Not your average smoke residue... Interior question.

[pentatonicminor]

I have a gentleman I might be doing some work for who is... how can I put this delicately? Let`s try of a Rastafarian persuasion. Anyone have any tips on deodorizing/cleaning this particular type of residue out of interiors? I`ve got most of the usual stuff around. I was thinking IPA and/or Sprayway for the glass, the usual folex and hot water extraction on the carpets, seats, etc. But I have no idea what to do as far as the headliner that won`t beat it up terribly. I know this is probably going to be a mother of a job, as I could smell it three feet from the open door, but it`s going to be well worth my while if it turns out well. Any ideas/strategies would be GREATLY appreciated. It`s a 99 Tahoe, if that helps at all.

[holland_patrick]

get an Ozone machine???

it`s going to be everywhere..... in the vents and everything ... it`s going to be very very hard to get that stuff out..

[Beemerboy]

When I clean HL I use a MF towel folded in four, spray some APC on the towel and wipe the HL down. This removes about anything that I have come across. You do not want to get the HL real wet but damp using this method has worked well for me


You might also tell the customer that the cabin air filters should be changed those can hold a lot of smell.

I like to run Lysol threw the air vents by putting the car on recirculate and spraying that threw the vent on the outside of the car. this forces it threw the venting system

[Gus-Gus]

some people may call me crazy.. but i was dressing up my buddies truck (he smokes ALOT) with some Poorboys NL dressing and he was telling me how his headliner had all sorts of tar in it.. so when i was done i figured heck why not.. and i used the rag i was using with natural look on it on the headliner...it took of ALL of the tar with no problem whatsoever.. may wanna try that.. not sure if it was one of its intended uses..but it made the thing look brand new....just a thought


lets just say this guy "smokes" alot too....

[Mr. Clean]

Hopefully they vehicle has a leather interior, which will help a little. I had one vehicle in particular which comes to mind, though if I get the drift of your description, this gentleman subscribed to another "brand" of smokes. :) I "deep cleaned" the vinyl with an APC 10:1 and followed up with PB`s NL (the scent gave the cleaning a bit of a jump start). Cleaned/conditioned the leather using first a cleaner and then a conditioner. Cleaned the carpets by hand and "extracted" via my shop vac. Wiped down the headliner with a "dry sponge". Sprayed headliner and carpets with Febreze after the carpets dryed (left the windows down to assist in drying and airing out the vehicle. Then the single biggest help (IMO) was I placed a room-sized bag of Zeolite under the driver`s seat, which helped with the ongoing issue. You can get both the sponge and the zeolite from the company Gonzo (IIRC). If you have a Container Store nearby they often carry both of those products.

Edit: Good points about the ventilation system. There are products which you can spray into the fresh air vent (under the hood).

That vehicle was some years ago, since that time I`ve learned about several new products related to carpet/upholstery cleaning. One of which are the tobacco smoke specific cleaners which can be used on both hard surfaced and textiles. If you have a janitorial supply company locally they would be a good source. I have two nearby. One has a location in Philadelphia which could get you the product fairly quickly I would guess.

[black bart]

When I clean HL I use a MF towel folded in four, spray some APC on the towel and wipe the HL down. This removes about anything that I have come across. You do not want to get the HL real wet but damp using this method has worked well for me


You might also tell the customer that the cabin air filters should be changed those can hold a lot of smell.

I like to run Lysol threw the air vents by putting the car on recirculate and spraying that threw the vent on the outside of the car. this forces it threw the venting system
Dave when you put a heat/cool system in recirculate that closes off the outside air and it recirculates from inside.

If you are spraying into the cowl vent outside you want it to be in normal mode that way it will draw in what you are spraying into the cabin. :idea

[mrclean81]

Try blue coral dry foam on the headliner. As far as OTC producs it seems to work the best and it has a nice smell to it so it might aid in getting the herbal scents out. I prefer car brite xtra duty over any interior cleaner made, but its not easy to get if you don`t have a rep that comes around regularly. As stated earlier, the smell is going to be in the vents and everywhere else just like cigarette smoke does. The ashtray is going to be a major contributer to the smell too.

[Mr. Clean]

I`ll bet if Tex Star runs into this with some regularity. Maybe he`ll see the thread and let us know how he handles this type of situation. I`m pretty sure he doesn`t have an ozone machine. I doubt many do unless they are running through some high volume dealership/wholesalers. Though one possiblity might be to rent one, if you can negotiate the price to make it worth your while. I know a local guy who bought a replacement car seat off of e-b@y. It turned out to be from a smoker`s car, he found a local guy that sells the machines and also peforms restoration services. He managed to rent the machine at a price he considered reasonable.

[pentatonicminor]

Good advice all around... The guy`s a friend of mine, so I told him I`m more than likely gonna need it overnight. That way I get to take my time and tweak the process as I go. I`ll borrow an ozone machine (sadly, its outta my budget right now) and call around about Zeolite. Everything else shouldn`t be too much of a problem to come up with. I`m pretty sure I have some HVAC duct cleaner around, too. The interior is cloth, so my LGM is gonna be getting a ton of work. Think I might actually rent a commercial one for this project. It`d be nice to have it around the house for a day for some other stuff, too. I`m hoping to give it a go this weekend, I`ll keep y`all posted as far as results. Thanks a bunch!

[RTexasF]

This works but you must follow the directions exactly.

Nok-Out Odor Remover | Eliminate Household Mildew & Musty Odors (http://www.nokout.com/)

[Tex Star Detail]

I`ll bet if Tex Star runs into this with some regularity. Maybe he`ll see the thread and let us know how he handles this type of situation. I`m pretty sure he doesn`t have an ozone machine. I doubt many do unless they are running through some high volume dealership/wholesalers. Though one possiblity might be to rent one, if you can negotiate the price to make it worth your while. I know a local guy who bought a replacement car seat off of e-b@y. It turned out to be from a smoker`s car, he found a local guy that sells the machines and also peforms restoration services. He managed to rent the machine at a price he considered reasonable.

I did see this thread.;) I will post up on it a little later on today with some of my techniques.:bigups

[Beercan31]

just roll the car up and smoke it.. ahhh gonjah

[Peco]

And this is why I don`t smoke in my vehicles or home. The smell is so hard to get out.

[TrueDetailer]

You`ll want to use a strong mix of IPA and soapy water. I`m preety familiar with cleaning resin off of and out of things. ;)

Just like cleaning a regular smokers car just gonna take a little more elbow greese as that stuff is sticky and a pia to get off.

[mrclean81]

I`m pretty familiar with cleaning resin off of and out of things. ;)
.

I know what you mean. I gave up on my personal vehicals long ago. My wife won`t even ride in my truck because of the skunky smell. Oh well....at least she`s not always wanting to drive it haha.