Ford Repair: Sour Smelling Interior, freedom tops leak water, moonroof sunroof leaks water

Question
Hello Drew.  About 2 months ago I worked through an interior water leak on my 1999 Ford Escort.  I discovered that the cowl vents were plugged with leaves and water was coming in through the firewall and accumulating on the floor boards under the carpet.  I cleared the leaves, pulled the carpets, and completely dried out the car.  The carpets were cleaned and the local auto detailer ran the ozone machine in the car for 2 hours after it was completely dry.  The problem is that the car still smells stale/sour.  Any ideas?  Thanks.

Answer
Bill,
Smell can still be present from the padding under the carpet areas and from the sound deadener padding along the bulkhead.
The carpet padding can be replaced.Lowes or Home depot sells carpet padding (get the grey fiber stuff if they have it)and cut to fit the old sizes of padding removed.
If the smell is comming from the bulkhead padding,it will have to be cut out in the areas you can reach,washed and left in the sun to dry. The sun will kill any bacteria still left in the foam padding.
Drew Young
Rainchaser
Auto-Water-Leaks.com