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Smelly van...smelly van....Why do they smell so bad?
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CascadeSasquatch
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 7:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the best ways to get rid of the smell it to make sure that you vacumm out your fresh air vents. I take an air compressor and blow down the air vent while running the shop vac next off one of the other vents.

Also an ozone machine (you can get it at your local rental store) is how detailers get really bad smells out of carpet and cloth. Clean everything, put the ozone machine in with the windows rolled up and leave over night. My the next morning the smells will be gone. This is one of the only ways I know to get rid of cig smell.
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Terry Kay
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Might be dead vermin in the fresh air vent's--might be in the heater box.

Which ever it is-- the baking soda isn't going to get rid of the nasty odor unil the rat turns to jerky--or you yank apart the dash to clean the DOA mouse remains.

You better hurry before winter---Baked mouse ala carte isn't a good thing to be whiffing.
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Last edited by Terry Kay on Sat Sep 20, 2008 10:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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carterzest
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:14 pm    Post subject: From the General chat forum...... Reply with quote

BSQUARE wrote:
This cute li'l fella was under the back seat of a Squareback.
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Uhhh..maybe that is where the smell was coming from...Good luck
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billybobrudebaga
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BSQUARE....that's a nice picture.

I found 6 little critters after I pulled the plug on the pillar!!!
I noticed that one side smelled macnasty and the other seemed to be fine...I pulled both plugs and the only thing I could think to do was to use the hose into the vent on the pillar where the door vent matches and I sprayed until I got all the remains out....now I am sure that there are no more dead critters in the bottom of the pillar....

Then I took some compressed air to the top roof vents to make sure there was nothing up top and blew all that clean...now it's all clean.

I am going to leave the plug out to fully dry out the pillar , but what do I put in there to get rid of any lingering stench after it dries?

I'm not sure that spraying the pillar was the best thing to do, but I didn't think that I had any other choice....there was no way to break up the mass of dead mice in the bottom to get them out of the drain hole.

When I turn on the fan and open the heat vents...there is no smell. Same when I open the fresh air from the dash....I stick my nose right up to where it the channel before it goes into the door and there is no smell to the air....it only smells when I close the door (on one side only) and allow the channels to align and the air to flow to the roof vents.

Any thoughts?
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carterzest
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gonna have to put that one in the signature line...better than Everett B's Chromies Quote...

In alll seriousness, no joke,no duh, tencent hit it out the park(Yankee Stadium's last day....and I do not even follow BASEBALL!).
Whatever ammount of B.S., Baking Soda, It takes...And.....Air the F&%# out of Das VanGina......CHUCK77...Actually named his van, Vangina!


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tencentlife wrote:
A lot of the suggested solutions (pun not intended) pretty much mask the smells. Baking soda actually eliminates them. Spread it liberally on, and especially under, carpets, sprinkle on upholstery, dump it down air vents, etc. Wherever you think the source of the reek is. Leave it there for several days, longer is better, and vacuum it out thoroughly. No more smells, no perfumy prettiness lingering afterward to give you headaches or inspire reveries of that long-ago visit to the donkey-bars in Juarez. Unless that's a pleasant memory. If so, just don't tell the wife why you're always smiling when you're in the van.

Mice love to get into the front ventilation intake, wander thru the venting system, and if they don't take up residence in the air box itself, they often cruise on back thru the door beam ducts and climb thru the louvers in the B-pillars. Once they get in there, they fall down to the bottom of the B-pillar and die in the bottom of that dungeon. About a half-box of Arm & Hammer dumped down each one oughta do the trick. There are also drain plugs below them that can be removed if you want to flush the remains out the bottom.

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billybobrudebaga
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:57 pm    Post subject: Thanks Reply with quote

Thanks for the info Carterzest!!

I'll dump some MORE baking soda down there tonight...more to the order of 1/2 a box this time.

I'll post if it's better or not in a few days.

-Billy
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Sodo
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Before dumping the stuff all over (or where it cannot be washed or vacuumed) does anyone know if there is a condition where baking soda can turn corrosive inside the body panels?

Tom

==========

from www.wisegeek.com:

Baking soda, otherwise known as bicarbonate of soda, sodium bicarbonate, and, less commonly, saleratus, is a chemical salt with diverse practical uses. With a chemical formula of NaHCO3, baking soda is a white powder with crystalline grains. Although it can be produced by artificial means, in its natural form, baking soda is called nahcolite, taking its name from its chemical formula.

