cigertt smoke in cars

[washerboy]

Bought my teenager a little Nissan Sentra yesterday..98K miles...95 model..by no means a new car..but overall in good shape....for a first car it's not bad...if he'll take care of it hopfully it will last him through college...it's a early graduation gift from High School (May 29th to be exact..I'm having a graduation party...for me..LOL!!). Anyway the car was owned by a very very very heavy smoker...we scrubed for over two hours yesterday evening...it looks like a differnt car inside and out...however...it REEKS!!!!!! I emptied almost a full bottle of Fabreeze on the seats,carpet and head liner...we went for a drive after everything had dried..ended going to the Wal-Mart for another bottle of Fabreeze...extra strgenth...I drove the car to the office this morning...it still smells...bad!!!!!! Apparently the pervious owner smoked with the windows up...we still have'nt been able to get the inside windows completely clean of nicotine...Does anyone know of a product or some trick I can do to kill the smoke smell...I even soaked the ash tray in bleach water...dried it well and filled it with baking soda. Thanks!!!!!!/mark

 

[toggleswitch2]

Fart in it a lot with the windows closed. Soon the smell of smoke will not be noticable, and if it is, it won't be that objectionable.

If you can't beat 'em join em. Should nothing else work, try burning your favorite incense in there..... but please do not leave it unattended.

PUNCHLINE:
Did you fart as well?

 

[rocketwarrior]

Smell in cars

I think you should also attend to the duct work and blowers. Scan down the list on this link (to item 7 and following) for a discussion of that system.

Also, know that the problem will improve with time.

How to Remove Odors from Your Car: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

Nobody likes a smelly car. It's unpleasant to sit in your car and smell a bad aroma, and you may feel embarrassed if you're giving friends a ride. Fortunately, in most cases, it's relatively simple to remove a bad smell from your car....

www.wikihow.com

 

[thomasortega]

Something I discovered 2 weeks ago with my friend John...

20 Mule Team Borax!!!!!

I'm a very, very, very and very heavy smoker and every day I discover more things I can do with this wonderful product.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Toilet humour.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

That is a nice first car... my was an 81 Cutlass!

Do you have an ionic breeze or other such air purifier... maybe one with a charcoal filter in it? If so, I'd run an extension cord and just place it in the car whenever no one was driving it... just leave one window slightly ajar enough for the cord to go in.

 

[jeffg]

Forget the Fabreeze and start reading. Among the more helpful suggestions is to change the cabin air filter, if the car has one.

Depending on the amount of smoke damage, headliners and other fabrics might be a lost cause, and the only real fix will be to replace them.

Removing Smoke Smell From a Car?

My interior truck heater caught fire causing smoke damage inside. The fire department put it out with foam. What is the best way to clean interior hard surfaces? How can I clean the upholstered seats and remove the smoke odor?

www.thriftyfun.com

 

[thomasortega]

This thread smells bad!

 

[xraytech]

That smoke smell is a terribly hard odor to remove and I don't think that it will ever be completely gone. Thankfully I have never had to deal with this problem since when buying a car I watch the local Lincoln-Mercury dealers for low mileage trade-in Town Cars from the Senior Citizen market and for my second car I typically buy used buicks or Cadillacs from people I know or from a good dealer, so I know where the car came from or if from a dealer it has that wonderful new car scent.

Here are a few suggestions that may help some:

When the car is not in use at home leave the windows open to let it air out. Do it overnight if you have a covered area to park.

sprinkle baking soda all over upolstery and let set for a while to let it absorb odors and then vacuum well

shampoo the inside of the car using a pet formula carpet shampoo since it is ment to deal with pet odors it may work in this application as well. Then empty your solution tank and fill with hot water and 1- 1.5 cups white vinegar and shampoo again. then air dry.

If you can get the odor to be less noticable use a strong air freshner of place small sachets under the seats.

Wish you the best of luck in de-odorizing your son's car.

