How to Find the Best Car Deodorizer to Remove Stubborn Smells

With as much activity as our cars see these days, it’s no wonder they start to smell rank. Yet many of the available car air freshening products only mask these odors. Alternatively, others are so overpowering that it’s hard to distinguish any other malodors that may linger. 

A car deodorizer can help remove unwanted smells from your vehicle, allowing you to replace them with fragrances you prefer and enjoy. The guide below illustrates how you can determine which car deodorizing solution best suits your situation based on the types of odors you may encounter. When you’re ready to create an aromatic ambiance, drive away bad odors for good with luxurious Drift car air fresheners. 

What is a Car Deodorizer? 

A car deodorizer targets bad smells to mask, neutralize, or eliminate them. Manufacturers design these products specifically as a purpose-built solution for cars that smell like a week-old fast food bag, wet dog, leaky gas pump, or ashtray. Car deodorizers come in several forms, many of them similar to a car air freshener. 

Ozone machines represent the ultimate car deodorizer. Although these machines are pricey and require a learning curve to operate, they’re skilled at removing odors stemming from smoke, pets, food, fuel, mildew, and almost any other pungent scent you can imagine. Dealerships often rely on ozone machines to refresh used cars traded in or bought at auctions. 

How to Find the Best Car Deodorizer for Odor Removal 

Unfortunately, purchasing an ozone machine doesn’t make sense for the average consumer. Instead, products like enzyme cleaners, air purifiers, and foggers are more within reach. Use the following steps to determine the best car deodorizer for the challenging smell you face. 

Determine the Source of the Malodor

To tailor the appropriate car deodorizer to your vehicle's potent smell, you must first know (1) what the smell is and (2) where it’s coming from. Identifying the odor and pinpointing its location significantly impacts your options regarding which car deodorizer best suits your needs. For example, the steps you take to address a burning smell under the hood are vastly different from those required to clean up a spilled milkshake in the back seat. 

Identifying the particular smell and source of the malodor is usually the easiest part. Most car malodors stem from smoke, pets, food, mildew, or leaking fuel. Once you’ve narrowed down these characteristics, decide how you want to resolve the issue. 

Consider Your Budget and Time

The age-old question that car owners face regarding vehicle maintenance is whether to fix it themselves or pay someone to do the work for them. In the case of certain unsavory odors, it may be worth a few hundred dollars in detailing fees to have a skilled technician completely remove the smell. Electing to leave it to the professionals may impact your budget, but then again, time is money. 

Select the Appropriate Car Deodorizer 

If you choose to tackle your car’s odor yourself, it’s best to take an aggressive approach. Spend a day cleaning every nook and cranny of your vehicle, from between the seat rails and the center console to the seat cushion seams. Every crumb, piece of gum, and melted crayon you remove can help reduce those malodors. 

If elbow grease doesn’t work, try an enzyme cleaner, air purifier, or fogger. When applied to vehicle carpets and upholstery, enzyme cleaners break down organic matter that could be causing malodors. Foggers pump your car’s interior full of a neutral scent while air purifiers collect any odorous particles that might be floating through the air. 

Find a New Car Scent

After all your hard work, it’s time to infuse your car’s interior with a fresh scent. Replacing the neutralized or lack of smell with something that caters to your personality or style presents an entirely new slew of options, including premium Drift car air fresheners. Take our Scent Quiz for expert guidance on the best Drift fragrances that suit your taste. 

How to Maintain Your Vehicle to Prevent Odors 

Maintaining your vehicle’s cleanliness is the obvious solution to eliminating the sources of car odors and the need for a car deodorizer. However, our busy lives tend to leave little time—or desire—to devote to car cleaning. Paying a professional detailing company to do the work for you can help you start with a clean slate, but many of these services can be expensive and not always the most convenient. 

Instead, a clean car stays clean based on your actions every time you get behind the wheel and leave the vehicle. Installing seat covers and all-weather floor mats protects your upholstery while refraining from eating in your car removes one of the largest odor sources besides your furry friend. Even the addition of a car trash can makes a significant difference in keeping your vehicle free from pungent smells. 

Premium Car Air Fresheners: A Distinct and Effective Solution

While run-of-the-mill car deodorizers may emit a pleasant smell for a short time, truly infusing your vehicle with fragrances you’ll look forward to requires a premium car air freshener. Designed to look nearly as good as they smell, these deluxe car air fresheners enhance your vehicle’s interior, drive after drive, and are available in the following scents: 

• Cabana

• Open Air

• Grove

• Teak

• Amber

• Pine

Drift’s signature car air fresheners feature sustainable materials like alder wood, organic stone, and alloy metal infused with essential and fragrance oils. Our pledge to incorporate clean ingredients means the car air fresheners we sell are free from phthalates, parabens, mineral oils, DEA, formaldehyde, petroleum, propylene, dichlorobenzene, and other harsh chemicals. Safe for children and pets, Drift car fresheners are also cruelty-free, vegan, and GMO-free. 

Reclaim Your Vehicle’s Interior With Deluxe Drift Car Scents 

A car deodorizer may not necessarily bring that new car smell back, but it can certainly hit the reset button on the scent of your vehicle’s interior. Pair the benefits of a car deodorizer with the indulgence of a signature Drift car freshener, and you’ve got the perfect fragrance blend. Join our Scent of the Month Club to receive fresh new scents delivered to your door to keep your ride smelling clean all year long.