# Smoke smell



## victor95 (Apr 2, 2009)

Just bought a 2006 Astra VXR and the previous owner(maybe more) have smoked in the vehicle.

I have APC interior, wet vacced the seats/carpets/boot and roof lining, changed pollen filter, 3 car bombs (deodorising) whilst aircon on circulate, copious amounts of febreze but there still that smoke smell mixing with the fragrances. 

Any ideas what more i can do? What have you used that worked best. 

Cheers


Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## Ctreanor13 (May 1, 2019)

Take as much of the interior trim out and clean behind it. The smell will have gotten into everywhere over the years


----------



## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

^ seats , console etc out and wash best you can 

then id look into finding somewhere that can run an ozone machine in it


----------



## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

There are companies that specialise in ridding houses of the smell of smoke after a fire. You could try contacting one of them and seeing if they can offer a solution.


----------



## GeeWhizRS (Nov 1, 2019)

For what they cost, I'd be sticking one of these Neutradol Deodorisers in to try. https://amzn.to/2YM31IR
We use these in the house and cars and they work great. We don't smoke though so can't comment on that aspect.


----------



## Nick-ST (Mar 4, 2013)

Clean the car as thoroughly as possible, especially the headlining and under seats etc. Then use a Dakota Odour bomb. The bomb was the only thing that worked for me on a car many years ago.


----------



## The happy goat (Jun 26, 2019)

GeeWhizRS said:


> For what they cost, I'd be sticking one of these Neutradol Deodorisers in to try. https://amzn.to/2YM31IR
> We use these in the house and cars and they work great. We don't smoke though so can't comment on that aspect.


Plus one for these and you could try the spray, they are both only a couple of pounds from Wilkinsons.


----------



## victor95 (Apr 2, 2009)

Yea so I stripped the interior and done all the carpets with seats out. All the plastics etc.

I guess the only 100% way is to strip the panels etc.

Its annoying as theres a hint of it mixed with the freshness of the bombs etc. 

Will deffo give the neutrodol things a go may couple more care bomb deodorisers.

Hopefully with consistency it will rid the last bits.





Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

what are they like to get the carpet out? ive had em out on previous cars and jet washed them 

what about used interior trims ? try and find a clean used headliner if the price is right? huge amount of it must be the headliner


----------



## victor95 (Apr 2, 2009)

steveo3002 said:


> what are they like to get the carpet out? ive had em out on previous cars and jet washed them
> 
> what about used interior trims ? try and find a clean used headliner if the price is right? huge amount of it must be the headliner


Done the carpets whilst in the car.

Yea I agree alot of smell prob in the headliner. Reluctant to strip interior as in my experience they never go back as good and you start getting new rattles n squeaks lol

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## RS3 (Mar 5, 2018)

I had this on a Fiat 500 that the wife drove. Cleaned the headlining twice and carpets mats and just about everything else but she was still complaining.
Got in it and I couldn't smell it until I dropped the sunvisor by accident and got a nasty whiff.
Removed both, scrubbed with (KC Greenstar I think)and no more complaints.:thumb:


----------



## sebjonesy (Dec 15, 2011)

I'm part of a network which specialises in odour removals from cars. In short, EVERYTHING needs cleaning (ideally with an alkaline based cleaner as this emulsifies nicotine quite effectively). An Ozone machine is really worth its weight in gold for that final odour kill. If you can get your hands on one or find a service that offers ozone treatments, it'll really help :thumb::thumb:


----------



## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

There is a video on JP Details where he removes cigarette smell from a car. Would send the link but no idea how to do it! Good luck. 

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk


----------



## canada16 (May 26, 2020)

I have a ozone machine you can have for 65.00
I used it once to do my old golf and took a mold smell out of my car.

Pro people use them. 

I am in bridgend wales. I cannot ship unfortunately.


----------



## Demented (Nov 3, 2014)

In the past I’ve used vinegar dispensed in a very fine mist from a spray bottle and sprayed into the interior, not directed onto a specific item, just spray into the air of the interior, so the mist lands onto the fabric, including leather; then leave to dry or maybe it evaporates.

Somehow, the vinegar neutralisers the odour; yeah the interior will smell of vinegar for a good few days, maybe a couple of weeks but it soon fades.

I’ve used regular fish n chip type vinegar on black & dark grey fabric interiors and also black leather without any adverse effects but when I first read of this method, it was suggested to use white vinegar, which I purchased specifically at the time but I noticed no difference between using the white vinegar and the fish n chip type vinegar.

Maybe a coloured vinegar could cause staining if used on a light coloured interior; so maybe best play it safe and use the white vinegar.


----------



## victor95 (Apr 2, 2009)

Demented said:


> In the past I've used vinegar dispensed in a very fine mist from a spray bottle and sprayed into the interior, not directed onto a specific item, just spray into the air of the interior, so the mist lands onto the fabric, including leather; then leave to dry or maybe it evaporates.
> 
> Somehow, the vinegar neutralisers the odour; yeah the interior will smell of vinegar for a good few days, maybe a couple of week but it soon fades.
> 
> ...


Awesome cheers wont hurt to try

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## victor95 (Apr 2, 2009)

canada16 said:


> I have a ozone machine you can have for 65.00
> I used it once to do my old golf and took a mold smell out of my car.
> 
> Pro people use them.
> ...


Thanks for the offer but it's a bit far

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## canada16 (May 26, 2020)

Its ok.
It will get the smell out of a dead donkey LOL.
I am not using it, will probably try sell on here if there is a classifieds section.

Best thing to do is one part vinegar and some pet stain remover and spray/Carpet Cleaner, steam and vacuum any excess fluid. 

I good drill brush works a treat as well to agitate the fibers and loosen the smells that are stuck in the fibers.


----------



## Ctreanor13 (May 1, 2019)

You could try one of the fog / smoke machines from eBay. I've heard a few try them with good results as a budget fog machine


----------



## canada16 (May 26, 2020)

victor95 said:


> Thanks for the offer but it's a bit far
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk





Ctreanor13 said:


> You could try one of the fog / smoke machines from eBay. I've heard a few try them with good results as a budget fog machine


The problem with those is that they just mask the problem, you really need to kill the smell, and unfortunately when you see cigarette stains, its like a yellow sticky goo and will soak into the fibers, even inside the lining.

Only a very deep clean will help, will probably take a all day clean and a ozone machine will truly get rid of the smell for good.

Fire departments use Ozone machines for a reason, also insurance companies use them as well to get rid of the smell after a house fire.

Also a lot of those machine will leave their own residue inside the vehicle.


----------



## Demented (Nov 3, 2014)

victor95 said:


> Awesome cheers wont hurt to try
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


If I remember correctly, you're meant to mix equal parts white vinegar with water and spray but last time I used it; I forget to mix with water and just used pure vinegar, the fish n chip variety; it worked but maybe that's why the car stunk of vinegar for a white after, although it wasn't overwhelming and was preferable to the sickly odour of cigarettes.

Apparently, it's a method normally applied to heavy fabric curtains.

It works to rid the odour from vomit and spilt/sour milk too.


----------



## autonoob (Jun 1, 2020)

White Vinegar. 
*Use Baking Soda to Remove Tobacco Smell from Car. 
Eliminate Cigarette Smell From Car Interior with Charcoal. *
Clear Cigar Smell with Coffee Grounds. 
Remove Smoke Smell From Car Seats With Dryer Sheets.
Use Cat Litter to Destroy Cigarette Odor.


----------



## Me9141 (Aug 30, 2010)

I bought my sister a car last year as a gift and couldn't hand it over until I cleaned it to a good standard as it had signs of 'just give it a vac it'll be right' from the previous owner.

It had a distinct smell, not sure what it was, it wasn't offensive just didn't smell very good.

On here someone recommended:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Car-Odour-Remover-Airvidox-Cigarette/dp/B076HBYDSD

I cleaned the car thoroughly using G101, plastics, extraction and let it air out and dry.

Then used the Airvidox kit. I put cardboard down as it bubbles with the reaction and put on the arm rest at the front.

Instructions on the pack says eight hours, but website said four (or vice versa). I left it in for eight, then aired out.

I had two weeks of the chlorine smell and there was no sign of it going, my boss recommended cat litter. So I got two boxes and lined with the clumpy white kind of litter and left overnight and it was done no chlorine smell or smell from previous owner.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Cookeh (Apr 27, 2017)

My car was a smokers car, and its taken me a very long time to get rid of the smell. I have had to strip the entire interior and clean literally everything. A, B, C pillar trims came off and were cleaned (in addition to the metal work behind them). Headlining trim was removed and the roof panel cleaned. I cleaned the headliner several times before giving up and just replacing it. All boot trim, door cards, centre console and dash came out to be cleaned and cleaned behind. I extracted the carpets and seats twice, and removed as much carpet as possible to get the areas behind clean. 

Smoke and residue travels far further and into more areas than you'd ever believe, and it will also obviously contaminate your whole ventilation system. So you'll also have to remove and replace your cabin air filter and clean as much as you can reach. Steam then works well enough to clear out the inaccessible areas, combined with a good car odour bomb.

Ozone works brilliantly, but will only be temporary unless you remove all the residues.

I will never buy a smokers car again. Disgusting.


----------



## biggriff (Feb 9, 2009)

I use an ozone machine. About £60 off ebay. Works every time.


----------

