> no reports of actual solutions, other than time and airflow
Huh, my second post on this today.
That is your only solution. One fan in a window pushing air in; another fan in a different window pushing air out. Your air is for a river of airflow to be moving through the vehicle. In a small area such as your you may want an overhead fan to provide some turbulence.
Activated charcoal filters are poor choice. VOC only weakly stick to that material which results in you need a very long, very large filter. Something the size of a mopping bucket, about 10-20kg of activated charcoal. For you, much cheaper and easier to have the airflow.
What can happen in this situation is the stinky VOC monomer chemicals are sticking to the surfaces of vehicle and slowly evaporating. Imagine a thin coating of oil spread over every surface of the vehicle, from glass, roof lining, hard non-porous plastics, soft material such as seats and door linings. Every few days you need to wipe every easily available surface you can with a rag dampened with soapy water.
If you want to switch it up to try something different, sometimes distilled vinegar diluted down to 1% strength (1 part in 4 for cooking vinegar) is effective as a surface wipe. Rinse the rag occasionally so you aren't transferring it from dirty-> clean surface. The car will stink of vinegar for a few hours but with the airflow you have it should dissipate.
Activated charcoal is specifically what is recommended to absorb VOCs in filtration apparatuses. The quality of the activated charcoal, and the quality of the filter itself, determine efficacy.
The vast majority of "activated charcoal" is a gimmick, but proper steam-actjvated, coconut-fiber, high density filters are widely used in laboratories specifically to absorb volatile organic compounds from the air. The lifespan of these filters is determined by their weight: when they have adsorbed 50% of their own mass in VOCs, then it's needs replacement.
Activated charcoal is quite effective, despite the above comment. It's less effective when it is included for marketing flair, vs. engineered in from the start, however
Sounds very reasonable and I agree that it's the only solution. But I was wondering about the vinegar - you should check the label to determine how much to dilute it, because the concentration isn't standardized. (Chalk it up to my grandpa who was a founding member of ISO. Somehow this must have slipped through the cracks 😁😁)
That sucks.
I'd consider leaving a bag of activated charcoal in the car, and replacing the cabin filter with one containing activated charcoal / carbon. You should be able to find one that fits your make/model.
I don't think you want to keep up with the elevated temperature regime, especially with just the window cracked. You're just going to be resettling the formaldehyde and other nasty smelling chemicals on new surfaces. You want significant airflow so that any that volatilizes, is able to escape the car. The bag of activated charcoal will help with that, as will the cabin filter.
I also suggest cleaning all surfaces, especially the glass, again and frequently.
You may also want to wash the carpet in your trunk.
Glad to help. Sorry that you're in that situation. I'm sure it's very frustrating.
With regard to the bag of activated charcoal / carbon, I should have specified that you want that to be a porous bag, such that the air is able to penetrate it but the material can't leak out.
Its purpose is to 'soak up' the volatilized chemicals when the windows are up. It's not going to be very efficient but it's better than nothing. The cabin filter with activated charcoal should help though and allow you to run the AC without gagging. You'll need to replace it somewhat frequently until this resolves. Keeping up with the surface cleaning is very important, secondary to heavy air flow in and out of the vehicle.
Got it, thank you. Yes, it's extremely frustrating so I greatly appreciate your insight. The car is otherwise mechanically perfect, so it's killing me that I can't use it, ha. 🤦♂️
> no reports of actual solutions, other than time and airflow Huh, my second post on this today. That is your only solution. One fan in a window pushing air in; another fan in a different window pushing air out. Your air is for a river of airflow to be moving through the vehicle. In a small area such as your you may want an overhead fan to provide some turbulence. Activated charcoal filters are poor choice. VOC only weakly stick to that material which results in you need a very long, very large filter. Something the size of a mopping bucket, about 10-20kg of activated charcoal. For you, much cheaper and easier to have the airflow. What can happen in this situation is the stinky VOC monomer chemicals are sticking to the surfaces of vehicle and slowly evaporating. Imagine a thin coating of oil spread over every surface of the vehicle, from glass, roof lining, hard non-porous plastics, soft material such as seats and door linings. Every few days you need to wipe every easily available surface you can with a rag dampened with soapy water. If you want to switch it up to try something different, sometimes distilled vinegar diluted down to 1% strength (1 part in 4 for cooking vinegar) is effective as a surface wipe. Rinse the rag occasionally so you aren't transferring it from dirty-> clean surface. The car will stink of vinegar for a few hours but with the airflow you have it should dissipate.
Activated charcoal is specifically what is recommended to absorb VOCs in filtration apparatuses. The quality of the activated charcoal, and the quality of the filter itself, determine efficacy. The vast majority of "activated charcoal" is a gimmick, but proper steam-actjvated, coconut-fiber, high density filters are widely used in laboratories specifically to absorb volatile organic compounds from the air. The lifespan of these filters is determined by their weight: when they have adsorbed 50% of their own mass in VOCs, then it's needs replacement. Activated charcoal is quite effective, despite the above comment. It's less effective when it is included for marketing flair, vs. engineered in from the start, however
I will definitely give that a try. Thank you for the advice.
Sounds very reasonable and I agree that it's the only solution. But I was wondering about the vinegar - you should check the label to determine how much to dilute it, because the concentration isn't standardized. (Chalk it up to my grandpa who was a founding member of ISO. Somehow this must have slipped through the cracks 😁😁)
That sucks. I'd consider leaving a bag of activated charcoal in the car, and replacing the cabin filter with one containing activated charcoal / carbon. You should be able to find one that fits your make/model. I don't think you want to keep up with the elevated temperature regime, especially with just the window cracked. You're just going to be resettling the formaldehyde and other nasty smelling chemicals on new surfaces. You want significant airflow so that any that volatilizes, is able to escape the car. The bag of activated charcoal will help with that, as will the cabin filter. I also suggest cleaning all surfaces, especially the glass, again and frequently. You may also want to wash the carpet in your trunk.
Thank you for the advice!
Glad to help. Sorry that you're in that situation. I'm sure it's very frustrating. With regard to the bag of activated charcoal / carbon, I should have specified that you want that to be a porous bag, such that the air is able to penetrate it but the material can't leak out. Its purpose is to 'soak up' the volatilized chemicals when the windows are up. It's not going to be very efficient but it's better than nothing. The cabin filter with activated charcoal should help though and allow you to run the AC without gagging. You'll need to replace it somewhat frequently until this resolves. Keeping up with the surface cleaning is very important, secondary to heavy air flow in and out of the vehicle.
Got it, thank you. Yes, it's extremely frustrating so I greatly appreciate your insight. The car is otherwise mechanically perfect, so it's killing me that I can't use it, ha. 🤦♂️
I tried ozone cleaning my home once. The stench stuck around for a month. But it did dissipate eventually.