Wet Dog Smell

[18minus7]

Howdy! I am new to the forums and a new-ish Ram owner. A week ago I bought a 2019 1500 Laramie with 14k miles on it. Love all the options and the truck is a buete BUT it has a strong wet dog smell in it. I say dog and not mildew because the dealership did not get all the dog hair vacuumed. Don't get me wrong, they did a great job at detailing and making her all pretty but dang, that dog smell is intense. Not a dog hater, ha! I have wiped all the leather down with a leather cleaner, changed the cabin air filter and rode around with a bowl of baking soda for 3-4 days. I ordered a Meguiar's air refresher mist that should be delivered today. Looking for suggestions or ideas on how I might get the smell out?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G49DVGG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!

 

[GTyankee]

Naturally Activated Bamboo Charcoal Odor Neutralizer​

Robot or human?

Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

use them for a couple of weeks, put them out in full sunlight, then use them again

 

[18minus7]

View attachment 491293

Naturally Activated Bamboo Charcoal Odor Neutralizer​

Robot or human?

Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

use them for a couple of weeks, put them out in full sunlight, then use them again

Thanks, for the tip!

 

[Downzero]

Shampoo the carpet.

 

[18minus7]

Shampoo the carpet.

Thanks, forgot to mention I had done that.

 

[Aircooledpurist]

Get an ozone generator. Car dealers all have them. Run it in the car for an overnight and ANY smell will be gone. Cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, dog, cat, *****, vomit, even dead bodies.

Def will work, you can get them online.

 

[crash68]

^^^ I'll second the ozone generator
It doesn't need to be ran overnight though, ran it twice a week apart for half hour each time eliminated all the smoker smell out of a custom van(lots of cloth interior).

 

[TheWesley]

3rd on the ozone. Amazon ozone maker I used. It works well.
One point though - I’ve read it doesn’t work well on cat ***** because it crystalizes. It can’t get into the crystals. Ozone only works on the surface - so make sure it’s all exposed.
Warning: it will kill ALL life. Plants - bugs - kids. Use it like the fumes are bleach. Air it out well after (60 minutes is what I do with a fan to vent)

Lastly - you will want to run it through your vents / idle the car with air on recirculate.

 

[KoboldTaco]

I’ve always had good luck with Ozium Spray - maybe give that a shot first before buying the machine.

Regardless however, you will need an Ozone solution to get it out.

 

[KoboldTaco]

Oh, and maybe change the cabin air filter if you haven't yet. To @TheWesley his point of running it with vents on at a point in time is well founded; smells stick inside there too :|

 

[grahamgraham]

I feel like cars should be sold with a "Smoke free Animal free car" notice on them! I got burned by that on my first ram, and it took a lot of work to get the smell out.

 

[grahamgraham]

Also, might want to consider there's a leak somewhere. Sometimes the back glass can leak, causing that wet-dog smell.

 

[18minus7]

Also, might want to consider there's a leak somewhere. Sometimes the back glass can leak, causing that wet-dog smell.

Bingo. I was not aware of the back slider, 3rd Brake light, Antenna issue. Water marks on headliner plus smell, confirms there was an issue in the past. Probably why the prev owner traded it right when the 3 year warranty ended. But, I have not noticed any leaking. Fingers crossed that the issue was fixed and its just the smell that I have to deal with.

 

[spacex]

I swear by this product. Very similar results to the ozone machine. I use it once a year on the family car to clear out the kid smell.

Auto Shocker ClO2 car interior odor eliminator https://a.co/d/i4n8MQj

 

[Fnjoey]

I had the same issue, I used nature's miracle enzyme spray, sprayed the carpet liberally, scrubbed with a brush, the vacuumed with my wet/dry vac.. no more wet dog smell.

Also, I'd second the leak too.. my rear window was leaking a little bit so I just had it replaced.

 

[ppine]

Store the truck with the windows open for awhile.
Look at some of the products used for boat storage like bags of odor eliminator with charcoal.
Put a fan in it. Drive with the windows open.

 

[Dave Haddon]

50/50 vinegar in spray...all leather surfaces wipe down with baby powder..light application ..

 

[Treburkulosis]

Get it clean. Clean all of the surfaces and extract the interior. The run the Ozone generator until the smell is gone.

 

[Treburkulosis]

Get it clean. Clean all of the surfaces and extract the interior. The run the Ozone generator until the smell is gone.

I prefer using Shine Supply solution to clean all hard surfaces.

 

[Justthebutler]

Have you pulled the back panel, back seat carpet, or headliner? There could be a chance that standing water or molding foam is causing the smell.

After lots of heavy rain last year, I had a brutal smell in my truck that I could not get rid of. It was similar to wet dog/musty; I tried all the ways to get rid of it and then finally started pulling panels when I had no luck.

It turned out there was a couple spots on the rear floor under the carpet where water had pooled and was out of the way enough to not get sucked up by the carpet cleaner and a damp residue on the back wall panel.

I also drained all of the plugs I could find in the doors etc, which had some water aswell.

It turned out the 3rd brake light leaked, and so did the roof antenna.

After sealing both, and doing another good clean I haven't had the smell since.