· Michael Blair
Interior detailing in Middle Tennessee has a factor other markets do not: humidity high enough that any moisture in a car stays there and grows something.
Where the smell comes from
Damp carpet from a leak, a blocked air conditioning drain wetting the passenger footwell, a boot seal letting water in, or the evaporator itself harbouring growth.
Cleaning the carpet without finding the source means the smell returns within weeks.
Finding the water
Check the passenger footwell, which is where an AC drain blockage shows first. Check the boot well and the spare wheel recess. Check the sunroof drains, which clog with pollen and debris here.
A car that smells worse after running the air conditioning points at the evaporator rather than the carpet.
- Passenger footwell: air conditioning drain blockage
- Boot well and spare wheel recess: seal failure
- Sunroof drains clog with pollen here
- Smell worse with AC running: evaporator
- Extraction cleaning, then dry completely
Cleaning properly
Extraction rather than surface shampooing, so the water comes back out rather than soaking further into the padding. Then drying thoroughly, which in Nashville humidity needs airflow and time.
A carpet cleaned and left damp in a closed car is worse than before.
Leather and plastics
Leather needs cleaning and conditioning, and Middle Tennessee sun degrades it faster than most climates. Dashboard plastics benefit from a UV protectant, which delays cracking.
Both are cheap maintenance against expensive replacement.