How to remove smoke smell from car?

[niklynn1]

My daughter just turned 16 and I bought her a used car. I feel like a got a good price on the car, with relatively low miles, BUT, unfortunately, the previous owner was a smoker.

We cleaned the carpets and upholstery, wiped down every surface and have used odor absorbing gel and baking soda, plus Febreze, but the smoke smell is still overwhelming. We've even left dryer sheets under the seats. Still, strong smoke smell.

After forking out the money for the car, I can't really afford to have it professionally cleaned and detailed. Does anyone have any other ideas for removing the smoke smell? It's my daughter's first car, and I hate the idea of her driving around with that horrible odor.

Thanks

 

[aprhj]

you can put oatmeal, not the instant kind, in a dish or sprinkle on the floor boards and it will absorb some of the smell. Coffee beans also work and leave a good smell, I like the vanilla or caramel flavored beans. Be sure to use the whole beans not ground coffee. Both these should work some but may not take out all the smell. An air purifier left on in the car over night will work some also. Just make sure its not going to rain that night because the extension cord will be in a cracked window.

Hope it helps!

 

[pezheadmeg]

Try the carbon that works for fish filters. I was the designated driver one NYE's and it worked until I got my 3 month old car in for a detailing. Clean the hard interior surfaces with a bleach and water combo, that might help kill the smell some more. Did you use a carpet steamer to clean the interior?

I would say look around for a deal on detailing. I've never spent more than $100 to have just my interior done. My local car wash can dry-clean the mats. It's only a few extra dollars extra.

Plus spend a sunny day with the car in the driveway with the windows all the way open!

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

When looking at cars at Carmax, I fell in love with a car that smelled like smoke. The sells person said that she was a smoker and they could do all kinds of treatments but unfortunately the smell would always be there. Especially on hot days! So I had to pass. I hope you find a miracle!

Remember it is even in the vents!

 

[Ladybugsy]

My mom and dad's house burned down a few years ago. Noone was home thank goodness, and my mom was so upset that she was going to have to throw away all of her clothes. The insurance company would not let her put them back in the new house because of the smell. One of the people who helped clean everything that was salvageable told her about Odo-Ban. You can get it at Sams, Walmart, ect. She washed her clothes with a little Odo-Ban in the washer and the smell was gone. It workes for anything. I'm not sure how you would use it in a car, but I would suggest washing everything that can be washed and then using it as a spray on what can't be. It has a eucalyptus scent, so if you don't like that kind of smell, maybe wash everything with the odoban and go back over with Febreeze. It'll work. The only thing you may not be able to reach is the air conditioner vents. Sometimes the smell comes through there. But Odo-Ban WILL get the smell out.

 

[Sinderelly]

My DH and I just finished shopping for a car. There was a 2008 VW Beetle on a lot that we liked but when the salesman went to get the car so we could test drive he said it reeked of smoke. The sales manager said they had a process that would remove 95% of the smoke. The cleaning company would place a "bomb" in the car and run the AC for 2 hours. Maybe you could call a dealer and get some info on this. Maybe you could buy the car "bomb" and do it yourself.

 

[canopynut66]

My daughter just turned 16 and I bought her a used car. I feel like a got a good price on the car, with relatively low miles, BUT, unfortunately, the previous owner was a smoker.

We cleaned the carpets and upholstery, wiped down every surface and have used odor absorbing gel and baking soda, plus Febreze, but the smoke smell is still overwhelming. We've even left dryer sheets under the seats. Still, strong smoke smell.

After forking out the money for the car, I can't really afford to have it professionally cleaned and detailed. Does anyone have any other ideas for removing the smoke smell? It's my daughter's first car, and I hate the idea of her driving around with that horrible odor.

Thanks

You can try soaking a towel with vinegar and leave it on the floor mats until it is dry and that usually will take it out. or charcoal is another thing to try just put in a nylon hose and lay in there. If this does not work a detailer can hook a machine to the car for 24 hours and that will do it. There will be a cost to that however as my son does this kind of work for hotels etc to clear the rooms of smoke

 

[djbleach]

The car bomb is probably your best bet. I use the "berry" smelling one and it makes the car smell like fruit.
Make sure you get one with enzymes that "kills" the odor and not mask it.
Odo Ban is also good. I use Odo Ban in a spray bottle mixed with H2O for the house.
In our cars I use the car detailer "bombs".
I'll put a website where you can purchase the bombs. I think It's under aerosol deoderants?

prowax dot com

 

[Vivianne]

It's going to take a while. With alot of effort. Vinegar, baking soda,
odor gagets, etc. Leaving the windows open to air out the smell.

We bought a house, that I believe that the previous owner was a smoker (died
of cancer) sorry, but it is a fact We
painted all the walls but the woodwork does release the smoking smell on
a windy day. We bought this house in 1994. And I did paint the walls and
washed the woodwork but every once in a while I do get the faint smell
of smoke.... A lovely testament to the stench of smoking.

 

[disneymarie]

When looking at cars at Carmax, I fell in love with a car that smelled like smoke. The sells person said that she was a smoker and they could do all kinds of treatments but unfortunately the smell would always be there. Especially on hot days! So I had to pass. I hope you find a miracle!

