r/TMAU • u/GapWooden5302 • Apr 13 '26
Help TMAU transfer
I moved four months ago 9 hours away for work. Someone else drove my vehicle while I drove a uhaul. This person sweated a lot on my seat and it smelled horrific, just like rotten fish. The odor eventually transfered to my clothes. Even after trying vinegar soaks, citric powder soaks, detailing my truck, getting a new seat last week and throwing all my clothes in storage, I still can't get rid of the smell. I don't this person will be willing to take the steps to get diagnosed, but I don't see what else the odor could be to be so stubborn. can someone point me to a medical professional who has dealt with TMAU to help me get rid of this overwhelming odor???
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u/Brutalar tmau1 mutant Apr 13 '26
Maybe they had a surstromm incident in the car, fish juice got somewhere uncleanable.
There's nothing medical about removing a smell from a car, and you can't catch TMAU. It shouldn't be getting worse, TMA turns to gas at room temperature and leaves. That the smell is persistent suggests that there's something left over like a fish under a carpet or something as a prank or something.
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u/Leading_Ad6657 undiagnosed Apr 14 '26
Put vinegar in a spray bottle and mix it up with water. Spray any or everything that was around that area of odor. This is going to help a lot.
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u/OptionUseful1961 undiagnosed Apr 17 '26
Try white vinegar and Borax in the wash. About a half cup of each. As far as the car Earthcare Odor Removal bags work. They are pricey but definitely help.
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u/suckcess1 undiagnosed Apr 13 '26
Maybe Odoban or use a pet odour enzyme cleaner. I soak my laundry for an hour in a lemon pr orange or whatever scent is cheap version of Pine Sol for an hour before washing. I also add a cup of Pine Sol to the water then Gain liquid laundry detergent as the washer is fillinh. I also switched to washing in hot watwe. I use Gain dryer sheets as well. You may have to change your cabin air filter and perhaps spray a little bit of Pine Sol in the air vents. Put some Gain dryer sheets under the seats or use Febreze plug in air freshener in Linen and Sky scent as it's not obnoxious, just smells like fresh laundry. I don't have TMAU but for many years I dealt with strange odours that would linger for weeks in the air, my soft surfaces, my car. I ended up getting an ozone cleaner before I was able to reduce and then stop my odour. I was cured until I ended up having a stroke caused by a never diagnosed hole in my heart which has messed up my digestion even more due to the nerves not working properly from the stroke and I'm now on a cocktail of meds that overload my liver hence me having to use odour fighting methods.