Clean the bottom of the car?

[fred88]

After an encounter with a lorry that had lost its load of cattle waste yesterday the car absolutely stunk. The lorry had driven for a couple miles without realising so the road was plastered for most of it, sometimes quite badly. I've had it cleaned by a bod at a carwash with a jetter which removed alot and I've had a go myself but there is still a smell.

I'm just going to have to let it dissipate naturally I guess but I thought I'd ask here whether there's any nooks and crannies that might be harbouring any remnants. I don't have access to a pit or ramps or anything, whatever I do is lying by the side of the car.

[Corollanutter]

You should have left it. By the end of the week you would have had a RAV4 🙂

Serously though, maybe some has got into the cabin air intake? 

[sportse]

There is a local Esso carwash that includes an underbody wash as part of the cycle , maybe there's one near you - it will get into all the parts that you can't get from the sides as you are parked on top of the spray nozzles.

[Bper]

Hi,Roger, If you have a Karcher or other power washer you could use this under the car along with a good detailing spray and a long brush. I would also check the exhaust to make sure nothing has got stuck in there. If you going to do this yourself and as you say do no not have any ramps then make sure you secure the car when working underneath. Ask a neighbour if they have car ramps or jack stands you can borrow.👍

[TonyHSD]

I will give you one more tip in addition to the ones given by the other members, take your car on a motorway drive when there is a heavy rain and the road is well covered with water. Drive safe..
This is possibly the best car wash underneath.  Drive for at least 20 min. 👌

[Cyker]

Just don't get too carried away...

 

[Chainbreaker]

I clean my undercarriage in the winter months to keep the salt at bay. I jack the car up on one side, use a pressure washer with foam cannon filled with bilt hamber touchless (a very powerful Snow Foam surfectant) and leave it for 5 mins before rinsing off. I imagine this would be very good for your issue as it breaks down dirt and makes it easy to remove with the pressure washer.

[Basil-BarryC]

If you have a Karcher pressure washer I’m pretty sure they used to offer an under vehicle cleaning attachment which could be used for foam cleaner and rinse to remove Road salt and debris 

[fred88]

OK, thanks for the suggestions folks.

[Shared]

These do a reasonable job at a reasonable price if you already have a pressure washer, it also has quick connect which makes it easier to match up with a wider variety of pw's, I have one for my Nilfisk.

[Red_Corolla]

Both of the big pressure washer manufacturers offer a right-angle attachment for underbody cleaning.

Rather than focussing all of your attention on the underfloor, I would suggest to check the recesses behind the wheelarches (i.e. the inner lining of the wing,  in front of the wheel rather than behind) and at the top of the shock towers: These areas are impossible to view and also very difficult to spray using a lance because there's no room to get one in, but lots of dirt can get trapped up there until a fastidious person comes along. A spray nozzle on the end of the hose and a good, strong, water supply is usually enough to flush out the dirt.

[Chrisnufc]

There is a lot of talk about underside cleaning ideas here. Here’s a link to one of my posts which shows my homemade undercar cleaning device. simple to make and effective 

 

[twintopp]

once passing a cattle truck on the motorway we were splattered from a slat in the side all over the bonnet and windscreen , it stunk and took weeks for the smell to go. as said earlier take for a run on wet roads .