Baking soda is weakly alkaline. As such, it acts to neutralize acids and break down proteins. This quality accounts for its usefulness as a tenderizer and a leaven. Also, it is baking soda’s neutralizing action on acidic scent molecules that makes it an effective deodorizer. Added to the water when doing laundry, baking soda stabilizes the pH level, enhancing the detergent’s effectiveness. Baking soda may also be added to swimming pool water to balance the pH and keep the water clear.

The most common practical use for baking soda is as a leavening agent in baking. In combination with a liquid and an acid, baking soda undergoes a chemical reaction that releases bubbles of carbon dioxide. Trapped in batter or dough, these carbon dioxide bubbles enable the baked good to rise. Baked goods leavened with baking soda, therefore, generally have a light crumb and are aerated with many holes left by the escaping bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Baking soda should not be confused with baking powder, which has added acidifying and drying agents (typically cream of tartar and starch, respectively). Baking soda, on the other hand, is pure bicarbonate of soda.
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not alkaline enough to be at all concerned about. Remember, you can brush your teeth, drink a solution of, gargle with the stuff; all common and effective folk remedies. Dump a load of it down that pillar and leave it awhile, days, weeks, no harm will be done. You would want to eventually flush it out for the simple reason that you want any water that ever accumulates in the bottom of the pillar to drain out. The bicarb might just clog the drain. Other than that, it could be left in there forever; it won't corrode paint or sealants, it's very mild.

I had a couple mice die down in there not long after getting my van. Stunk to high heaven. I fished out one carcass with a wire hook, as I remember, and popped out the drain plug and flushed the rest out with water. Let it drain, dumped some soda in there, either vacuumed or flushed that out awhile later. I added diamond lathe screening to the air intake area behind the front grille, making it fit tightly right to the edges of the opening. Haven't had any more rodent graveyards since then.
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billybobrudebaga
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great info Tencent.....thanks for the post.

Things smell slightly better today after everything I did yesterday.

-Billy
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billybobrudebaga
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The smell is gone!!!!

One day post cleaning....the mouse stench is gone.

Baking soda did it!!!

Just wanted to post an update....

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I never would have found the mice if I hadn't asked.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations! But remember:

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Vanagon vigilance needs to be 24/7.
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RCB
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Moot good photo work, ya had me foolded for a minute.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RCB wrote:
Hey Moot good photo work, ya had me foolded for a minute.

Not me (though I do have quite a repertoire of Photoshop'd images that I've done over the years). This one is just from my "odd images that people have sent me via the Web" folder on the ol' Mac. I'd give credit if I knew who really created it.

But it does resemble the interior of my Westy before I screened off the front air vents. New Mexico has a LOT of mice...
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will t
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:50 pm    Post subject: Wicked smell, and then some... Reply with quote

Hi All:

Last week I purchased a 1987 Westfalia camper that was located in Massachusetts, and drove it back to Denver. When I first got in it, it smelled. It was like a cross between cat piss and one of those christmas tree things people hang form their mirror. Since I had committed to buying the van (ebay - maybe never again?) I just accepted it and drove it back home. It took three days, and I had to really concentrate the entire time so as not to get completely grossed out. I have read the smells thread about 20 times, and have tried to educate myself as to how to extricate the camper package out of the van. I realize now it's possible that I'll have to do alot more, like pulling the entire dash and removing the front seats (which I would actually like to do anyway to make sure the swivel mechanism is clean, lubricated, and working properly). I saw a thread about the dash so I can research that if necessary, but haven't seen one about the seats so if need be (like if I can't find a thread about it) I'll start one.

Here's what I've done so far. I got the guck out of the pillars by removing the plug and draining/flushing (hose ) them. The driver's side made me gag in a profound way (I think I saw god). I vacuumed all the mice droppings out of the cabinets and appliances, under the seat/bed, etc., removed the "living room" carpet, and liberally spread 8 boxes of baking soda over every surface, down into the pillars (1/2 box per side) into the door channels, and into the fresh air dash vents. One thing a member mentioned is an air box, somewhere in the front of the van, and I deduce that it is from this air box that the fresh air vents get their supply. I have removed the front grille and see no "box". The driver's side fresh air vent is very stinky (think death and decay) so I think it is a distinct possibility that the air box may be a source - and that is why I would like to locate it. Can any of you help me find this box in a way that will enable me to vacuum it out and sanitize it? Pictures would be wonderful.