Sam

 

[iheartmaytag]

The vent system has to be decontaminated as well. You can buy ozone spray at the autoparts place that can be used to clean the vents and A/C condensor. A lot of gunk will be trapped there, and it will go a long way to getting rid of the smell.
Also you may want to check with a local detail shop. They may have some specific suggestions.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Everybody locks their cars up tight all the time, no wonder they smell.

When the hot weather is here, park it in the sun with the windows open for a couple of days. It will smell just fine, except for, of course, the smell of outgassing plastics.

Ken

 

[oldappliancenut]

Living air

I have a living air purifier and it takes away dog smell in the house and the carlot i worked at used to put them in the used cars overnight works well but kinda $$$$ to buy

 

[tlee618]

I have never tried this but have heard it works wonders. Try placing a couple saucers of pure vanilla in the car with the windows closed over night. A good friend back in Danville had a fire in their home and this one method really helped. You might also try this with the heater/ac blower running for a while.

 

[moonvalleycacti]

I have something called frigie fresh i spray through the ductwork of our Santa Fe to get rid of the yuckky musty smell...

As far as the smell, take it to a reputiable detailer in your area who can de-smoke the car,, Maybe even the Nissan dealer... Will cast a couple hundred, but its very well worth it.. Toss any floor mats away and after you get it back, get one of thos gel freshners (we use the ones from lowes) and stick in there..

Then again, i have only ever bought one car from a smoker and vow'd never again... LoL, i always get nice cars like Hyundai's and Ford's that have been traded into places like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Etc.. Usualy cars that are kept in tip top shape because the prior owner knew that a Focus, Elantra or what not WAS not what they wanted, but credit/affordabilty limited that.. Like my Focus i just got,
an 05 with 60K, just like new, even smelled new.. 5K from Audi
Good Luck
Its a tough thing to crack and you will forever smell it

 

[dynaflow]

bounce

try placing a bounce dryer sheet in the back window and wipe the seats down with one too. also stuff a couple under the seats and leave in the sun works on my Park Avenue and Im a smoker as well. white vinegar diluted to wash windows with to get rid of any tar remaining.Hope this helps another trick put a brick of charcoal under the seats and run the ashtray in the diswasher
ron

 

[veroroger]

try vinegar

I have a "friend" who is a used car dealer - a very used car dealer! He swears by placing shallow containers of pure white vinegar in the car then park in strong sunlight with the windows closed. I've tried it and it does work. Don't worry, the vinegar smell goes away very quickly. I've left tall bowls with vinegar inside open while driving to control the smell from my smoking and, also, to work through the vent system. But, it's true, you have to clean the duct system to completely get rid of odor. This comes from a build up inside the system due to never allowing the system to dry out. My dealer recommends turning off the a/c about 5 to 10 minutes before turning off the car to allow the air flow to dry the insides of the system. Yeah, sure, here in Florida in the summer I'm willing to sit in a sweltering car so the cooling system can dry itself out! An added benefit of the vinegar in the hot car: it coats the insides of the windows and softens any film on them making them easier to clean.
Roger

 

[alr2903]

Mark make sure the A/C, heat is drawing outside air and NOT recirculating. if you get some fresh air through the system it should clear up some.

 

[gmmcnair]

I would go to the yellow pages, and look for some cleaning companies that deal with fire/smoke damage, and see if they would be willing to fog the car for you with a commercial fogger. An auto detailer, like mentioned above, may also be able to do it, but you really need to fog it to deal with that kind of problem.

Basically, the fogger is loaded with an odor counteractant solution and is set to go. It produces a fog similar to the original smoke......so it can go anywhere the smoke did.

 

[sudsmaster]

I bought an old pickup truck about eight years ago just after 9/11 from a man who was selling from his cousin's estate. The cousin had died. I took one sniff inside, and said, "Let me guess... cancer?". He nodded. I guess it was a slightly rude comment for me to make, but it was obvious his cousin had been a heavy smoker.

I cleaned the dash and interior metal surfaces, but the odor lingered all winter, probably on the seat and floor mat. After a few weeks of sitting in the sun in the summer it seemed to dissipate. Today I can't detect any tobacco odor at all.