Anyone know how or where to get rid of smoker smell within the car.

[intls]

Hi,

I am going to buy a used car; The last owner smoked in the car. Anyone know how or where to get rid of smoke smell within the car.

Any detailer do this kind of service?

Thanks

[inco]

Getting rid of the smell might cost more than the price of the car. I would seriously look at other cars if this is a major concern. Smoke permeates everything and while metal can be washed the cloths, fabrics and foam etc will retain it. Not an easy clean job.

[dalethompson]

I also think it's a tough thing to get rid of too. The smoke gets everywhere... sticks to and in the fabric.

I detailed a BMW where the owner smoked his fair share of Mary Jane. He was going to sell the car and wanted the smell out too:  I did the following to help get the smell out:

1). Steam cleaned the entire car (seats, floors, side panels, roof liner, trunk)... basically, everywhere there was fabric. I used the Bissell Little Green Steam Cleaner, mixed in the Bissell solution and added in some baking soda too as well. In between steam cleaning twice, I put a healthy dose of Nature's Miracle solution on the fabric too. Nature's Miracle is used mostly for getting rid of pet urine and messes but it works on anything that has a strong odor. It kills the bacteria associated with the smell. Now, smoke shouldn't have any bacteria in it but the fabric does have organisms in it, so it killed anything that associated with the smell of smoke. I steam cleaned the fabric twice (it dried quickly as it was in the Summertime). Just make sure you use distilled water in the steam cleaner though because tap water contains too much iron and calcium deposits which will leave ugly water marks on your seats if they are light coloured.

2). Used heavy duty Febreeze on it. Yes, I know, Febreeze is lame but the heavy duty stuff actually works. It won't get rid of the smell entirely but when used with Nature's Miracle, it's pretty effective. Use it twice or three times too, hey, it's cheap. Just dose it down, close your windows and just let it all soak in.

3). Wipe all plastic, metal (basically anything not fabric) with a mixture of 8:1 water to Woolite soap in a spray bottle. The woolite is safe enough to wipe on anything and takes out smells and even scuffs or dirt too (might as well do it all at once). It will leave a bit of a haze on metal but you can then wipe this off with a cloth soaked in warm water afterwards.

4). Since it's your car, you can also do this too: Put in real charcoal, the stuff you use in BBQ's. Just put about a dozen briquettes in a a breathable bag (like cheesecloth) and wrap them up with an elastic. Make five bags, one for each section of the car (front left, front right, back left, back right and trunk) and let them sit on the floor. Keep them in there when your car is sitting or, if you are using the car, just slide them to a section so you don't step on them. Just make sure you shake off any excess dust from the briquettes before you put them in the cheesecloth, so you don't get potential dust on your floor. The charcoal will absorb smells as well, even smoke. Sounds weird, I know, since charcoal and smoke kinda go hand in hand, but it works. Takes out really strong smells too. Leave this in your car for as long as you can smell any smoke. Also, make sure the charcoal briquettes are the old school ones in the bag, not those new ceramic ones, they won't work at all.

If you don't smell smoke after doing the first couple of steps, the charcoal probably won't have to be used. But, if you can still smell it, chances are the charcoal will help out.

Cost of this:

$90 for a Bissell Steam Cleaner (cheaper if you can get it off ebay locally or craigslist).
$7 for the Bissell solution
$6 for Distilled Water
$8 for Woolite Soap (big bottle)
$4 for spray bottle
$7 for Febreeze
$8 for BBQ briquettes
=$130

Most detailers will charge you anywhere from $50 - $150 to do your interior alone and, guaranteed, they probably won't go through any great effort to get rid of the smoke that would you do yourself. Besides, at the end of the day, if you get the Bissell Steam Cleaner, you can have it on hand for the car or house in the future. A great investment anyway for the price.

