Since odors are caused by a variety of circumstances, there is a range of odor control chemicals that address specific situations.

	Odor Masks These are products which introduce one odor in order to hide another. They are useful in hiding smells that will dissipate in time on their own.
	Encapsulants These are agents which surround an odor source and prevent it from off-gassing.
	Oxidizers These products speed the oxidation of a compound an deplete its ability to create odors. Oxidizers are used successfully, for instance, in handling skunk odors.
	Neutralizers Neutralizers, or "pairing agents" as they're sometimes called, stop odors by stopping chemical reactions. Sulfuric acid off-gasses sulfur and when neutralized will stop smelling like rotten eggs.
	Absorbents These are normally crystalline structures that attract odor molecules and trap them within their internal matrix. Activated charcoal is an absorbent.
	Bio-Enzymes Enzymes and bacteria cultures actually eat organic residues, eliminating them as an odor source. Bio-enzymes can be extremely effective in bodily waste and some food spills.
	Disinfectants Odors caused by organic action, such as mold and mildew, can be stopped by the application of a disinfectant. Killing the organism stops its ability to generate odors. Disinfectants can be packaged as inexpensive aerosols or as part of sophisticated odor-elimination systems such as foggers or ozone systems.

 Search and Destroy

	Locate the Source For food spills, as well as for urine smells, an ion-wave ultraviolet light is almost indispensable. For other smells, your nose is still the best locating tool.
	Remove as Much of the Source As Possible Follow instructions on our carpet cleaning page for spot cleaning. Vacuum, scrape dried deposits and clean spots thoroughly. Urine spots will respond better if you pre-treat with an acid rinse. This is because urine, although acid when fresh, dries to an alkaline deposit. Neutralization with an acid pre-rinse will help in removing most of the spot.
	Treat the Residues For organic odors, an enzyme product will normally eliminate any remaining contaminants. The exceptions are tobacco and mold. Tobacco smoke is particularly difficult to remove because smoke migrates into areas which cannot be cleaned without disassembling the vehicle. For this reason, you need to be able to introduce a product that will go where the tobacco smoke went. Thermal fogging is the one method devised that can place chemicals exactly where the smoke went. Thermal fogging consists of pumping a chemical (usually based on highly purified kerosene) through a fogging device. This produces a fog that is of much the same consistency and particle size as tobacco smoke. The fogging chemical also contains an odor control component which will work on counteracting the tobacco smell. For mold and mildew smells, you will need to treat with a disinfectant product. Mold requires darkness, stale air, moisture, a food source and a temperature range similar to that in which humans are comfortable. From this, you can judge that mold and mildew will usually occur under damp carpeting and in air-conditioning systems (during periods of non-use). You may need to lift the carpeting to get at mold for treatment.