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imported_Grouse
03-16-2007, 01:42 AM
Some of you may have read that i am dealing with a 01 s8 that was heavily smoked in. Out the many homes, rv`s and few cars i have done this is easily the single most condensed smoke smell i have run across.



Here is the process thus far.



I recieved the car, I did a ful wipe down with a detergent capable of removing nicotine from plastics rubber and vinyl. The fabric was left for later. After those surfaces dried i set up the Ozone.



test ozoned it at 100% for 20 min. (ozone machine recomendation<personal previous exp says this is allways wrong. but we allways follow the directions>) Nothing changed odor wise



I ran the machine at two hours at 100%. still 100% smoke smell.



I vented the car thoroughly and fell back on my normal procedure for motor homes.



16 hours at 25 or 50%. In this case i chose 25%



vented car. At this point i noticed a change about 80% of the original smell remained.



16 hours at 50% ozone.



Vented the car. This is where i noticed that i had about 40% of the original odor still there.



16 hours at 100%.



vented the car. Here i have reached the point of diminishing returns. I would say i had aobut 20% of the odor left. It is now time for main cleaning step one.



Since nicotine is very sticky, extremely small (size of house hold dust) it floats in the air. It can stay air borne for quite a while. usually it gets stuck in something that acts like a filter. In this cars case it was anywhere near a vent. to give you an idea of what nicotine looks like here are some shots. look for the yellowing on the pile of the front floor matts.

http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722297.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722298.jpg



You don`t see it? well here is what happens. nicotine is so small it will makes its way through any crack or crevice. into any meduim that will act as a filter. The foam on the back of the floor matts of the s8 became such a filter. This is an excelent example of how nasty nicotine can be. In this case when you touched the back foam you could feel the greasy nature of nicotine. It litterally felt like butter. It also stunk to high heaven. remember we are well over 40 hours of Ozone right now.



http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722299.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722300.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722301.jpg



at this point it was time for extraction Using my hwe i extracted the matts front and back, headliner, carpets, fabric, alaclantara and trunk. I used as dedicated a smoke damage removal product i could. (most have now moved into encapsulation instead of detergents) I sprayed the effected areas with a light mist of delimonine (very very carefully with a resporator) then worked that in with a brush. Then sprayed my main preconditioner on and worked it in with a brush. I let this sit for the better part of 30-40 min. I extracted everything.



I then emptied a bit of waste water into a bucket and put it up on the counter to sit over nite.



Here is a pick of the bucket of water i took this morning with out moving it.

http://www.pbase.com/dsgrouse/image/75722302.jpg

Nicotine will not fall to the bottom of a bucket. it will stay suspended for the most part in the water. I dipped a stick in the bucket and the nicotine coated it like i was making a candle. This car was not dirty from soil. It had been recently purchased from a dealer in the mid west. This dealer had hwe`d the carpet infront of the buyer and used ozium. in utah the buyer stopped at another dealer because the smell was so bad. This dealer also hwe`d the carpet and used Ozium. I recieved the car 3 days later. This is what i was able to extract.



Nasty nasty nasty



The car is now dry. and again i think only 10% of the odor remains. I am ozoning it for a further 16 hours at 100%. From their i will reclean a second time and finish out the job. I have many more pictures to share.

DM101
03-16-2007, 02:27 AM
Can you take it to a carpet cleaning service? Many do cars for around $50 , just a thought

docker
03-16-2007, 07:02 AM
WOW, nasty stuff! This is amazing.



Aside from the many hours ozone/venting (I really don`t know these processes), how many hours would you say you have in actual hands on time? Do you mind sharing how much the charge for this job ended up being, or is projected to be?

imported_Grouse
03-16-2007, 09:31 AM
Can you take it to a carpet cleaning service? Many do cars for around $50 , just a thought





In this instance the care needed restoration not just a clean. My going rate for car cleaning as a carpet cleaner was 125 for the carpet/fabric and 30-60 per seat for leather. Most carpet cleaners would not take the care that i did in this case to ensure the best possible results. it is also not likely they would have a odor control tech and a fire restoraction tech. What is often required for smoke damage and odor control is out of the pervue of most carpet cleaners.



This not a slight on them, it is simply a truth. this requires practice and training. most do not have it these specific areas.

imported_Totoland Mach
03-16-2007, 09:41 AM
WOW....DOUBLE WOW! Nice job on the cleaning! I occasionally get a BMW that`s been smoked in and the car makes my nose run.