-Dale

P.S. I forgot to add this in after tallying up the price to do this: Price for doing the job yourself and doing it right: Priceless

[tpl]

The charcoal thing works by surface area absorption, sort of like a catalyst so it would work even better if you break up the charcoal into small grains.   You could put it into a muslin/cheesecloth bag and hang it in front of the vents and leave the car in recirculate more as well I guess.

I think it has to be real lump charcoal. I don't thing the shaped briquettes will work nearly as well as they have other stuff in them.

[safristi]

..DON'T EX_HAIL to tha CHIEF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[KGCCS]

This is a topic that seems to be coming up more often than in the past... but there are a few things you can do to help eliminate the 'smokey' smell/odor.

First thing is to remove the ashtray (if present) and thoroughly clean it. I usually let it soak in a bucket for the better part of the day and scrub it with a tooth or small enough brush that all remaining debris are removed. From there, thoroughly rinse and dry it and spray some odor eliminator in the ashtray itself. I ALWAYS use the Meguiar's odor eliminator spray because it is really the only stuff that works. Febreeze is O.K., but I find that you have to keep re-applying the product in order for it to become remotely effective.

The next thing you need to do is fully clean the interior top to bottom, side to side, and in and out. Depending on what kind of interior you have (leather vs. cloth) your cleaning methods for those materials will vary. To start off, you will want to thoroughly vacuum the interior, using a semi-stiff brush to loosen ground-in dirt. This works well for the nooks, crannies, and crevices in your seats where cigarette ash can sometimes accumulate over time. For cloth interiors, ensure you use the proper fabric cleaner, keeping in mind that you want to use the FOAM and not the liquid and drenching the seats really won't be as effective as using the frothy foam. Be sure to use a brush when applying the product, and then thoroughly vacuum the areas afterwards to remove excess moisture. For leather interiors however, you will want to use a quality product and preferably one that has a 2-step process. The idea behind this is that the first step is specifically formulated to clean, and the second is aimed more towards conditioning. This is a better approach than an "all-in-one" product, because typically the cleaner is a bit more powerful. Also be sure that any leather care product you are about to apply to leather upholstery is pH balanced to prevent discolouration or anything along those lines.

For dash/trim/plastics, if available use compressed air to blow out all inaccessible areas and remove debris. From there, use the proper dilution of all-purpose cleaner to clean all surfaces, keeping in mind that some areas MAY need a second pass to remove all of the smokey film build-up. From there, apply your favourite dash/trim conditioner product, but make sure it is a QUALITY product like Aerospace 303 or Meguiar's #40 vinyl/rubber cleaner/conditioner as Armor All or heavily-silicone based products will not provide as high-quality results.

In the case with windows, I would suggest a foam-based product such as GM AC Delco foaming glass cleaner. Use microfiber cloths (folded into even squares) to clean the windows, with one cloth for applying the product, and one dry cloth to remove it. I must note that is has been my experience that you may need to repeat this several times as the smoke build-up on windows can be a pain to FULLY remove. You will also notice that after doing this, your windows will probably defrost much faster since they are CLLLEEEAAAANNN!!!

For carpets, again make sure you vacuum them thoroughly, and proceed with applying your favourite carpet cleaner used in conjunction with a brush to remove stains and provide a good general cleaning. Follow by re-vacuuming the carpets to remove excess debris, moisture, etc. If it is available, an extractor will provide a more deep-down cleaning, but just make sure you remove as much excess moisture (in other words, vacuum the areas thoroughly) afterwards to help speed up the drying time.

You have to remember.. that in addition, there are also 2 areas which people allllllllllllllllllllllllllways over-look when trying to de-smoke-ify (is this a word?? haha) a vehicle.

