Hello all. What do you recommend to prevent "lived in smell" from developing in an RV?I looked at $100-200 air purifiers on Amazon but it became clear to me that they only remove particulates, not gases. So I'm guessing the only thing that can really be done is to open the screen windows and get more air changes.Last summer I bought a large dehumidifier unit to keep the RH at 50%. It's paid off in spades. I'm already convinced that controlling moisture is half the battle against odor, and it seems to make the air inside feel much better during the warm season.

If you have a smoker, you'll never get rid of the smells. If you have cat urine, you need a cat urine bacteria eater on the source.Pretty much for everything else: Wash all cloth items. Wash with a touch of bleach all hard surface areas (including the ceiling). If you have carpeting, shampoo the carpets. Then open all the windows and let it air out.Or.... build a really smokey fire right beside the camper and let all the smoke just penetrate everything. It won't smell like "people" any more! It will smell like Vienna Sausage!

Don't smoke in it. Don't cook in it. Clean it often. Air it out often.

I use a small ozone generator. No odors unless I've cranked it up too high, then an ozone odor.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CQO62W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1Doesn't look like much, but sure does work on 'doggy' odors.

we air it out often using the vent fans and open windows. Using the AC will also help and clean the filters often. we vacuum often and wash the area rugs. we use lemon cleaning wipes. Most smells get in the fabric so carpet, blinds, curtains, upholstery absorb odors. We also use Fabreze odor eliminator but we don't really like the "perfume" smell so we use it very little.

wbwood wrote:Don't smoke in it. Don't cook in it. Clean it often. Air it out often.X2! We aren't smokers so that's not a problem. Every RV we've been in that had bad odors was because of cooking. We had a tent and owned a pop-up for many years so were already in the habit of cooking outdoors. The only "cooking" we do inside is nuking stuff. We clean thoroughly before and after each trip, and open the windows whenever possible. We park it next to our house so opening windows and keeping it clean is fairly easy. We had our last trailer for 10 years and had no bad odors in it. The dealer even made a comment to us on how clean it was.

Controlling odors in an RV | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

sdianel_-acct_c
Explorer
Mar 31, 2015
we air it out often using the vent fans and open windows. Using the AC will also help and clean the filters often.
we vacuum often and wash the area rugs.
we use lemon cleaning wipes.
Most smells get in the fabric so carpet, blinds, curtains, upholstery absorb odors. We also use Fabreze odor eliminator but we don't really like the "perfume" smell so we use it very little.
Ski_Pro_3
Explorer
Mar 31, 2015
I use a small ozone generator. No odors unless I've cranked it up too high, then an ozone odor.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CQO62W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Doesn't look like much, but sure does work on 'doggy' odors.
wbwood
Explorer
Mar 31, 2015
Don't smoke in it. Don't cook in it. Clean it often. Air it out often.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Mar 31, 2015
If you have a smoker, you'll never get rid of the smells. If you have cat urine, you need a cat urine bacteria eater on the source.

Pretty much for everything else: Wash all cloth items. Wash with a touch of bleach all hard surface areas (including the ceiling). If you have carpeting, shampoo the carpets. Then open all the windows and let it air out.

Or.... build a really smokey fire right beside the camper and let all the smoke just penetrate everything. It won't smell like "people" any more! It will smell like Vienna Sausage!

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Controlling odors in an RV

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