I smoked for 30 years (I quit 18 years ago) and didn`t realize how bad that stuff is.



Now, when I get near a smoker...it`s like an allergic reaction.



Thanks for posting the pics and information.



Totoland Mach

imported_Grouse
03-16-2007, 09:43 AM
Lightly smoked cars are one thing. This car was another. I have not had a vehicle so stuborn in my life. Let alone a room, rv, house.



Just nasty.

Krank
04-03-2007, 01:23 AM
Are there any other negative health effects for non-smokers that buy smoker cars other than just the nicotine? And after all these processes are done, how much bad stuff can still be left if the smell is gone?

imported_Grouse
04-03-2007, 01:26 AM
health effects... wel the tar is oily and sticks to everything. so transfer to cloths, skin is going to happen.



Realistically 80% removal is a great number to shoot for.



here is the owners recent email.


Aaron:



We just got home today. Trevor had the car while we were gone and kept a couple windows ajar to air it out a little.



I am so happy I can`t smell the smoke anymore! Trevor ordered mats for me so we can throw out the old ones. I can smell a little of the ozone and I am anticipating that will go away. Trevor explained the leather scent, I will enjoy that. My husband has a 2003 S8 and his still smells like the new leather.



I am very happy with the work you did for me. I only wish I had found out sooner and saved some money with the previous detail. If I can post any comments anywhere let me know as I would love to spread the word.



Thanks again for doing such a great job. I can now enjoy driving my car.

sneek
04-03-2007, 02:09 AM
...nicotine can be absorbed through the skin...so you might not want to touch that buttery surface.



:P I hope you were wearing gloves

steck
04-03-2007, 02:17 AM
okay, i`ll just add to this for some that may not know:



I dont think breathing in the Ozone after a machine has run for awhile is good for health.



there`s been many health related studies on this...



so i wouldnt keep going back into vehicle, taking a big breath, to test any progress UNTIL, it has been aired out for several minutes outside !!



not saying the poster did this,, but thought worth mentioning.

Krank
04-03-2007, 02:32 AM
health effects... wel the tar is oily and sticks to everything. so transfer to cloths, skin is going to happen.



Realistically 80% removal is a great number to shoot for.



here is the owners recent email.



And I take it a good cleaning of the leather won`t completely remove all of it?



At this point, I`m debating whether or not I should get rid of the car I bought and pick up another, I got it for a good price and could most likely break even, or if I should spend the money for a detailer to do similar work that you did and try to save it.

Woob
04-03-2007, 03:16 AM
Jeeze great work Grouse! Perfect example of a specialist at work. Charge more IMO, though I`m don`t know the Odor/Interior Restoration field that well.

imported_Grouse
04-03-2007, 08:55 AM
...nicotine can be absorbed through the skin...so you might not want to touch that buttery surface.



:P I hope you were wearing gloves

yes always


okay, i`ll just add to this for some that may not know:



I dont think breathing in the Ozone after a machine has run for awhile is good for health.



there`s been many health related studies on this...



so i wouldnt keep going back into vehicle, taking a big breath, to test any progress UNTIL, it has been aired out for several minutes outside !!



not saying the poster did this,, but thought worth mentioning.

aired out for nearly 1/2 hour by two blowers before checking


And I take it a good cleaning of the leather won`t completely remove all of it?



At this point, I`m debating whether or not I should get rid of the car I bought and pick up another, I got it for a good price and could most likely break even, or if I should spend the money for a detailer to do similar work that you did and try to save it.

it might remove a portion of the odor from the leather but not all of it. you need to clean then ozone the car. till you hit that point of diminidhing returns.

imported_Grouse
04-03-2007, 09:10 AM
Jeeze great work Grouse! Perfect example of a specialist at work. Charge more IMO, though I`m don`t know the Odor/Interior Restoration field that well.





I bid the car while it was out of my hands. I estimated the price based on past exp.



Factors for the price were:



2 full interior clean`s

1 full interior condition and protect.



smoke odor removal of about 40 hours.





Well. what i was wrong about was the odor removal. the vehicle was far worse than i could have imagined. it easily ran 60 hours and showed improvement up till about 75 hours. At that time it hit the point of diminishing returns. I ran it a full 25 more hours to be sure.





My price was fair for me, good for them. I am happy with that.

Scottwax
04-03-2007, 09:22 AM
Absolutely disgusting! Exactly why I would never buy a smoker`s car.