How do I get the smell of cigarette smoke out of my car?

Question

I just bought a car and the guy I bought it from is a chain-smoker!!! He got it professionaly detailed so its been shampooed and everything but it still smells! I got febreeze extra strength for fabrics/auto and I also have a yankee candle air freshner but it still smells!!!!! What else can I do???? I hate driving my car now because it gives me a headache!!!!

Answer 1

I had the exact same problem w/my second car!

Try this stuff called Approach. I used it everywhere. Sprayed every water-safe surface, (even leather seats), sprayed the windows and wiped them down, sprayed heavily on the carpeting u name it.

It was a miracle! There's no smoke odor. Just make sure you get every nook and cranny!

Good luck!

Answer 2

I know the feeling, turned a car like that down once in favor of an older, more expensive one. (The "expensive" one lasted nearly ten years longer.) I don´t know the answer to your question, but I can help you maybe find it, cause I know cleaning, and I know oders, from the old-school.
First of all, modern cars are almost entirely plastic in the interior. You´ve got not only carpets and seat covers, you´ve got head liners, door panels, the entire interior channels of the heating system. When they´re made of plastic they condense either tiny droplets of moisture laden with nicotine -and 20-odd other chemicals the FDA has attributed to cigarette smoke- onto their surfaces, or -in dry weather- by static electricity. Too bad they didn´t make that guy drive his car with an electrostatic percipitor over his mouth and nose- then you wouldn´t have this to deal with this. Worssen THAT!, if you have air-con, the entire inside passages, cooling fins, tubes etc. are all WELL coated with the stuff! But let´s not stay in pessimatamia, Let´s attack this thing...
1) Do you like the car well enough to go after this thing with some hours of elbow -grease?
2) If not, can you afford to get another one now?
3) Do you know someone who can wield a screwdriver and can remember where things go? and loves you enough to spend some hours- maybe many hours.

If you don´t want to just get out from under the car (SELL it), I would start working on the things you haven´t yet hit. By the way, I suspect that some of these cleaning products may have just made the smoke wet, perfumed it a little, and they let it dry back in the upholstery. No matter! I suspect it´s more in the plastic.

We once broke a bottle of amonia on the basement steps. I thought we would die! We had to get out of the house. But the next day, it was GONE! completely! Absolutely! Only the broken glass was left behind. That´s because it evaporates ENTIRELY!

If I were going to work on this problem, I would go this road. ´Course every envoronmentalist will probably get bent outta shape, and you have to work carefully, remember it is a very aggressive (I think they call it alkaline). You need to dilute it, you need to protect your skin (Gloves) and eyes, and you need to work in good ventilation. It´s a big rough job, but I would clean every surface with a cotton cloth (not scratchy stuff) and diluted ammonia. If the water gets dirty, change it, ´cause there goes your smoke. Good Luck!
One more thing -just in case- under NO CIRCUMSTANCES mix chlorine with ammonia it makes a much more worsser - more deadlier than either one is alone, and they ARE!

Answer 3

If you dont want that smell in the car, stop having him smoke in it. It will linger and stick to the seats or headliner. The only way to get it out is a neutralizer like febreeze and you will have to do that every time there is a smell in the car. Or you can tell him to quit the dirty habit and buy a pack of nicorette?

Answer 4

You have pretty much done all you can. Some smells linger for amazingly long periods of time. You should not have bought the car in the first place, but since you have, you are stuck with it until you can sell it yourself. If you are getting headache, you are a bit oversensitive. It may be the air freshener that is causing your headache and not any linger tobacco smell.

Answer 5

Put a cat box in the back seat.You'll never get the smell out .You can use that Hotel Grade smoke eliminator spray & it will get rid of the smell temporarily.The tar &nicotine from a heavy smoker is going to have the interior saturated.Sell it &try again.

Answer 6

The only thing I can suggest (since the car has been shampooed) is leave the window open so it will air out. Otherwise, you may want to actually replace the floor mats and the seats since the smoke seems to have soaked in.

Good luck!

Answer 7

try sprinkling baking soda on the carpet or any rug deodorizer specially made for smoke let it sit for a couple of days with the windows open then vacuum it up you might want to try wiping EVERYTHING down with vinegar water to, this includes the upolstery on top of the roof and the seats keep leaving the windows pen as much as you can try a heavy duty air freshner made for smoke

Answer 8

Take it to another detailer.

You might get an 12VAC ozone generator with a Hepa filter. We've got one in our basement and it has killed the dog and mildew stench from a former owner it took a good week to do the job but it finally has worked.