Getting Rid of Smoke Smell

[Sirslap2]

Yes I have searched:)

I wiped down the interior with Meguiars Extra.

Cleaned the leather with Lexol

Extracted the carpets with the Little Green Machine.

Sprayed the headliner with Fabreeze Auto.



So anyone that has dealt with this before....is it just a matter of time now?

Does it lessen with age?



Of course any good Autopian would give it his/her best shot before dropping it off with the pros as a last gasp attempt.

[Sci-Fi]

http://www.howtocleananything.com/hca_springarticle8autointerior.htm



An old and inexpensive trick is to place several open bowls of Pine-Sol, vinegar, or vanilla extract around the interior and close it off overnite or a few days. Then throughly air out/open the car windows for a few hours to get rid of the Pine-Sol smell.



Wizard makes a "Tobacco Odor Neutralizer" spray that works fairly well. I also usually spray the cabin air filter, if equipped, and run the air conditioning for a few minutes to lessen the scent. There are commercial deodorizers or foggers available



Another favorite is tip #10 (car and home):



If carpeting begins to smell, sprinkle on 20-Mule Team Borax generously, let it sit undisturbed for an hour before vacuuming up both dirt and unpleasent smells. If your dog goes off-roading with you, you might be interested to know that a 2nd application of Borax, which you leave on, will kill fleas and their eggs.

[Simplistic]

scrub the vinyl/seats again :o.

[imported_aqua]

You should clean the interior completely.Unfortunately Smoke smell gets inside everything. So clean everythingn including headliner. If smell is not so strong , that will be enough.



If keeps smelling then you will have to use a ozone generator for 2 hours. I use it quite often and the results are amazing.



In your case odour neutralizers are useful as smoke is gas and reach all little corners so you need another gas to neutralize it.

[TortoiseAWD]

Check with janitorial supply stores in your area; you may be able to rent an ozone generator to treat the smoke smell. Here in Omaha, it ran me $25 USD for a day.



Tort

[Mr Concours]

IMHO the headliner is going to be the main culprit,smoke rises,admittedly it gets into everything but the main saturation point is above your head,keep reapplying the Fabreeze and leave a couple of open tins of baking soda on the seats,when parked up.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Are the consumer-oriented ozone generators of any value here, or do you really need an "industrial strength" unit?

[tom p.]

Originally posted by TortoiseAWD

you may be able to rent an ozone generator to treat the smoke smell.



that a solid recommendation for bad smoke odor. :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs

[former86camaro]

What I did when I had my 97 Z was:



Aired out a few days with windows down. Baking soda and fabreeze and odor X. Never really cured it, but helped and about 2 months it was gone...

[Sirslap2]

Originally posted by Mr. Clean 2K

What I did when I had my 97 Z was:



Aired out a few days with windows down. Baking soda and fabreeze and odor X. Never really cured it, but helped and about 2 months it was gone...



That kinda what I wanted to hear!



I left the windows open all night and I could smell it in the garage this morning...which is a good thing...it means it is coming OUT of the truck.



So is a little diligent cleaning and really patience/time the key?



I think I need to work on the headliner more and visors.



I have called three different detailing shops and gotten three different solutions they use.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

What do we think about



this one? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41389&item=3093429147&rd=1#claims)

[markmando]

go buy some OZIUM. (light blue spray can)

it`s the same stuff hospitals use.

it does a great job of killing the smokey smell.

trust me i`m a smoker.

you can find it at advanced autoparts & meijers.

$5 a can.

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally posted by DPDISXR4Ti

What do we think about



this one? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41389&item=3093429147&rd=1#claims) FWIW, it looks almost identical to the one I rented. I`m not well-informed enough to comment on brand names or specs, though.



Tort

[Prometheus]

Last summer my dads GTO smelled like crap from being garaged for about 10 years with the windows closed. WE ended up using about a bottle of febreze, completely covering everything, closing all the windows and letting it sit in the sun for a day. That night, we opened up all the windows and left it for awhile. The smell was way better than it was before, tolerable at the least.

[obbop]

If the budget doesn`t allow renting contraptions, etc. an old timer`s trick is to place bowells, trays, etc. of white vinegar in the car and roll up the windows. Leave it for a day or two then air it out and try some more cleaning.



It worked on a rental house I cleaned but admittedly there are differences in the type of surfaces between a car and a house.