The Headliner
This is quite possibly one of the most tedious components of a vehicle's interior to clean. Headliners are often held in place with some type of industrial glue, which when soaked with water, can cause the headliner to 'sag' afterwards. To avoid this, I usually use AC Delco Foaming glass cleaner and a microfiber towel to remove the smoke build-up from the headliner. You may require multiple microfibers, so make sure you have an ample supply at the ready. All you really need to do is apply some cleaner onto your neatly-folded microfiber cloth, and gently rub it into the headliner. If you are using a white or light-coloured cloth, you'll see the dirt come off instantly. Keep doing this until the area appears to be clean, but be mindful not to saturate the headliner. You can always follow up with a light application of odor-eliminator spray, but you may have to apply it several times, each with an extremely light coat as to not saturate the headliner.

The HVAC system
People who smoke in their vehicles probably have the a/c or heat running while they do it. So you might ask yourself, if they're smoking while running the HVAC system.. what happens with the smoke odor?? Well, it makes its way into, and often recirculates throughout the HVAC system. This is why no matter how hard you try to clean the interior of the vehicle, that smell always seems to re-appear. In actual fact, you may not be killing off the source of the smell.. and until you do, it will always be there.. whether extremely or faintly apparent. There is a product that I always use for my client's vehicles.. however I am going to have to look up the name as it isn't coming to me at the moment... however it is similar to this: http://www.centralgaragecarcroft.co.uk/bugs.htm


If anyone has any questions... feeeeeeel free to post up!!!

[airbalancer]

Find a fire restoration supply place eg http://okvjs.com/cleaning-supplies/fire-restoration-sponges/cat_13.html or maybe swish
The one time there was smoke damage in my parents place, the restoration company cleaned up the oder from the fire by using difference products and that was 30 years ago

[ovr50]

Hi,

I am going to buy a used car; The last owner smoked in the car. Anyone know how or where to get rid of smoke smell within the car.

Any detailer do this kind of service?

Thanks

Having been thru this experience once, my opinion is never to buy another used car that the previous owner smoked in. There are many ways (as shown in above posts) to get rid of the smell, but IMO the smell is never totally gone. I would pass on a smoker's car, period.

[safristi]

Personally I would PE_ON  on a previous smokaahs KAR..................CAT got yer TONGUE........gross MORNE hath NOT the FRESH AIR to get IT OUT,,,,,,,,,,exhalations ......

[Newatcars]

I say leave it with the windows open spray febreeze

[safristi]

   stop giving BRIDGE a lift.................

[novacane]

you can clean smoke smell using a Ozone Generator,  most detail shops should have one,  or rent one.  I use them for cleaning hotel smoking rooms. they work.

Make sure to detail your interior well.  there are alot of great suggestions here. let it dry then use ozone (don't use ozone with humidity too high  it won't work as well) and it should be piped into the interior for at least 4 hours. the longer the more effective(no open windows, seal it up). When done make sure to let it air out for a while (you will smell ozone for a while) belive it or not it won't kill you.

[warhorse20000]

not sure myself i smoke, if i use Automotive Window Cleaner Sprey can stuff i cant smell it myself..

Or you could just start smoking and you probly wont smell it yourself , nor would it bother you

[aquadorhj]

not sure myself i smoke, if i use Automotive Window Cleaner Sprey can stuff i cant smell it myself..

Or you could just start smoking and you probly wont smell it yourself , nor would it bother you

i smoke, too, but i can still smell smoke from other people's car.   (i don't smoke in my car.) 

[roger koh]

Hi,

I am going to buy a used car; The last owner smoked in the car. Anyone know how or where to get rid of smoke smell within the car.


Thanks

Leather seats?

[roger koh]

There are many ways (as shown in above posts) to get rid of the smell, but IMO the smell is never totally gone.
[/quote][/i][/b]




If there is smoke smell there is the "soot" where the smoke off-gas as VOC (volatile organic compound).

The sticky soot is where the source of the smoke comes from.

To get rid of these sticky off-gassing soot is to Prep clean it with a smoke and soot booster follows with cleaner and a rinse:

The smoke decontamination sequences of process for leather and all plastic reachable surfaces is recommended as follows:

Prep-7.7 > d'Smoke-4.7 > Cleaner-3.8 > Rinse-3.0 > Leather Scent-B.