How to remove cigarette smell from vehicles

[blazinzuk]

The new burb i just got has been smoked in. Its not super bad, but it has become a small issue.

Best way to remove these odors?

I'm likely going to redo the headliner because of this as i imagine much of the smell is up there

 

[76zimmer]

My 99 was a smoker truck as well, I pulled the seats and shampoo'd the carpet real good...my seats are leather so I just cleaned them real good and put some conditioner on them...are yours cloth? If so shampoo them like the carpet. I just used some Lysol air freshener on the headliner. Even when it sits in the sun all day I don't smell any smoke odors.
Clean all the air cond vents real good, dash, instrument panel, door panels, etc. I dont' think there is an A/C filter in these trucks right?

 

[70jimmy]

I agree with all the above. I hear about this ozone treatment that some of the detail and used car places do. Supposed to work well on odors, without adding new ones.

 

[Ned Kelly]

Mine was heavily smoked in. The light grey cloth upholstery was actually brown.
It was so bad I wasn't going to purchase the vehicle, but the price was great and I knew the history of the vehicle. Even the windows had a film of smoke on them. It was quite bad. My wife was NOT HAPPY i bought it...more like ANGRY ....said I'll never get the smell out!

Bought a Bissel Green Machine at Walmart for $80.
I shampoo'd mine about 4-5 times over the span of of a two weeks and the smell was pretty well gone. I left the windows open whenever I could for the next 2 months, even only if a few inches, just so air could circulate. By the end of the 2 mths you could never tell it was a heavily smoked in vehicle.
I used the Rug Doctor Oxy-Clean solution. Surprisingly the price for these solution jugs seemed to be the cheapest at the display at the front of the store where you can rent a machine (like at a grocery store) vs buying it in the aisle at Walmart/Home Depot/Menards etc.
You won't believe how much 'brown' comes out of the cloth, even when it looks cleaned!
I also used PineSol to wash down all the hard surfaces and vents. I had to do this several times also.

PS.
I did not replace the headliner. I thought I may have to, but decided to first try to clean it . It was a pain to shampoo up there (weak arms ...haha...it just un-natural to work like that!), but it was actually easier to suck out the bad stuff out, as gravity worked with you. I pre-sprayed the headliner with a couple of containers of spot cleaner just to loosen things up. I'm surprised it cleaned up and didn't need to be replaced.

A friend had bought smoked in car a year before me. He took it in for the professional ozone treatment. It did take most of the smell out, but you could still smell the smoke. Based on his experience i decided to try and do it myself. I think I got better results. Maybe they didn't do a good job, so some shops my be better than others and actually doing a 'professional' job? The shop closed up after 2yrs, so maybe they didn't do good work. Anyways, just food for thought.

 

[datmony]

Ozium will help a lot with pulling initial odors out..... other than that shampooing and scrub scrub scrub.....

 

[mrk5]

My father-in-law, aka business partner, smoked in my company vehicle for several years. I wiped down all the hard surfaces and cleaned the vents. Amazing the build up on the steering wheel. Then I bought a big bottle of Febreeze and sprayed down the interior every couple of days until the bottle was empty.

I feel like the smell is gone but admittedly I'm not sensitive to odors in general.

 

[blazinzuk]

Man i was hoping one of you guys would have a magic bullet. Guess its scrubbing time!

Which i need to do anyways

 

[Blazooki]

coffee grounds absorb odor. buy a cheap can of coffee and leave it open in the truck for bit. esp after your moving the interior around and cleaning.

 

[wheels87k5]

Just put some Mentholatum vaporizing rub under your nose every time you get in. As a bonus, it will clear up sinus stuffiness. Win Win.

Carry extra for passengers.

 

[Green Monster]

Careful if you clean the headliner. Been known to stretch out. Second the coffee idea. And sprinkle baking soda all over the place, let it sit for a day or two, then vacuum it up.

 

[thearborbarber]

3 of these over the course of a month worked for me;

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automoti...ole-car-air-re-fresher-(summer-breeze-scent)/

 

[blazinzuk]

Careful if you clean the headliner. Been known to stretch out. Second the coffee idea. And sprinkle baking soda all over the place, let it sit for a day or two, then vacuum it up.

Its torn in a couple places and sagging in a couple so replacement is in the works

 

[Blazooki]

Dude, I had an animal die under the sun porch deck. The only thing that took the smell away was coffee grounds

 

[blazinzuk]

Dude, I had an animal die under the sun porch deck. The only thing that took the smell away was coffee grounds

If i grind up some nice fresh coffee beans will it do the same thing.

 

[paratrooper307]

All the suggestions here work. I've had the best success with a thorough clean/shampoo of the upholstery, replacement of cabin filter (if applicable) with a vent fogging, and then a couple of 30 minute treatments with an ozone generator (a real one, not one of those things that plugs into the cigarette lighter). It leaves a chlorine-like smell, which dissipates, and pretty much removes any lingering odors.

 

[diesel4me]

I've read about folks burning coffee in homes that had a cadaver in them for an extended period of time before they found the body....they say it works well..

I know a guy who bought an old VW Bug (1960's vintage) that was owned by an elderly guy who smoked stinky cigars and cigarettes in it for decades--the headliner and door panels were brown like tobacco,and reeked of stale cigar smoke...so bad you'd gag when you stuck your head in the car..also those old VW's had a weird odor all their own from the seat stuffing and the exhaust fumes the heater put in the car..

The guy worked at a bus company as a mechanic,and he used their "steam jenny" to blast the entire interior of the VW ,it came out sparkling white and clean,but took about 2 months to completely dry out,he put a electric heater in the car and left it plugged in overnight,and parked it where the sun would heat it up during the day..the car was fresh as a daisy after that..I remember him getting chewed out for jacking up the shop's electric bill by $50 per month running the heater..

 

[truckmanjake]

The new burb i just got has been smoked in. Its not super bad, but it has become a small issue.

Best way to remove these odors?

I'm likely going to redo the headliner because of this as i imagine much of the smell is up there

I'm in the reconditioning business and we have a chemical deodorizer. It works well and doesn't leave a nasty film like some other methods. Your burb will smell like a swimming pool only for a day or so and the cigarette will be gone. If you're interested I'll get a price. It's not expensive.

 

[blazinzuk]

I'm in the reconditioning business and we have a chemical deodorizer. It works well and doesn't leave a nasty film like some other methods. Your burb will smell like a swimming pool only for a day or so and the cigarette will be gone. If you're interested I'll get a price. It's not expensive.

Where you at? I'd love a price

 

[truckmanjake]

Where you at? I'd love a price

Give me a call tomorrow. I'll talk to our interior guy. Jake. 480-620-5505

 

[Cntymnty77]

My parents used some kind of charcoal air cleaner in a vehicle they got and it worked pretty well.