Post Analog De-Stinkification

Status
Not open for further replies.

raspberryblu

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Mar 10, 2014
134
286
United States
Ok, so I've been off analogs since last Sunday morning. I must say vaping is making it sooooo easy to quit. I have not had an urge for a single cigarette. The downside? Everything stinks! My car and house have that smoker's smell. Any tips on getting rid of it, particularly getting that smell out of my car?

Any tips are appreciated....:2cool:
 
Congrats on the change raspberryblu! I quit back in May and never looked back. That BTW was after a 44 yr 2 1/2 a day habit.

It does take some time for the 'stinks' to resolve. I triple washed all my clothes and Febrezed the hell out of my truck. Can't smell any of it now. Also, since you just started, you may want to check out a site called Qnet (or Quit Net). It offers a daily calculator for both financial and 'Life/Health' savings which I found to be pretty cool. Sign up is 100% free. Sorry can't post links yet so you'll have to Google it.
 

Taowulf

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Mar 9, 2014
919
1,089
Bend OR
I have pondered just lighting my car on fire, but the replacement cost is problematic. I stopped analogs 6 days ago.

Of course, getting rid of my ashtray in there would be a good start...and pulling the center console to clean it. Then shampooing the carpets and seats. Oh well, the "burning it down" idea is looking better and better. Oh wait, then there is all of the cloth headliner and sun visors.
 
Wash every item of clothing in the house, including your pillows if you can. Draperies may or may not be washable. If they are, wash them. If not, Febreeze (little though I like the stuff). Detectable scent came off the throw I use on a table the television sits on. Into the washer that went!

Clean your carpets if you have carpet. Wash hardwood floors if you have them.

Consider washing your walls. 1 cup white vinegar in 1 gallon of water will remove a shocking amount of smoke buildup and brighten the room(s). That's usually only necessary in smaller rooms where you smoked a lot--in my case, just my home office, which was disgusting. The rest of the house was clean enough to ignore.

Wash the windows. They look great without the smoking grime on them! (You may find that in cold weather and using high VG you get a film on your windows from vaping, it comes off really easily with any cleaner--I use vinegar again at 1 C per 1 G water).

In the car, wash every surface you can reach with 1 cup white vinegar in 1 gallon of water. Prepare to be disgusted. You can do the windows as well. Clean those carpets if you can; the foot rest carpets can frequently be hosed off, sprayed with soap, scrubbed, hosed, and dried in the sun on a nice day in April or May. Febreeze or take it to be detailed if you can't.

Don't forget the trunk! An amazingly powerful cigarette stench came from mine...

(Honestly, just nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...)
 

jelder227

Full Member
Feb 4, 2010
19
5
Texas
To reiterate, gotta agree with the Febreze. Washing clothes with Tide with Febreze I never had a problem with the odor there. Actually got comments on how fresh they smelled even when I still smoked.

Car, a thorough cleaning, wiping down all the leather with leather wipes, cleaning the insides of the windows, sprinkled Pet Fresh, vacuumed, then sprayed the carpet with Febreze.

House was more a matter of time . . but again, liberal use of Pet Fresh carpet deoderizer (by Arm & Hammer I believe) and Febreze along with steady cleaning got it there faster than I would have thought.
 

KODIAK (TM)

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 31, 2014
1,898
4,983
Dead Moose, AK
Depending on how much money you guys want to throw at your de-stinking project, you need to consider getting your duct work cleaned as well. All that crap is just sitting in there clinging to the walls. Every time your fan kicks on it just keeps recirculating throughout the house. There are people that do this kind of thing.

Fortunately Mrs. Kodiak always banned my sorry smoking ... to the garage so our house smells just fine (except on homemade Burrito night :blush:). Of course now she expects a brand new "nerver-been-smoked-on" car. I need to rethink this vaping thing. Not sure I can afford to quit tobacco.
 
Wash every item of clothing in the house, including your pillows if you can. Draperies may or may not be washable. If they are, wash them. If not, Febreeze (little though I like the stuff). Detectable scent came off the throw I use on a table the television sits on. Into the washer that went!

Clean your carpets if you have carpet. Wash hardwood floors if you have them.

Consider washing your walls. 1 cup white vinegar in 1 gallon of water will remove a shocking amount of smoke buildup and brighten the room(s). That's usually only necessary in smaller rooms where you smoked a lot--in my case, just my home office, which was disgusting. The rest of the house was clean enough to ignore.

Wash the windows. They look great without the smoking grime on them! (You may find that in cold weather and using high VG you get a film on your windows from vaping, it comes off really easily with any cleaner--I use vinegar again at 1 C per 1 G water).

In the car, wash every surface you can reach with 1 cup white vinegar in 1 gallon of water. Prepare to be disgusted. You can do the windows as well. Clean those carpets if you can; the foot rest carpets can frequently be hosed off, sprayed with soap, scrubbed, hosed, and dried in the sun on a nice day in April or May. Febreeze or take it to be detailed if you can't.

Don't forget the trunk! An amazingly powerful cigarette stench came from mine...

(Honestly, just nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...)

I didn't learn tricks like this until I came across Clean My Space on You Tube. You can also put vinegar in a bowl and let it sit out (or place it in your car) It is a deodorizer. Not sure how it does it... but it does. You can also make home made deodorizers with baking soda. You can find it on that channel I mentioned above.
 
Last edited:

Free6413

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Dec 29, 2013
544
426
Spring, Texas
I was gonna suggest the same thing. Does a great job... I got it from the automotive dept. at Walmart.

It helps to turn the AC to the recirculate mode and turn the fan on high, fog the inside of the car and let it get into the ductwork too! This will help speed up the process! You could also check around for a detail shop and ask for the resale option. This option is what used car dealers use for their cars when they take them in for trade. These guys can do wonders! It is pricey but other than the money, the downside is only going without your car for a day!
 

Miata GT

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 28, 2013
1,563
1,191
Largo, FL
I took mine to a dealer and paid 150 bucks to do it. Worked great. Sometimes I grab a jacket that I missed for the wash and toss it on and am like, ugghhh, can't believe I smelled like that. Congrats! Above are a bunch of great tips!

I did that recently with a sweatshirt I hadn't worn since last year. The smell was faint but definite. Disgusting!
 

Completely Average

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Jan 21, 2014
3,997
5,156
Suburbs of Dallas
Any tips on getting rid of it, particularly getting that smell out of my car?

Any tips are appreciated....:2cool:

I used to do professional auto detailing. I'm not talking about what your local car wash calls detailing, I'm talking about $700+ detailing jobs.

You've basically got two choices. The one most people try is to simply mask the smell with a spray like Febreeze (And trust me, that only temporarily masks the smell).

The other option is the really unpleasant task of disassembling your interior and washing every bit of it. Some things, such as the cushions under your seat covers will retain the smell and are impossible to clean. Steam clean the carpets including under the seats, wipe down the headliner with the same cleaner several times, clean the seat covers, and don't forget to change the cabin filter.

Don't just wipe it down either, there is a layer of cigarette tar on everything. You're going to have to SCRUB with soap and water to break it down before it will wipe off.


When you're done cleaning, apply protectants and sealers to all applicable surfaces.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread