Auto cleaning and those stinkies

[nepatitan]

Ok I'm going to try this again, got about 1/2 way through it and windows decided to update.
If this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move it but I couldn't find off topic.

So the Wednesday after I quit smoking, I was on my way home from lowes and stopped at a traffic light and realized my dashboard look like someone had sprinkled salt all over it (ash) I got home and after wiping off the dash, decided to get the rug doctor out and put the hose attachment on it and go to town on the interior of my truck. Did the carpets, front and rear seats, headliner, doors, EVERYTHING. I even found an old BG a/c cleaner kit we used to use (12 years working on Audi's) open the fresh air flap spray half can with a/c on then spray in recirc intake with heat on full blast with windows closed for an hour with the UV disinfectant box.
Fast forward to this afternoon, I got in my truck around 6:30 pm and noticed it smelled like stale smoke Well that but a damper on my mood as I reminded me of how nasty stale smoke smells.

So I wanted to know what other people have done, tips, tricks, products used to clean tar and smoke smell.

Heck last week I cleaned most of the house, nasty how stick tar is, ended up just throwing out half my blinds in the house.

 

[Hulamoon]

That's a good question and I don't know the answer as I suspect it's ingrained. Maybe call an auto detailer and ask them if they have a "secret solution" because I have one room at home that really smells badly of old cigarette smoke. I'm about to paint and redecorate but I suspect that the smell will be there until every single thing that is in it is moved out and the vents replaced.

 

[j4mmin42]

That's a good question and I don't know the answer as I suspect it's ingrained. Maybe call an auto detailer and ask them if they have a "secret solution" because I have one room at home that really smells badly of old cigarette smoke. I'm about to paint and redecorate but I suspect that the smell will be there until every single thing that is in it is moved out and the vents replaced.

Replacing the carpets is the only thing the ever really gets the smell out... you might get lucky with steam-cleaning, but a lot of times it gets into the padded stuff underneath the actual carpet...

 

[nepatitan]

The only reason I could come up with why I smelled it today was it has been really dry here in the Poconos. I have been using odoban found in Home depot but like you said i'm sure its just ingrained in everything.

That's a good question and I don't know the answer as I suspect it's ingrained. Maybe call an auto detailer and ask them if they have a "secret solution" because I have one room at home that really smells badly of old cigarette smoke. I'm about to paint and redecorate but I suspect that the smell will be there until every single thing that is in it is moved out and the vents replaced.

 

[rosesense]

Buy a new car lol

Seriously, ask some detailers if they will give you their secret, they have to get the smell out of used cars to sell them. My sister used to do this for a living but I cannot for the life of me remember what they use. I had a friend once who bought a used car that had the smell and he cleaned it about 30 times, no joke, carpets and everything until he got it smelling like a new car. So, it can be done but lots of work and with the price of the material, I would just pay for an auto detailer to do the job.

 

[Orobas]

I am fortunate in that the smell hasn't lingered in my car, particularly.

Of course I owned owned it a year and a half, and it was a 10 minute drive to work. Hubby owned it first and he doesn't smoke.

We didn't smoke in the house before so we don't have to fight that battle, thank god.

 

[markfm]

I'm my case, the ac system air filter was, fortunately, due for replacement just after i stopped smoking. That wiped out the majority of the smell.

 

[zuzette]

fabreeze -everything. I swear it works like a charm. be sure to get everything damp. Really spray it on good! allow it to evaporate.

 

[hrlw817]

I am an assistant manager of car detailing at a dealership. Been detailing cars for over 25 years on and off. There are a few things that can get rid of a smoke smell. First off, if everything inside your car is that nasty yellow, like the chrome part of the arm of the sunvisors, and it smells like 20 people smoked for 10 years in there without ever opening a window, than the job is going to be huge. If a car smells that bad, you have to get into every nook and crannie to get out that smell. About 3 years ago, I had to get smoke smell out a car that I just described. I took out: the headliner, the door panels, the seats, and the carpet. I used an extractor (which is a very small carpet shampooer that is designed for a car) and a quality carpet shampoo and just went to town. While all of that was drying and with most of the car apart, I used what's called an ionizer. I left it on the car all day, would let it air out, then turned it back on. I did this for 4 days. After all was said and done, I put the car back together, and let it air dry. After a week, 95% of the smell was gone. The sad truth is if it smells that bad, it will always have a slight smell.

Now, in a case of just normal cig smell, like you smoked in your car, but you always opened a window, and there is a noticeable smoke smell, then the process is much easier. The easiest thing to do first is to put a few dryer sheets under your seats. The sheets will absorb the smoke smell. Another thing you can do is to let the car air out. If you have a garage, then every night for about 2 weeks, leave all the windows down. Also, if you put a fan blowing air through it, it will speed up the process. Also, most auto stores sell spray ionizer. You can spray it in the car when you are done driving it for the evening and just let it sit. Leave up your windows if you go this route, this way it can soak into the fabrics. Febreeze isn't the best thing to use, for some reason, it won't eliminate smoke smells in a car. Unless you can spray the molded foam that your seats and carpets are made from, it won't do much good. It won't penetrate down into thick foam.

