[Sausager]

I have a 1996 LWB Vitara which I have recently got on the road. It sat parked in a paddock for 2 years before I bought it and got it road legal. The previous owner owned a dog and his dog went with him everywhere - including in this vehicle. Problem is that I am allergic to dogs, so at the moment I am allergic to this Vitara. I can clean seats, floors etc easily enough, but the one that's got me is the heater and ducted air system. The heater/vents puts out a horrid dog smell that makes me suffer and that I am hoping to get rid of

I am guessing that there is no cabin air filter which makes this more difficult.

Short of removing and deep cleaning or replacing the blower, AC core, and heater core and maybe the ducting splitter/directing unit, has anyone had any success in cleaning out the ducted air system? Any bright ideas out there for cleaning it out?

[Eddy]

Try some carb soda.
Get the fan running full bore and sprinkle the CS through the intake and get the vacuum cleaner running at the vents.
Some fresh ground coffee beans can help as well ... big sacrifice I know, but some things are just worth the risk.

[fordem]

Based on personal experience, as a dog owner whose dog was a frequent passenger in the car - it's probably time to sell it on - the entire vehicle is loaded with dander (microscopic particles of fur, skin & other detritus) in places that you can't reach, that you'll never get rid of

I had a long haired dachshund that loved to ride in the car, and a decade after she was gone I was still finding hair under the seats, in crevices, under the carpet, behind the trim, places that you would never imagine it could get

[Gwagensteve]

I'd agree Fordem. I was going to ask what bit of doggo you are allergic to.

You can try completely disassembling the dash heater box and ducting and washing EVERYTHING but you won't get it all, and most likely you'll need to replace the carpet and seats.

My Discovery was previously inhabited by a dog. I pressure washed the carpet and headliner, I've had the dash and ducting out, pressure washed the dash etc and there's still plenty of hair in the car and the occaisional doggo smell from the heater as the car warms up. Thankfully I'm not allergic, but it's an example of how hard it is to get out.

[shep]

Bowden have a product for getting rid of dog smell, pong go and it works real well at getting rid of the stench from my old stinky bitch

[Gwagensteve]

Depends whether it’s a smell or allergy problem. Masking a smell won’t help an allergy.

[fordem]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Depends whether it’s a smell or allergy problem. Masking a smell won’t help an allergy.

This is why I'm suggesting getting rid of it.

Several members of my family have allergies, my youngest daughter being the worst, and there were some, let's call them, very scary moments, when she was younger - she's late twenties now - so we've had close to three decades of learning (yes, we are still learning) to deal with the allergies - just thinking about it as I type this sends shivers down my spine.

[alien]

Huh! I had no idea a dog allergy could be that sensitive, though it makes sense.

[Gwagensteve]

With cat allergies (which are a bit more common I think) it's generally the saliva of the cat that's the allergen. As cats groom by licking, it means it's everywhere.

[Sausager]

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas

Yes, being allergic to dogs sucks, though on the scale of severity of allergy I am nearer the bottom than the anaphylactic end of the scale, though it still gives me a hard time. I'm also allergic to cats, but that upsets me far less than my allergy to dogs. The worst part of a dog for me is the saliva (raised welts or hives within seconds of where it touches me), though the dander does also affect me, though much more slowly.

Thankfully, the vehicle has no carpet in it, so I stripped out a bunch of the interior and hosed out the car over the weekend, and spent a good few hours vacuuming and cleaning the seats. It made a huge difference, and now I think I can tolerate the vehicle. I also ran the fan on high for probably a total of 6 hours over the weekend. This also made a big difference, but is unfortunately still "doggy". I don't see a silver bullet of removing the smell from the heater system here, so I think i'll have to replace the blower/heater core and then try tolerate the vehicle, or move it on.

I was going to try the baking soda through the vents trick, but couldn't find the interior blower intake. Where is it?

[fordem]

Should be behind the glove box.

[alien]

**not knowing anything about this** but isn't there some aerosol product, or ozone style treatment that you can 'gas' the car with that will kill the active element you're allergic to??
Could you run a household-style HEPA filter inside the car while the fan is running so the filter pulls all the shit out of the air?

[Sausager]

alien wrote:

**not knowing anything about this** but isn't there some aerosol product, or ozone style treatment that you can 'gas' the car with that will kill the active element you're allergic to??
Could you run a household-style HEPA filter inside the car while the fan is running so the filter pulls all the shit out of the air?

Sounds like you know more about this than I do! I'm not convinced that an ozone type treatment would be effective against dog dander though?

[alien]

Google 'dander killer' - there's all sorts of shit you can spray =)