but it's
> still unmistakably there, especially when the windows are rolled up. I
> suspect that the insulation pad underneath the carpeting is holding the
> odor in.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for permanently getting rid of this
> odor, short of removing the insulation? If the insulation needs to go,
> can I replace it with something similar?
>
> --
> Dan
>