Crap! Cigarette Smoke!

[Booster-Shot]

Hey! Well I just got my car not too long ago, and just got done with most of the maintenance, but I still have one big problem The previous owner was a cig fiend! I found three boxes in the car...and yeah like any smoker car, it smells like crap. I actually dont mind it too much by now, I just feel bad for anyone who comes and looks at it. My friends said that it just needs to air out, which I dont think will do the trick...plus this is the only time by beloved febreez has let me down. Three thick sprayings of the stuff and its still going strong. I dont know how well an air freshener would hold against it either...Does anyone really have like a permanent solution that isnt too extreme? Thanks a lot-

 

[GalantGSR91]

shampoo the carpets, headliners, seats. Compressed air blown into the vents would help too.

 

[deecee101]

maybe febreeze will work... quick and easy

 

[GalantGSR91]

\...plus this is the only time by beloved febreez has let me down. Three thick sprayings of the stuff and its still going strong.

I don't think so cheif.

 

[ddavisaf]

Most dealership detailers have a product that removes the smell. I can't remember the name of it, but they're usually nice guys/girls. Drive up to one and ask them what they recommend.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

You can pick up little plastic bags of "activated charcoal" at a pet store (they are used for fish tank filters). It will never totally get rid of the smell, but as long as you keep one under the seat or stashed somewhere the smell will be a LOT less.

 

[Defiant]

Turn the vent to outside air, and try some febreeze or Ozium through the vent intake outside at the base of the windshield. Switch it to heat while you're at it to get it through the heater core as well.
Chop up an apple, put it on something it won't leak through, and leave it on the seat or dash in the sun with the windows up.
Smoke shops (and Wal*Mart) have a "Smoker's Candle" which is supposed to be good for soaking up smoke stench.

 

[dlh1999]

Most dealership detailers have a product that removes the smell. I can't remember the name of it, but they're usually nice guys/girls. Drive up to one and ask them what they recommend.

My cousin, who works at a dealership, commonly refers to these as "carbombs"...they're pretty nice and certainly remove smoke smell. The only problem is they coat EVERYTHING in a film, so you'll need to thoroughly wash windows once the can is out.

 

[Nanan]

Dealerships use a cleaner called AgraSol to clean the interiors of cars that have been smoked in and it works wonders. With this stuff you spray on and wipe every surface you can find, dash, doors, trim, windows, everything but cloth. It will remove the tar and other crap left behind by smoking and it will also remove any grease thats on the surfaces to boot.

 

[BISHILVR]

Actually, what we used to use at a dealership was a negative ion generator, and a spray product from malco chemical company. That together would wipe just about anything out in a couple hours man.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

I know your pain, but believe it or not I managed to get rid of my stench in a week or so by spraying febreeze in the intake of the vents, and running them full blast, heat on, everytime I drove the car.
Shampooing the carpets and headliner will help alot too though, good luck

 

[Chuckster]

The least amount of work would be for you to take up smoking. You'll never notice the car smells!

 

[RonJeremY]

You need a good, thorough interior detail including steam cleaning all fibrous surfaces and using a good plastic cleaner/conditioner on all others. An Ionizer works great, but they are expensive and not all detailers have them. Make sure you use heat, that always seems to work better than just shampooing. If you can't afford a $1000 soil extractor, a $180 bissel pro heat works well, and has some good attachments, including a crevice tool. Turn on your heater/def/ac with it set on recirc and run it in all different combos of vents after you're done, to run the fresh, humid air left after steam cleaning through the system. Good luck, smokers are even worse than long hair dog owners to detail for!

 

[DGajre777]

My car had the same problem and the guy who owned the car before me worked at a Mitsubishi dealership. I got the heater core flushed (he paid for it) and the smell went away. I didn't even have to shampoo anything.

 

[DGajre777]

The least amount of work would be for you to take up smoking. You'll never notice the car smells!

Smoking sucks!

 

[BLUEBLOTCH]

Actually, what we used to use at a dealership was a negative ion generator,

We use that at our shop1

 

[gsnoturbo90]

mt friend bought a car that the dude smoked cigars all the time it will air out just open windows and febreeze like nuts, also use thouse rock thing that absorbe order should help

 

[napkinthief]

cigar smoke doesn't stick as much as cigarette smoke because cigars aren't inhaled...

i just sprayed down the front and rear seats and carpet with a bottle of febreeze and left the windows open with the vents on aiming down, smoke was gone in 2 applications, but can still be smelt on hot days when the car is like 140 degrees inside