Remember it is even in the vents!

This is so true and a real deal breaker on any car I was to buy, along with a dog person. The odor is in every stand of fabric.

If you are energetic take the seats out front and back. get the carpet done with one of the vac shop rentals.
Then challenge the seats.
let it open and dry over night.

 

[shortbun]

I got a car from my uncle who was a cigar smoker. There were burn holes on the seat where his ashes had fallen and the smell was heavy. I put coffee beans in the back seat and left the windows open for several days after I had the car shampooed-cloth seats. Of course, the entire inside was cleaned too-windows, metal, plastic. I cleaned the trunk by shampooing the floor cover and we power washed the engine. I put an air freshner in the vents-it took me a long time to find a scent that I could stand. I only smelled the smoke when the weather was steamy after that. I don't like smoke smell but on those steamy days I'd think of my uncle, my godfather, who had died. After that amount of cleaning, I didn't carry the smell with me. I also sprayed perfume in the fabric. Eventually, the car neutralled from a smoke perspective.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I was a smoker for the first 8 of the 11 years I've owned my car. That smoke smell just doesn't go permanently; I've tried a ton of different things, but it's just there anytime I have to use my vents for the first time (turn on A/C or heat when it hasn't been on for a few days), and then it smells for several minutes. Just a reminder how disgusting it was!

 

[Evi]

try sprinkling baking soda on everything fabric and letting it sit for a few days and then vacuum it out. I would do this a few times then I would sport for a complete interior detail. When you bring the car in explain that your trying to get the smell out. They will shampoo all the carpets and clean any leather with saddle soap. I would also have the cars filters changed and the vents blown out by the dealership or an auto shop. I think between the above and leaving windows open on nice days you can get alot if not most of it out.

 

[caledonia]

I have used Febreze spray and it seems to kill the smell of my sons smoking and freshens the seats and carpets.

Ian

 

[eeyorethegreat]

My mom and dad's house burned down a few years ago. Noone was home thank goodness, and my mom was so upset that she was going to have to throw away all of her clothes. The insurance company would not let her put them back in the new house because of the smell. One of the people who helped clean everything that was salvageable told her about Odo-Ban. You can get it at Sams, Walmart, ect. She washed her clothes with a little Odo-Ban in the washer and the smell was gone. It workes for anything. I'm not sure how you would use it in a car, but I would suggest washing everything that can be washed and then using it as a spray on what can't be. It has a eucalyptus scent, so if you don't like that kind of smell, maybe wash everything with the odoban and go back over with Febreeze. It'll work. The only thing you may not be able to reach is the air conditioner vents. Sometimes the smell comes through there. But Odo-Ban WILL get the smell out.

We got this at Home Depot my mom bought a mobile home that was previously owned by a smoker. O bought a gallon of the odo ban which also came with a full size sray bottle and sprayed the walls the ceilings washed the floors with it. It did take several times of this but the odor is now gone.

 

[SaraJayne]

My DH bought our newest car without me with him and when we went back to pick it up, I knew immediately it had been a smokers car. Blech.

The smell will never go away, regardless of what you do. Especially on hot days, it will get worse.

I spend as little time in that car as possible, just b/c of the smell.

 

[mrsklamc]

The smell will never go away, regardless of what you do.

This.

 

[englishteacha]

Wash everything you can. Febreze everything fabric, including the ceiling of the car. Vinegar! Vinegar is an excellent odor remover, too, and I've used it slightly watered down in a spray bottle like Febreze. Coffee grounds/beans help, too.

 

[Kellydelly]

My DH bought our newest car without me with him and when we went back to pick it up, I knew immediately it had been a smokers car. Blech.

The smell will never go away, regardless of what you do. Especially on hot days, it will get worse.

I spend as little time in that car as possible, just b/c of the smell.

This happened to us too. Last summer dh bought a beautiful Chrysler Aspen, fully loaded and I only saw the outside before the purchase. It smelled "okay" for about a week and then started reeking like cigarette smoke . I think the dealership bombed it just long enough to get it off the lot. We immediately had it detailed (because on top of the odor, of course there was dog hair all over it that dh neglected to notice too and I'm allergic to both smoke and dogs ) but it didn't make any difference. Used an ozone air cleaner, that didn't work either. I know the odor is probably stuck in the headliner, which my husband will not touch because he's an automotive engineer and knows how delicate they are. So we are stuck with a pretty "new" truck that smells like an ashtray. Nice. I can't wait to buy our next vehicle for me that smells like the factory!

 

[jm-mom]

On some vehicles there is a changeable filter as part of the a/c system It's kind of like a tiny furnace filter. I can tell when ours needs changing because it will start to smell moldy. The air blowing through the vents on me carries that smell with it right into my face. I would think the same would be true if the filter and system were filled with smoke smell. Just think of it this way -- if you bought a house from a smoker, you could paint and clean everything you can see, but about in the duct work and hvac? To really get it clean, you'd have to have duct cleaning service come out and also have your hvac professionally cleaned. Aside from looking into the vent filter, you might contact a company like Servicemaster and see if they sell anything you could try or even a janitorial supply. They sometimes have products that are stronger than what you can get at a place like Target. Good luck!