Hi all,
I had the heater core blow out in my Thuderbird. I soaked up a whole lot of coolant from inside the car (it was a half inch deep on the passenger side), but the smell remains.
I have no doubt that the coolant has soaked down into the pad, and hence the smell. Is there any way to neutralize the antifreeze? I am aware that some alcohols will chemically break down ethylene glycol. But I could sure use some cleaning tips.
The smell is bad....
Thanks,
Dan
No alcohols 'break down' antifreeze.
You are right that the floor is soaked, and you will either have to -
- shampoo the carpets - like you would your carpets in your home - to get most of it out or
- wait until the smell goes away or
- replace the carpets and pads
I cant think of any simpler ways
I was thinking you could probably drill a hole in the floorpan and let whatever antifreeze is left drain, then you could either flush out the antifreeze with more water and just let it dilute until most of it's gone or you could use a wet-vac and suck as much water out of the carpet as possible. That'd be my best best.. I'd probably throw some baking soda to try to absorb some of the smell. Once the antifreeze dries up, the smell will eventually go away..
-Bruce
A few options:
Look under the car at the floorpan and see if there's a rubber plug filling a hole in the floorpan- there frequently is. Pull it out, and see if more antifreeze will drain through it. Follow with a wet-vac to see if you can pull more out of the carpet from above.
Flush the carpet with a few gallons of distilled water, then soak or wet-vac out (and use the rubber drain plug too, if its there).
Finish with a rental wet-vac type carpet cleaner (or Bissel 'Carpet Machine' type home unit).
Open the windows overnight, set up a fan blowing through the car, etc.- anything to help dry the remaining water out after you've flushed away as much of the antifreeze as possible.
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