So my 2010 HHR came with a gift from the previous owner, a funky stink. Hey, the price was right and im more tenacious than I am bright sometimes hahaha.
Seems the ac condensate drain was plugged for some time and this being Florida it repeatedly flooded the passenger floor/carpet. Instead of fixing the problem right it seems they just dumped soap deodorants on it.
Enter the new owner with a sensitive schnoz.
Once I located the source of the funk I decided to remove the carpet. First and always before unplugging or removing anything DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. It started Pretty easy really, 4 bolts and the front seats come out, 2 more bolts and 2 nuts and the seat support comes out. Yeah theres a bunch of trim to remove and the front seatbelt shoulder straps to remove the side trim.
Back seat was even easier, 4 nuts and the seat bottoms simply fold up and viola, the entire carpet comes out. After assessing the carpet condition I decided to order a new carpet. But even with the carpet out the funk smell remained no matter how much cleaning until I purchased a lightly used Ozone Generator on craigslist for $50. Best $50 Ive spent on this car so far. 2.5 hours with the generator in the back with heat running full blast and there is absolutely zero funk and zero smell. Except for the lingering smell of ozone its completely neutral.
I would highly recomend anyone dealing with odor issues to use an ozone generator first after a good cleaning.

 

That’s the same problem the PO of my 2011 had a funky smell, he replaced the carpet, washed down the entire interior with Dawn and water mixture.
I will have to look into one of these machines

 

Not something you wanna breath much of.. Ozone can be harmful to humans.. Google or Bing "Ozone" ..

 

Automotive exhaust is dangerous too but we breathe it every day.
You dont breath the ozone. You use the machine once or twice and then air out the car.
Whats funny is if you walk into any major automobile dealership you will find a shelf of ozone generators in the detail department.
Heres what I found on an anti ozone page
"

Health Effects of Ozone

The EPA has reported there is a variety of health effects associated with high levels of ozone. This may include decreased lung function, throat irritation, severe asthma symptoms, cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, irritation of lung tissue, and the higher sensitivity to respiratory infection. They went on to note that there were additional risk factors which can perpetuate the side effects of ozone such as undertaking activities which raise breathing rates (such as exercising indoors), certain pre-existing lung diseases, and greater duration of exposure."
Sorry, not scared and my car no longer smells of moldy perfumed ass. ​In fact its totally odor neutral. Ozium sucks by the way 👍

 

Well that's why I said, "Not something you wanna breathe much of"..

PS: What is "Ozium" ?

 

Ozium is a "deodorant spray" thats supposed to get rid of unwanted odors. Been on the market for 30-40 years. Works ok for light odors like if a smoker sat in your car for a few hours but does nothing for a car thats been smoked in for months or years.

 

I know , I changed every soft upholstery piece of Oldblue, except the carpet and the head liner.
My heated Green Machine upholstery cleaner , clean potable water and 1/2 an once of Dawn, cleaned them up .
But that was just to get the smoke oders out.
Thankfully a member here had the front seat upholstery, for sale .

 

Doesn't Febreze have products that do the same thing ?
https://www.febreze.com/en-us