Cigarette Smoke Smell

[Togman]

Anyone have any success stories for riding an Explorer of the previous owner's cigarette smoke smell inside the cab?

 

[BrooklynBay]

There is something called an air ionizer that plugs into the cigarette lighter that should help. The theory behind it is that the ionized air molecules are a little heavier than regular air, so they don't linger in the air. Some people claim that ionized air prevents car sickness while driving on long trips by lowering serotonin levels.

 

[my98nnj]

Have the interrior professionally cleaned, deodorized and detailed.
Not a car wash detail shop, find a professional detailer in your area.
There are lots of products on the market that will get rid of that smell.
You have to neutralize the source, that means a through cleaning of all surfaces first.
My shop would remove the seats to get at the carpets under them.
You really need to clean everything, including the headliner.

To get it out of the seat cushions you'll need an ozone generator air cleaner.
Run it overnight on high with the windows up. That will kill the rest of it.
Running the a/c on max with the ozone a few times will recirculate the cabin air through the system and will kill the odor in the HVAC system as well.

 

[BrooklynBay]

http://www.amazon.com/IONFEEL-KS92A...3?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1233246609&sr=8-23

 

[Charlie]

Leave the windows open as much as possible for a while, hit all of the fabric/carpet surfaces with febreze. Does a pretty good job for how easy it is to do.

Also, clean out all the surfaces. Vacuum wherever possible, clean the dash, take out the ashtray, and make sure that is cleaned up well.

 

[eXcali]

Gotta be careful with most of those air "ionizers" most are a scam. I've used the fabreez fix myself. Also clean all the inside glass very well cuz lots of the odor stays here as tar stuck to the glass surface.

I hate a smoke smelling car, and no one who rides in mine can tell someone ever smoked in it. You just have to be VERY meticulas in cleaning it.

 

[Charlie]

Gotta be careful with most of those air "ionizers" most are a scam. I've used the fabreez fix myself. Also clean all the inside glass very well cuz lots of the odor stays here as tar stuck to the glass surface.

I hate a smoke smelling car, and no one who rides in mine can tell someone ever smoked in it. You just have to be VERY meticulas in cleaning it.

Funny you mention the ionizers..I was just reading a few days ago that those are bad/don't work. x2 on the inside glass, it will stick everywhere and anywhere. Don't forget to hit the door panels and all the plastic with your favorite cleaner.

If you can access one of those steam cleaners, with the "hose" attachment, it will do wonders. A few years ago, there was a smell in my car..I have no idea what it was, and I used my steam cleaner on all of the carpet, and that got rid of the smell. Still don't know what it was..but it made the carpet look a lot better, too

 

[Togman]

I used "simple green" & then Fantastic to clean it all. Door Panels, Dash, seat plastics, centerconsole, all the vents, seatbelts, door sills, I cleaned it all.

I used Tuff Stuff on the carpets & Seats. Windex on the windsheid & glass. Left all the windows open an inch for days with a bowl of fresh coffee grounds in it.

Next I placed BOUNCE dryer sheets under all the seats for a week & then removed them.

Everything seemed fine till the BOUNCE fraquence faded, now I am back to square one with smoke smell!

What kind of Fabreeze actually worked for you?

 

[BIGHVM]

I smoke and in the car- 4 times a year I clean the car top to bottom with a pro carpet cleaner using pro chem cleaning solution........NO smell, headliner, carpets, and matts, I then clean the leather and feed it using saddle soap. clean all the glass also. That and a regular vac and polish with armour all keeps it fresh inside. People often say remark that it smells clean inside!

 

[TomCat_Ford]

I have had success removing smoke smell. For starters, those ionizer things (at least the one I tried) are a joke- don't bother. There is no substitute for a good cleaning. I clean all of the plastic surfaces with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (be prepared to go through a few of these). This will also get into the crevasses of the plastic cleaning any and all smoke soot and such out (makes the plastic look like-new). Then I use a hand-held steam cleaner to steam clean the carpet and upholstery. Glass is important, as others have said, as is the head liner. I also recommend some sort of odor eliminator such as Febreze or the comparable product from Glade (the Glade products smell better, IMO). It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it. I used the above on an '03 Explorer. I am in the process of doing the same to my '98 Sport. The smell in my Explorer really isn't that bad (it hasn't been smoked in in years), but it still bothers me. And being a bit of a perfectionist, I'm going to spend the time and do the job right.

Good luck!

EDIT: I don't just use a Mr. Clean Eraser and call it good... I clean the plastic off with some Windex all-surface cleaner to remove any of the dirty water that dried on the plastic followed by some ArmorAll to protect it.

 

[99ex22]

Put two bowls of vinigar in the truck on a hot day for 5 to 10 hours, that usually takes care of it. also go to a store and by Ozium spray. It kills airbourne bacteria and is made to get smoke smell out-it's what the goverment uses in their bathrooms, offices ect. also hotels use it. I smoked in my truck for 2 years and the owner before smoked in it for 8 years. I quit smoking 5 days ago so I have been trying to get the smoke smell out myself so I didnt smell it (makes me want one) just the ozium spray has done the trick for me but I have a friend that got a j**p last summer and the smell was terrible, put two bowls of vinagar in it for 8 hours, used seat cleaner on the fabric and the smell is gone!

 

[Ford_Nova]

Ive heard that dealers and such use onions to get the smell out. Theory is that get the rankest one you can find, chop it up, and put it under the seat (on a plate of course). Once the smell of onion is gone...spray some New Car Smell in it and bam, youve got a new car! If you have ever found a plate of onion under your seat this is what its from.

Note: This was told to me by one of my instructors.

 

[TomCat_Ford]

"Sray some new car smell in..."

Wait, they sell New Car smell in a spray?!

 

[Cobraguy]

You can rent the ionizers that actually do work. But you need to be very careful with those. You use them too much and it deteriorates all the rubber seals in the car.

 

[gijoecam]

Put two bowls of vinigar in the truck on a hot day for 5 to 10 hours, that usually takes care of it. also go to a store and by Ozium spray. It kills airbourne bacteria and is made to get smoke smell out-it's what the goverment uses in their bathrooms, offices ect. also hotels use it.

Nothing works better than Ozium... My buddy bought a used car from a smoker... cleaned it top to bottom, then sprayed it with a full can of Ozium, closed it up tight, and left it to sit in the garage overnight. The next day, he pulled it outside, opened it up, and let it air out in the sun for several hours. Smoke smell GONE!! Never caught a whiff of it ever again (and I have a sensitive nose for smoke...)

You can rent the ionizers that actually do work. But you need to be very careful with those. You use them too much and it deteriorates all the rubber seals in the car.

Anything that generates ozone (O3) will deteriorate the rubber and plastics VERY quickly (especially rubber).

-Joe

 

[BIGHVM]

Fabreeze!

 

[cwparts]

Get some activated charcoal filters (bulk), cut to size and place them in your vents. Or you buy the activated charcoal pellots (used in aquarium filters) and put them in Muslin (not Muslim) bags or a sock and stick them under the seats or hang them on the mirror.

Activated carbon doesn't mask odors, it absorbs them.

 

[lynchy wa]

Light up a cigar and pretend your Arnie in his hummer

 

[wbrudi28]

there should be a filter for the interior air in the vehicle, for the HVAC system. replace that :tup:

 

[Joe Dirt]

Carbon works, Ozium works, vinegar works ok, cleaning is important though- carpets, glass, and headliners have all been mentioned, but the panels are equally as important, as the smoke residue that gets all over the glass, etc., easily sticks to the panels due to the slight grain. Important to clean those very well...