Cigarette smell. How do I get rid of it?

[KC10Chief]

I just bought a 1991 Explorer that is in surprisingly good shape. The interior looks really good too. The only issue I have is that the previous owners were smokers. But for $800, I had to buy this thing. Everything works. What's the best way to get the cigarette smell out? Here is a picture of it. I'm pretty proud of my $800 deal. I had originally planned to buy a brand new, $45,000 truck. Strangely, I feel a lot better about this deal! Financially anyways. HA! Any tips on getting the cigarette smell out would be appreciated!

 

[leadinurface]

Hey I actually bought a 94 explorer,
same color even, a while back and had the same problem
I got febreezed and sprayed all the cloth and let it soak in with all the doors open did this continually over a week or so. then i got a cigarette lighter air freshener (o the irony) and let it air out the smell was completely gone after less than a month.

 

[NHarris]

Just soak the truck with febreze

 

[leadinurface]

just gratuitous spraying everywhere then let it evaporate over a couple days
lol
I cant even tell that mine was ever smoked in

 

[NHarris]

I will say this after looking at a toyota tacoma. The lady who owned it was a smoker, and there is no worse smelling, trashier truck out there. That truck was disgusting!

 

[leadinurface]

lol mine was really dirty and stunk bad from the smoke
once i got it cleaned up and shiny with the smell gone she likes driving it more than her 2008 vue

 

[dirtcowboy]

Parts stores have a spray product called OZIUM. Shake well, spray in the air copiously and close your truck up for a day. Repeat as necessary. I had a truck that went thru a forest fire with the windows down. It only took a couple of days to de-stink it.

 

[KC10Chief]

I've been trying to get rid of this smell for a week now. Spraying and scrubbing and cleaning. It's definitely better, but I could still smell it. So, tonight, I completely ripped the interior out of my truck. I removed all of the seats and all of the carpet. I then power washed everything. I removed all of the seat covers and ran them through my washing machine. It looks like I'm the first one to wash this thing in 19 years. It was pretty dirty. I'll bet that it smells a lot better when I'm done with it!

 

[BigRondo]

I've been trying to get rid of this smell for a week now. Spraying and scrubbing and cleaning. It's definitely better, but I could still smell it. So, tonight, I completely ripped the interior out of my truck. I removed all of the seats and all of the carpet. I then power washed everything. I removed all of the seat covers and ran them through my washing machine. It looks like I'm the first one to wash this thing in 19 years. It was pretty dirty. I'll bet that it smells a lot better when I'm done with it!

I'm going to have to do that with mine. Bought the Ex in February and still haven't got the stink out. Gotta make the time and go for it.

 

[LAWG_rider]

I used to drive through really deep lake water and found out the hard way that the weather stripping was not very good. That on top of the fact that my heater core exploded, I smoke, and I had about 3 gallons of used oil spill in the back on my way to recycle it did not help the smell either. I just used a deep clean machine to clean the carpet a few times and it took all the smells out just fine. I try to do it once a year to keep the smell out.

 

[BigRondo]

I used to drive through really deep lake water and found out the hard way that the weather stripping was not very good. That on top of the fact that my heater core exploded, I smoke, and I had about 3 gallons of used oil spill in the back on my way to recycle it did not help the smell either. I just used a deep clean machine to clean the carpet a few times and it took all the smells out just fine. I try to do it once a year to keep the smell out.

Sounds like a good option too. Since I got the Ex in Feb and there's still evidence of a previous owner, I'd like to take everything out and completely clean it so I know that it is clean and that from then forward "all the smells will be mine". Then for maintenance cleaning use the deep clean machine. Thanks for the tip. :biggthump

 

[Flounder]

Agreed as to shampooing. Because cigarette smoke permeates through fabrics, to get it "really" clean, you could remove the upholstery, shampoo it, and scrub down the frame, vacuuming excess water/cleaning solution with a ShopVac. This is not easy, though--seat covers must come off, headliner must come down, etc.

 

[Equnoxe]

i would say replace the headliner (or clean it), that would be were most of the smoke is.

 

[BigRondo]

Agreed as to shampooing. Because cigarette smoke permeates through fabrics, to get it "really" clean, you could remove the upholstery, shampoo it, and scrub down the frame, vacuuming excess water/cleaning solution with a ShopVac. This is not easy, though--seat covers must come off, headliner must come down, etc.

I'm dreading this but it has to be done.

i would say replace the headliner (or clean it), that would be were most of the smoke is.

I hadn't thought about the headliner, all the smoke goes up!

I removed all of the seat covers and ran them through my washing machine.

I'm assuming you washed the seat covers in cold water to prevent shrinkage ( I was in the pool...), and let them air dry.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll post the results when I'm done. Going to shoot for next weekend as long as the weather cooperates. - Rondo

 

[Equnoxe]

I hadn't thought about the headliner, all the smoke goes up!


yea man, one of my parts explorers belonged to a super addicted smoker, and when i took the headliner out, there was a huge black tinge in a big circle around the drivers seat. really gross lol.

 

[98liftedxlt]

I would get the upholstery shampooed and steam cleaned.

 

[zman1969]

if you light the seats on fire, after, you wont smell and cigarette smoke

 

[BigRondo]

if you light the seats on fire, after, you wont smell and cigarette smoke

:smoke: Judging from the burn marks throughout, it appears that the previous owner attempted this more than once! :smoke:

 

[flodot1]

Charcoal. Put charcoal in bowls and set them in the vehicle overnight. You may have to do it two or three times. The charcoal will suck in the smell and get rid of it.

 

[a_leggio]

I work for a professional carpet cleaning company. One of the things that helps is having the seats and carpet's steamed cleaned! Have it done professionally not the rug doctor or your neighbors home carpet cleaner just wont work the same. The professional carpet cleaning should be able to help you out with some type of deodorization (if its still there after they deodorize it call them back and tell them you want it sprayed again.) But the true and only way to get it out would be a ozone treatment, I know we offer it and it can be some what pricey but its really the best treatment. Hope that helps!