How to Get Dog Smell Out of a Car, and Keep It From Coming Back

To get dog smell out of a car, take out what holds the smell instead of covering it up: wash the seat cover and mats, lift the hair from the carpet and seats, then deodorize cloth fabric with baking soda and vacuum. The smell lives in hair, damp and fabric, not the air, which is why a spray alone soon fades. A dog who gets in dry, a washable cover and a five-minute weekly reset keep it from coming back.

Short answer: air it, wash it, lift the hair, then deodorize the fabric

Allow about an hour of work on a dry day, plus a few hours or overnight for the baking soda, and leave your dog at home. You will need:

• A vacuum with a crevice tool and an upholstery brush.
• A box of baking soda.
• A rubber-toothed rake or a damp rubber dish glove.
• Microfiber cloths, glass cleaner and a cleaner made for car interiors.

Order matters: baking soda works on clean, dry fabric, so the hair and the damp come out first.

Why dog smell sticks in a car

A car is a small, closed, fabric-lined space, and your dog leaves hair, dander and skin oils in it on every ride. Wet paws and damp coats soak the seats and mats, which dry slowly with the doors shut.

Then come the hidden sources: a damp towel under a seat, a chew by a cushion, treat crumbs in a door pocket, a used poop bag in the cargo area, hair in the cabin air filter. Find those first, or nothing else lasts.

How to get dog smell out of a car, step by step

1. Clear it out. Remove toys, towels, chews and trash, including under the seats and in the cargo area.
2. Open it up. Open every door and the hatch while you work, in the sun if you can, so warm air dries damp fabric.
3. Take out the cover and the mats. Shake both outdoors, then wash the cover as its care label directs and dry it completely.
4. Lift the hair. Rake carpeted mats and the footwells in short strokes, and sweep a damp rubber glove along cloth seats and seams. Our guide to getting dog hair out of carpet, rugs and car mats covers the technique.
5. Vacuum slowly. Do the seats, seams, gaps, footwells and cargo floor.
6. Deodorize the fabric. After testing a hidden spot, dust baking soda over dry cloth seats and carpet, thin enough to see the fabric through. Leave it a few hours, or overnight with the car closed, then vacuum until none is left, keeping your dog out until it is gone.
7. Wipe the hard surfaces. Use a damp microfiber cloth with glass cleaner on the windows and a car interior cleaner on door panels and seat backs.
8. Check the cabin air filter. If the vents smell musty, compare its age with your owner’s manual and replace it if due.

Air fresheners only cover the smell, so use one last, if at all, and skip essential-oil diffusers. The ASPCA advises running a diffuser only briefly, in a space your pet can’t get into; in a closed car, your dog can’t walk away from the scent.

Cloth seats, leather seats and floor mats

Cloth seats

Cloth holds most of the dog smell in car seats, and it takes baking soda well. If the smell survives, use an upholstery cleaner made for car fabric as its label directs, blotting rather than scrubbing, and pull the moisture back out with a wet-dry vacuum. Leave the doors open until the seat is dry right through, because foam that stays damp turns musty.

Leather and vinyl seats

Skip the powder, which settles into stitching and perforations. Vacuum with the brush attachment, then wipe with a cleaner made for automotive leather or vinyl, without soaking the seat. Leather soaks up less than cloth, so the job is mostly hair, drool and paw marks.

Floor mats and accidents

Scrub rubber mats in warm, soapy water and dry them in the sun. Carpeted mats get the rake, vacuum and baking soda, and must be bone dry before they go back, or they trap damp against the carpet.

For urine or vomit, act the same day: lift off any solids, blot rather than rub, then use an enzyme cleaner made for pet messes as its label directs. If urine soaked into a seat cushion and the smell keeps returning, a detailer with a hot-water extractor can flush the foam.

If your dog often drools, vomits or has accidents on drives, tell your veterinarian; our guide to getting a dog used to car rides covers the signs of motion sickness.

Wet dog smell: towels, wipes and a drier dog

Wet dog smell comes off a damp coat, and a soaked dog lying on a seat presses the water, and the smell with it, into the fabric. Dry your dog at the car door, not after the drive.

