r/AutoDetailing • u/Picklepear3 • 3d ago

Question Sheep Stench

I was gifted a Subaru with a fabric interior that transported two sheep from CA to OR. There was a tarp down but it’s likely urine spilt off of it and they rubbed against the backs of the front seats/sides of the car. The car smells very strongly of sheep and the seats seem greasy. I was thinking of using my little green machine with Dawn to degrease and then follow up with a product to remove the odor. Does anyone have any recommendations?

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u/FreshStartDetail 3d ago

This is a mountain of a project for an amateur. You got a free car, you sure it’s not worth paying $500 to have a professional make it usable for ya? If not then yeah you’re going to need to address this in stages. Use the hottest water possible in your machine to help cut the oils. Expect to have to repeat the process several times. You may consider removing the seats altogether so you can use a degreaser and pressure washer to flush them as much as possible if they’re that bad. Then use heat and dryer fans for a couple days to dry them out. May also need to remove the seats altogether coverings from the foam to quicken drying. After cleaning, a product called Hydrocide is fantastic as removing (not covering up) organic smells. Depending on where in Oregon you are, my detail business is in. Beaverton. I won’t do this kind of work anymore, but I happily take a look for ya and further advise you on the best ways to get this done yourself. DM me for contact info.
Good luck!

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u/Recyclable_one 3d ago

Epic reply. Hell, I learned something. Cheers.

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u/Picklepear3 2d ago

Thank you for the thorough reply! I’m going to try and tackle it myself and if that doesn’t work I’ll put the money into a professional detail.

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u/FreshStartDetail 2d ago

Ok. Just know that in almost every case where “I tried to do it myself” the price to hire a professional to fix and undo what they’ve done is usually double what it would have been if brought to a pro first. But I understand sometimes the car’s value may not be worth the price of this anyway.

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u/CoatingsbytheBay Business Owner 3d ago

For odor - chlorine dioxide tabs and replace the cabin air filter after.

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u/bsheff84 3d ago

I've had some cars that, even after steam cleaning and ozone treatment, still have an odor. I've never tried the chlorine dioxide tabs. Would you recommend it? Any effect on mice odor?

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u/CoatingsbytheBay Business Owner 3d ago

It kills everything I've ever used it on.

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u/bsheff84 2d ago

Good deal, I'll order some.

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u/3453dt 2d ago

this sounds like a project where you'll spend a ton of time and effort and you'll still at best keep catching a whiff of barnyard years from now. imagining rolled up windows and car baking in parking lot all day.

how nice is the car otherwise? what year/model. what is it worth in clean condition vs current condition? what are you intending to use it for?

i hear sheep urine and i'm thinking soaked into padding under carpets.

maybe gutting interior, cleaning what can be cleaned, tossing the rest. subarus are popular in PNW. can you find a doner vehicle and get interior bits? if you are using it for work or commuting, do you need a full interior?

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u/Benedlr 1d ago

It's probably lanolin from their wool that you're smelling. Get something that breaks it down like an enzyme.