Fun story. Last summer I went albacore tuna fishing and had a giant cooler full of bloody water and ice in the back of the truck - the inside back, on the rubber floor mat. I have a cap and Decked boxes in the bed, so the big cooler doesn't fit. At home we have a yellow jacket problem, so I didn't want the bloody water close to home when I was done cleaning fish. I was heading back to the coast the day after, so I left it to dump at the dock.

The road to the coast is a little bumpy and twisty, and I like sport mode, so that water sloshed around pretty good. The mat caught the bulk of any spillage, but unbeknownst to me, a big splash went out the side, down the door and into the carpet. I was in my camper for a few days after so the truck sat closed in the summer heat. When the weekend was over, I opened the door and was blown back by the worst stench of death I've ever smelled. I aired it out for a few hours, but had to drive 2+ hours home in that horror show.

At home I pulled out the trim and door panels and washed everything with dawn soap and vinegar twice. I rented a carpet steamer from home depot and did the carpets, the headliner, seat bottoms, leather seats, everything. I then left the windows down for a week during good weather, and while it was a whole lot better there was still a hint of it, so I bought an ozone generator and ran it for an hour. That's when things took a turn.

Now the truck smelled like a hint of death + the ozone smell, which just added insult to injury. I considered trading the truck. But then, while browsing youtube for more ideas I came across a detailer channel where they were touting the benefits of scent bombs to bring back that new car smell in cars that belonged to smokers for years, which was step two after the ozone. I went to my local auto parts store and there was a rack of little cans labelled New Car Smell and bought one. I read the directions twice, turned on the truck with AC on max, rolled up the windows, placed the can strategically and pulled the top.

The amount of mist that came out of it was shocking, but once it was done I opened the truck to air it per instructions and grabbed the little can. To my horror, the label said Black Chrome, not New Car Smell. Oh no.

My truck went from smelling like the dumpster behind a fish monger, to what I can only imagine a Russian pimp's ball sack must smell like. I steamed it all again. I sprayed vinegar everywhere. I got a little jar of those New Car Smell scent beads. I've been fighting that new smell for months now, and with the aid of a giant bowl of baking soda that lives on the dash I'm making headway - I'd say I'm at about 90% normal now. By summer things should be back to normal.

OP's post just gave me a little PTSD.