1. Keep a car kit in the trunk: two old towels, large pet wipes and a waterproof bag for wet towels.
2. At the car door, wipe each paw and dry between the toes, then towel the legs, belly, chest and back. Our guide to walking a dog in the rain and drying off at the door has the full order.
3. Lay the second towel where your dog rides, and set the fan to bring in outside air rather than recirculate.
4. At home, take wet towels out straight away and hang a damp cover to dry; a wet towel left in a closed car smells by morning.

Mr. Peanut’s Naturals Pet Wipes come 150 to a container in a large 6 × 10 in size, for paws, ears and coat; keep one container by the door and one in the car. They are for your dog, not the upholstery.

If your dog smells strongly even when dry, or again a day or two after a bath, the source may be your dog rather than the car, so see your veterinarian. Our guide to getting rid of dog smell in the house lists the signs.

Prevention: a washable cover and a weekly five-minute reset

Keeping a car from smelling like dog takes two habits: give the hair and damp something washable to land on, and clear them out before they build up.

Keep a washable cover in place

The GF PET Waterproof Dog Car Hammock Seat Cover clips around the headrests and covers the rear bench, rear backrests and front seat backs in waterproof polyester. Machine wash it cold on a delicate cycle and lay it flat to dry, with no bleach, ironing or dry cleaning. It measures 58 × 57 inches, so measure your back seat first.

If your dog must ride up front, as in a single-cab truck, the GOOPAWS Waterproof Front Seat Cover for Dogs fits most front seats at 40 × 20.5 inches, with a waterproof layer and a non-slip backing, and it is machine washable. Check your owner’s manual on the passenger airbag first, and use the back seat whenever there is one; our guide to choosing between a dog hammock and a seat cover compares the two.

A weekly five-minute reset

• Take out towels, toys, chews and trash.
• Shake the cover outdoors and refit it.
• Pull and shake the mats, and give the footwells a quick vacuum.
• Wipe the nose prints off the windows, and restock the wipes and dry towels.

Once a month, or whenever the smell creeps back, wash the cover and repeat the baking soda. The Telescopic Pet Hair Removal Rake has a wide head of firm rubber teeth made for carpets, rugs and car mats; shorten its aluminum handle for the footwells, or lay the mats flat on the driveway and rake them standing up.

For the same kind of routine indoors, see our home and cleaning guides.

A cover protects the seat, not the dog

A hammock or seat cover keeps hair, mud and smell off the upholstery, but it is not a restraint. Pair it with a seat belt tether clipped to a harness, never a collar, or a booster seat for a small dog. Our guide to choosing a dog seat belt or a booster seat shows how to set up either one, and our dog travel and car accessories include both.

Air the car out empty, too. Never leave your dog alone in a parked car, even with the windows cracked; the American Kennel Club explains why cracked windows make little difference.

Car odor FAQ

Does baking soda get dog smell out of car seats?

On cloth seats and carpeted mats, yes, for everyday odor, as long as the fabric is dry and the hair is out first; leave it a few hours or overnight, then vacuum the seams until no white is left. Accident smells in the foam need an enzyme cleaner, and leather should skip the powder.

Does vinegar get rid of dog smell in a car?

It can help on cloth seats and carpet. Mix white vinegar with an equal amount of water, test a hidden spot and mist it on lightly without soaking the foam; the vinegar smell clears as the seat dries with the doors open. Keep it off leather unless the maker’s care advice allows it, never combine it with bleach, and treat urine with an enzyme cleaner.

Why does my car smell like wet dog when the AC is on?

A musty smell from the vents, even in a car no dog has ridden in, usually starts in the ventilation rather than the seats: a dirty cabin air filter, or moisture and mildew in the air-conditioning system. Replace the filter if it is due, and if the smell stays, ask a mechanic to check and clean the system.

How do I get dog smell out of a used car?

Do the full clean above, twice if needed, and replace the cabin air filter, which may hold the last owner’s dog hair. If the smell survives, a professional detailer can shampoo and extract the seats and carpet. If the detailer uses ozone, air the car out thoroughly before anyone, your dog included, rides in it.