I lent my truck to a good friend for three days. He smokes like a chimney. I don't think he actively lit up in the truck - think it's just transference from his being and clothes - but after being closed up all day in the Florida heat, I opened the door and it knocked me back. I googled last night and came up with 100 remedies. Do you have a favorite?
I've read a cheap Amazon ozone generator is the go-to for smells.
I was going to suggest passing on that particular vehicle and looking for one from a non-smoking seller, but I see that's not an option here. Sorry.
Steam cleaning.
Duke said:I was going to suggest passing on that particular vehicle and looking for one from a non-smoking seller, but I see that's not an option here. Sorry.
You have no idea. I am contemplating just setting fire to it.
A pan of vinegar seems to ring a bell. Otherwise steam clean the seat.
Shadeux (Forum Supporter) said:I've read a cheap Amazon ozone generator is the go-to for smells.
The Exploder we bought for our son had been used to haul dogs around quite a bit, so the "Ode de Doggie" was quite strong. We used an ozone generator and it helped a lot. Another thing was baking soda. Spread it around on all the cloth surfaces, let it sit overnight, then vacuum it up the next day. It sucks in quite a bit of smells.
Light up something else inside?
Spill a quart of gasoline in the car, then six hours later have a short-circuit in the seat heater.
I just remembered that someone on the board had a C6 Corvette that had the used oil jug open accidentally. I was seriously thinking about opening a bottle of diff fluid in there because I would rather smell that!
When we bought my wife's fusion it had obviously been smoked in. a lot. we have bamboo charcoal packets under the seats, and an activated carbon cabin air filter in it, and hosed down all the soft surfaces with an odor neutralizer spray. those things got like 90% of the smell out, but there was still a little bit lingering here and there. what finally finished it off was jasmine oil sprinkled on the floor mats.
occasionally i'll catch a little whiff of stale cigs but i rarely notice it, and i don't usually drive her car so its not just getting used to the smell.
Dealership I bought a truck from did an overnight ozone treatment and the smell is GONE.
I’ve just cleaned the upholstery and carpet, and used the vinegar trick, and it has worked well for me, although the car then smells like vinegar for a while.
Basically, boil a pot of vinegar, and set it inside the car(on a board, not directly on the carpet) while the engine is running and the fan is going full blast on recirculate. I had to reheat the vinegar a few times, but another board member bought a used electric tea kettle to keep it heated up.
Ozone generator is probably faster and lower effort, I just have no idea what they cost.
Oh man there are so many possible solutions.
I would try all the cheapest ones first like the baking soda trick. A key to that would be to hit it with some vinegar to get that nice chemical reaction.
Also when i get a used car I always hit the carpet and seats with this process:
1) Vacuum
2) Put degreaser in a spray bottle and spray it over the surface and let it sit for like 5-15 minutes.
3) Get a scrub brush with some stiff bristles. Get yourself some type of "free and clear" laundry detergent with a scent. Mix some hot water and that laundry detergent together in a bucket and start scrubbing away wherever you sprayed the degreaser. Repeat the scrubbing process with fresh water. ***free and clear laundry detergent is also clear in color, ive had issues on lighter colored interiors with blue laundry detergent***
4) Use a wet/dry vac to vacuum up the carpets again.
5) Repeat - it leaves the interior smelling nicely and it also makes it pretty clean. Works well at geting soda stains and other misc. stains out of auto upholstery.
I read about this in GRM. Works incredibly well. And cheap!
I'm so sorry. I really despise that smell. Cloth seats? I'd focus on the driver's seat, the left door panel and the steering wheel.
I have this ozone generator: https://www.amazon.com/Enerzen-Commercial-Industrial-Deodorizer-Sterilizer/dp/B00JAP7388
Works great, I bought a car that was heavily smoked in and ran this for two hours without doing any other cleaning. After airing out the ozone smell you could barely tell that it had been smoked in. Another treatment would probably get rid of it completely.
The ClO2 odor eliminator above is the same idea but it costs $25 and you get one use out of it. The ozone generator is $80 and you can use it many times, handy if it needs more after the first treatment.
I bought this one, on a detailers recommendation, but I haven't tried it yet.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0795P2674/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:Duke said:I was going to suggest passing on that particular vehicle and looking for one from a non-smoking seller, but I see that's not an option here. Sorry.
You have no idea. I am contemplating just setting fire to it.
That's not going to get rid of the smoke smell.
I've used this product w/ good result:
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Brite-Auto-Odor-Eliminator/dp/B01FIJRUJ6
Can't tell ya how it works but it worked well in a heavily smoked in truck I traded in. Following directions the interior smelled like 'nothing'. Not smoke, not leather, not plastic, not sealers, chemicals etc.
Dealer advertised it as a non-smoker vehicle FWIW. I would use it again.
My 0.02
If he didn't smoke IN the truck then you are fighting vapor permeation into soft surfaces and contact transfer from him to seats, steering wheel, etc.
For anything he physically touched, steam clean and shampoo it. Focus on the extraction, you want to solvate the odor chemicals and then suck them out. You can do this with dedicated upholstery and carpet cleaning tools or soak it with cleaner and then use a shop vac. For cloth or carpet I'd use an upholstery cleaner or MILD degreaser. Be aware some degreasers will badly discolor upholstery.
For the vapor permeation an ozone generator can be effective, or there are some fogging or aerosol products available that work well too. The two places people usually miss in this type of odor abatement are the headliner and the internals of the hvac system. Put the ac on recirc but set the temp to barely cool. Consider changing any filters in the hvac system.
the final ingredient is airing it out well. Really well.
Sell it to a smoker. Their noses are brojen. They won't smell a thing
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:
the final ingredient is airing it out well. Really well.
To that point, if you can take the seats out and put them in the sun for a few hours that would do wonders.
I don't know anything about ozone or vinegar treatment but way back in the day when my S10 Blazer hester core puked its guts into the passenger floorboard I turned to coffee. Well, I turned to coffee when a few wetvac sessions still left a lingering coolant odor in the car. Get a bag of the cheapest whole bean coffee you can find, ground might work but beans were suggested and thusly what I used. Pour the beans off into an open container and leave in the car. Overnight the coolant smell was heavily reduced and gone in a couple days, never to return. YMMV. And if you shampoo the headliner just be very gentle with it, if that needs to be said.
Tl;dr Wipe down, light shampoo, open coffee bag overnight.
Duke said:I was going to suggest passing on that particular vehicle and looking for one from a non-smoking seller, but I see that's not an option here. Sorry.
I hate when sellers smoke and smolder. It's easier when they burst into flames.
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