Any tips for cleaning the stench out of my car?

[DaveP]

Ozium is good for taking anything out of the air once you clean the seats and carpets. Shoot it full, close the door, and let it sit all night.

I used to have a non-smoking company vehicle. No one ever knew I smoked all day with the window cracked. I'd puff, then hold it up to the window between puffs. Periodically, I'd clean the little blue haze off the window! When I got home at night, I'd shoot a few sprays of Ozium and close it up.

 

[dingo1799]

i'd smoked in my car since the day i bought it with 3000 miles on it, 8 yrs and 180,000 miles later, it still doesn't smell like smoke. maybe cuz a window was always open??

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Present car I never smoked in but the last car I owned I did and even as a smoker it STUNK. CONSTANTLY scrubbing, cleaning, vinegar, air freshener, etc. If anyone is removing the cabin air filter be absolutely sure there are no air bag sensors nearby- all dependent on the make/ model of course.

 

[Miira]

Thanks for the suggestions! Do the defoggers have an odor? I can't handle Febreeze or most "air fresheners." I suspect I am allergic to them.

 

[Ellie_onVG]

The perfumed sheets don't work for me either .. sensitive nose always gets in the way, even with e-juice smells.
You could try this, it's work, it's a little messy, but it will make a big difference:

Large glass jar (old pickle jar, 40 oz or so
Large new sponge (not the kind for dishes, more a car sponge)
large bottle of white vinegar

Fill the jar about 2/3 up
Fold the sponge lengthwise and push it in the jar
About 1/3 of sponge should be in the vinegar, the
rest sticks out of the jar.

The sponge will wick the vinegar and neutralize the smoke
smell in the process. You can't drive with this, unless
you set it in a sturdy little box, so it might be best
to do it overnight for a period of time. When you get in
your car, you'll want to open your windows but
the smell of vinegar dissipates pretty quickly and isn't
unpleasant.

 

[Miira]

^ I may try that. I also considered putting 50/50 vinegar and water into a spray bottle and spraying everything down. I don't need my car every day, so drying time isn't a big issue.

 

[Caridwen]

I had to get my car detailed.

 

[hitman4274]

Mine was behind my glovebox. (toyota corolla). It's generally not far from the AC return

I work in the industry.. I sell and replace those things all day... Depends on make model and year... Toyota, Honda,BMW, a lot of gm cars have em...

They are also normally either a charcoal filter... Or the normal material...
Charcoal is the way to go, and replacing this will help with the Smell.. but running the cleaning system for the ducts is where the magic happens.

And a lil tip.. use your cabin air filter to hold your favorite "spray" and when you turn your ac on.. on recirculate obviously.. you will pump the smell into the car...

I'm working on cabins with smells.... like the lil tree freshners... Just not lol

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[2GLR]

I am going to steam clean with Odoban this weekend. I will let you know if this works.

 

[ClownFish1]

theres a smokers candle that removes smoke smell from the air i wonder if burning one in you car might help just a thought

 

[chrisalis]

Ozone will work- I use it in the house, car and just used it to clean strong flavours from a clearomizer-that worked as well. You can get a small generator for a reasonable price.

 

[Seeker]

If the stench is really bad some detailers offer ozone treatment. The car should be as clean as possible before the treatment. Very effective.

 

[tiberius_claud]

I know what you mean. I used to smoke with my brother in his car, but then I switched to vaping. I hate going in there now! It smells like good ol' fashion stale cigi. You'd think it would be temping to get back into smoking, but its quite the opposite.

 

[TheFlyinJ]

The only way to kill the smoke smell is with an ozone generator treatment. It's not cheap but it's what the dealerships use to clean lease returned cars from people who smoked. Look for a company that does fire/smoke damage restorations in your area and call them up. They put an ozone generator in the car for about 2 hours and during that time the ozone removes/kills all the smells from organic particles.

 

[Huffelpuff]

If you are like me (not liking to work on cars) go to Jiffy Lube and ask them to change your cabin filter. Think it's like $25.

 

[Durangler]

I'm going to vacuum the van out, wash down the seats, clean the windows and then place bowls of white vinegar around the van. Hopefully this will help.

Nice long weekend to do this. (if your not BBQing something)
Any luck with your cleaning project?
btw - Thx 4 the "like"

 

[alamor]

I run a Chevrolet Dealership, and we have a machine that is called an "ozone" machine. It will take out all the bad smoke smell from a vehicle. It leaves behind it's own odor that disappears after awhile. You have to leave the machine in the vehicle for a day or two but seems to do the trick. If all else fails, call your local car dealer and ask if they Ozone cars and how much they charge. Good luck!

LOL, I didn't read all of the comments before posting. I see that others already suggested what I did. Sorry.

This isn't exactly e-cig related, but since I've stopped smoking, I'm starting to notice just how badly my car smells. As easy as it would be to just get a new car, that isn't in the budget, so what worked for you?

 

[Clovery]

I suspect I'm allergic to artificial scents like yankee candles, glade, and febreeze as well. After doing a thorough vacuum job and hosing down all the mats, I used orange murphy's oil soap to wipe down the vinyl interior and method grapefruit cleanser to clean the glass. Then, go to where they sell health food products and choose a small bottle of essential oil in a scent of your liking. Get an spritzer bottle and mix the oil with water and mist the fabric. A 2 or 3 drops in about a cup of water usually does the trick. Test this in an inconspicuous spot first, but I never had any staining. I prefer orange oil, but most stores have at least 30 different choices. You could probably use vanilla extract from the kitchen as well.

Even when I was still smoking, I often had to get the cig stink out of the car when my mother in law came to visit. She gets asthma symptoms from cigarette smell. The above methods, plus driving with all the windows down on the freeway for at least 20 minutes does the trick. It also doesn't hurt to leave your windows down whenever you can.