And if there is a link to pictorials on removing all the Westfalia gear, including the swiveling front seats (without screwing something up) I would really appreciate that as well.

Thank you all in advance. I want to love this van, but at this point I'm finding it difficult to get within 15 feet of it.

Will

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Sodo
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One big problem we've had is cooking with garlic. It gets in all the canvas, bedding, curtains, and seat covers, and stays!

What it does to the van does NOT smell like garlic to me, but I know for a fact that garlic causes it. I don't fuss over smells, and I have remorse for dissing garlic, but normal people recoil when they get a big puff of it. This has happened several times and I am certain that garlic is the cause.

To reduce it you need to leave the van wide open for about 4 or 5 days with he wind blowing thru......and it does dissipate. I don't know how long it takes to go away, but certainly the day after is BAD especially if it's been closed up.

The "Last" time, it happened here:

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Spaghetti sauce, heavy on the garlic. I've decided that we saute garlic outside from now on.
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mmmm, mice sauteed in garlic. With a nice mexican beer it might not be bad......

will, the box you're asking about is indeed the dreaded heater/fan housing, which requires removal of the dashboard to get at. It's a rite of passage just like resealing the fuel tank (but NOT like replacing your fuel hoses! THAT, my friend, is the price of admission!!). There are many threads discussing the job and even some with pictures. Plan on a leisurely day to do it since you'll probably want to get the airbox open and sevice the fan motor, and maybe reseal the air flaps while you're in there. I think Ben has pics of it on his site, www.benplace.com .
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ROBERT SIETSEMA
EAT LIKE A ROMAN

A few months ago I was wandering around in the Museo Archeologico di Chiusi, which features Roman and Etruscan art from the surrounding countryside of Tuscany and Umbria, when I stumbled upon a weird ceramic vessel. What made it strange was that it was filled with holes. Why, I wondered, would anyone sit down at a potter's wheel and throw a perfect jar, only to poke holes in it?

It turned out to be glirarium, a jar for breeding dormice (glire, in Italian) for culinary purposes. The dormouse is a European mammal whose name derives from the Latin word doremus, which means "sleepy one," since dormice hibernate for up to six months per year. The jar for breeding them has spiral ridges inside, where the rodents must perch and which prevents them from going to sleep.

Eaten as appetizers, or as desserts, dipped in honey and poppy seeds, dormice were considered a luxury, and at various times during the Roman era, prohibitions (called sumptuary laws) were placed on consuming them. According to the English historian Edward Gibbon, writing in the mid-18th century: "The art of rearing and fattening great numbers of glires was practiced in Roman villas as a profitable article of rural economy. The excessive demand of them for luxurious tables was increased by the foolish prohibitions of the censors; and it is reported that they are still esteemed in modern Rome, and are frequently sent as presents…"

I consulted one of my favorite cookbooks, Around the Roman Table, by Patrick Faas, to see just how one might set about cooking a dormouse, should you happen to catch one scurrying through the woods. Faas provides the following recipe, translated from Apicius:

"Stuff the mice with minced pork, mouse meat from all parts of the mouse ground with pepper, pine kernels, laser, and garum. Sew the mouse up and put on a tile on the stove. Or roast in a portable oven."

Laser is an extinct herb once found in North Africa; by legend, Nero ate the last extant specimen. Garum is a salty fermented fish sauce that the Romans put on nearly everything. But don't try this at home: In many jurisdictions the dormouse is a protected species.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If that's from one of your favorite cookbooks, piloto del perro, remind me not to come to your house for dinner next time I'm in Flag.
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There you are, Chris, back from the dead!

I'll bet Farley Mowat would have loved some lovely garum and garlic when he up in the Arctic. A few cases of Negra Modelo and a bag of limes to round it out. Gotta be careful, though, since dogs love beer I'll bet wolves would kill for it.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tencentlife wrote:
There you are, Chris, back from the dead!

Back from Down Under. Lemme tell ya, driving around SE AussieLand in a 2002 Toyota camper with 400K km on the clock made me really miss the Westy.

But so as not to go O/T, allow me to comment that if some of the critters we ran across (not over) down there got into your Vanagon's vent system ("Damn. There's a dead wombat in the vent!") no amount of baking soda, ammonia, or kitty litter would get the smell out. I think that might be why we saw so few of Vanagons.
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