Interior-smoker vehicle -remove smell??

[clarks]

Is it possible to remove the smell of cigarettes from a vehicle that has been smoked in for years? Shampoo the seats & carpet & wipe down the plastic is pretty much all I can think of doing but I'm not sure that will be enough.

[Brandon1]

I had a CLK500 come into my shop yesterday (it was a 2006 or so) and it was so bad I almost threw up when I got in. The tan interior was yellow from the smoke.

I cleaned/shampooed the carpets, degreased EVERYTHING in the interior, cleaned the glass. I let everything sit with a fan and windows open for a couple hours. When I returned, it smelled fine, no smoke smell. Then...I put the floormats back in. They were horrible. I cleaned them, but they just had the smoke smell stuck to them.

Best bet is to get new floormats and clean everything you can physically touch in the truck.

[Jumbo Jet]

I've found cigarette smoke to be the nastiest thing to try an get rid of in a car. Its just as bad as cat piss.

I've soaked cloth interiors in FeBreeze, smoke neutralizer and many other products that claim to kill the smell, but they only masked it for a week or so then the odor always returns or still slightly lingers.

Maybe Brandon has a miracle smoke killing product...... I'd sure like to find one that works.

[Brandon1]

Well, the car could very well smell like smoke until next week lol.

Honestly, the only way I have ever seen to completely get rid of smoke smell was to do a complete decontamination of the interior including vents/AC/underside of seats/doorsills/floorpans/carpet backing/doorpanels/headliner.

I have also seen people using an Ozone machine with pretty good results.

[clarks]

Thanks for the reply's. Note to self -don't bother buying a vehicle smoked in.

[Jumbo Jet]

Originally Posted by clarks

Note to self -don't bother buying a vehicle smoked in.

Words to live by.

[canddmeyer]

Leave the windows cracked so air can circulate.

[Triple BB]

I'd call someone like Serv Pro and then take the vehicle over to them and ask for an opinion and a cost. They do that sort of thing professionally with house & car fires and I've been amazed at how well they do in getting the smoke smell out.

[kerryman71]

I used some Oxy Power Out carpet and upholstery cleaner
made by Turtle Wax in my Tundra (I don't smoke) and my
wife's Santa Fe (she does). It worked really well in neutralizing
odors and removing light staining. I removed the seats
and center console, etc. to really get a good cleaning. I vacuumed
really well first and then used it with a good scrub brush
I bought. The can comes with a plastic scrubby thing which is
a joke. I went over it several times and it really got things
clean. Good luck.

John

[bigguy]

I've always had good luck with Ozium, whatever scent you like (just not new car smell, it's awful). Start with cleaning everything as well as you can as advice stated above.

Then:

Start the vehicle and bring it up to temp, then crank the heat all the way up and fan on high. Spray the Ozium liberally in the interior and let it sit that way with the heat on and doors closed for a while, then turn it off and let it sit with the windows up as long as you can, overnight if possible. then let it air out a bit.


Seems to work well. Maids use Ozium in Hotels for freshening rooms.

[ErickTR]

Originally Posted by clarks

Is it possible to remove the smell of cigarettes from a vehicle that has been smoked in for years? Shampoo the seats & carpet & wipe down the plastic is pretty much all I can think of doing but I'm not sure that will be enough.

"Fabreeze" works very well for removing odors in fabrics, especially in an enclosed space like a car.
Inexpensive you can find it in the detergent section in the grocery store.

[07DCwhiteSR5]

dump baking soda over the carpet and let it set for a day or so to absorb some of the smell, the longer the better. ozone machines do work well for this type of thing...u can rent one for not too much money...but just the surface isnt gonna cut it...like was posted above, its in the AC vents and duct work, carpet padding, inside crevices and in foam on the seats etc...hard to get it out if you can even get it all out. my buddy is currently doing the servpro thing right now on his house fire and although they do wonders with what they have to work with he still has the smell in alot of the stuff they brought back so far...even on circuit boards on electronics etc so im sure its inside the control panels etc on a car the same way

[eharri3]

When I traded my 04 Dakota they simply threw 2-3 real strong air fresheners in that thing and let it sit with the air on full blast and all full windows open. Maybe this was just the beginning of a multi-step process.

[07DCwhiteSR5]

Originally Posted by eharri3

When I traded my 04 Dakota they simply threw 2-3 real strong air fresheners in that thing and let it sit with the air on full blast and all full windows open. Maybe this was just the beginning of a multi-step process.

yeah that wont remove the smell..just mask it....nasty smoke smell is hard to remove...always wondered why someone would want to in the first place and then to smoke in a car too...oh well...

[saki302]

When I bought replacement front seats for my old Tacoma, they were cheap ( ebay), but they stank of smoke. A combination of Febreeze and oust , spraying until wet, wiping off, repeat the next day- several times helped a lot.

Also, it helped to 'sun' them autside few times too.

I have heard if the smell is inside the car, a few packages of activated carbon (you can find it in aquarium stores among other places) dropped under the seats works well.

-Dave