You can try these ideas, but, for an average smoke smelling car, and if airing out won't work, you can just use some basic car shampoo, the sprinkle and vacuum kind, they make smoke eliminator kinds. If all else fails, you may just have to have the car detailed, and some detail shops charge around $75 to $100 to do a complete smoke removal. Another $30 and the whole car will be detailed and smoke smell free!! I hope I helped some.

 

[asboredomstrikes]

works wonders you can find it in the car section at Walmart

 

[Engraced]

works wonders you can find it in the car section at Walmart

I second this stuff, but I got the unscented off Amazon.



Sent from my DROID Razr Maxx

 

[Z_Ghost]

I used this for a week and it got about 95% of the smell out.
Plug it in at night and leave the windows up, then in the morning open the windows and let it air out.
The ozone that it makes will brake down the tar that has the smoke smell in it and that will kill the smell.
Down side to this is ozone is bad for rubber seals, so I would not use it for more then a few days. Also if you leave it plugged in when your in the car it will burn your nose and or give you a headache.

Wagan EL2022 Ionic Air Purifier : Amazon.com : Automotive

 

[RsK0807]

Cut an apple in half, put it in the cup holders overnight. Should suck up all that stale smoke smell...

 

[StormFinch]

fabreeze -everything. I swear it works like a charm. be sure to get everything damp. Really spray it on good! allow it to evaporate.

This is what I did. Used a whole bottle of it on the seats, carpets, headliner etc. and even sprayed the molding. Let it air out for a whole day and then went back and cleaned the molding. Worked for me anyway.

 

[Rickajho]

In my experience Febreze works much better than Ozium. Febreze can be sprayed directly onto fabric seats and carpet etc. Ozium is an air sanitizer only and not meant for direct contact with surfaces.

 

[media]

I quit smoking on Tuesday. I can already smell how bad the cigarettes made my car. I changed my AC/Cabin air filter out and man what a difference. I like the sprays from Bath and Body works. The "Spring" scent smells exactly like flowers. "Fresh Bamboo" is my absolute favorite. I spray them on my carpets every time I get out of the car. My seats are leather, so luckily they didn't absorb any of the smoking smell.

Also, that was one of the motivating factors for me to switch to vaping. I was embarrassed to have anyone in my car because it smelled like smoke. Even after one cigarette in the car, the back seat would have ash in it. The interior of my car is all black so it was bad news. Whenever Id go out to lunch with a coworker, I'd find a reason for them to drive.

 

[nepatitan]

Thanks for all the responses guys and gals. I guess trying to clean all the crap out reiterates how nasty smoke is.
I guess like most of you have said is to just spray air freshener after I get out everyday.

@hrlw817 if I still worked in the shop I'd have no problem tearing the truck apart, but I work from home now and those days are over lol.
I did use the sterilizer on the passenger seat overnight, I remember using those on auction cars about 6 months after Katrina.

 

[macgyverfc]

I used the apple trick to start with. It took care of most of the smell. Cut the apple in half and put face up in the cup holders over night. Keep all windows rolled up. Toss the apple in the morning.

For the remainder of the smell, I got a big bottle of Ozium from Walgreens. I went through the entire bottle over the course of a week. couple of sprays a day. If it can get rid of the botanical smell (the icky botanical kind), it can get rid of the ciggy smell.

I had some non-smokers take a ride with me in the truck and kept the windows up. When we got back I asked if they thought it was a smoker's vehicle and they said they couldn't smell a thing. Works for me!!

 

[nepatitan]

Lol I just went out and got 3 bottle of ozium today, I forgot how good that stuff smells. Did some more squirts in the fresh air vent and recirc vent too.
Let it sit in the sun as well after spraying.

I used the apple trick to start with. It took care of most of the smell. Cut the apple in half and put face up in the cup holders over night. Keep all windows rolled up. Toss the apple in the morning.

For the remainder of the smell, I got a big bottle of Ozium from Walgreens. I went through the entire bottle over the course of a week. couple of sprays a day. If it can get rid of the botanical smell (the icky botanical kind), it can get rid of the ciggy smell.

I had some non-smokers take a ride with me in the truck and kept the windows up. When we got back I asked if they thought it was a smoker's vehicle and they said they couldn't smell a thing. Works for me!!

 

[hrlw817]

Thanks for all the responses guys and gals. I guess trying to clean all the crap out reiterates how nasty smoke is.
I guess like most of you have said is to just spray air freshener after I get out everyday.

@hrlw817 if I still worked in the shop I'd have no problem tearing the truck apart, but I work from home now and those days are over lol.
I did use the sterilizer on the passenger seat overnight, I remember using those on auction cars about 6 months after Katrina.

The car I tore apart was just awful, the worst car ever that smelled like cigs. The lens that covers the speedometer and tach, was so yellow from tar, it had to be replaced. I couldn't even clean it. The headliner and seats after I extracted them, the used water that came out of the extractor was tar yellow. Even the plastic that is between the door panel and the door was yellow. The wires behind panels were yellow. The list goes on and on.