Smoker Smell

[benji276289]

thread reminds me of this classic episode of Seinfeld.

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by SPCBA

I smoke... No smoke smell after i slice apple and leave it in car over night.

lol, I highly doubt this works. probably smells like a smokey apple, to someone who doesn't smoke.

[TPAJETSKI]

Originally Posted by Palutz

Depreciation on the car value is the last thing a smoker cares about. If they don't care about their health then a car sure won't matter and this is coming from a former smoker.

Strangely, when I got my Camaro I decided I would stop smoking inside my cars. It hit me as how dumb that was. I don't mind ruining my priceless lungs but god forbid I get some smoke in a 40K dollar car. My priorities were pretty screwy.

[c5Legend]

Why couldnt the dealership take care of this for you? (steam interior, detail ect..) certainly wouldnt of got the car if it was smellin like smoke.

[CamaroSkooter]

Take a small bowl and put about 3 or 4 ounces of vinegar in it, and leave it in the car overnight with the windows rolled up

[searam]

steam has worked for me. focus on the headliner but be careful. shampoo the carpets and clean and put conditioner on any leather. i know you can rent o zone machines too which might be cheaper than the dealerships price but thats probably not necessary if you clean effectively. most of what you have done will mask the smell but only for a period of time. it may look clean from when you took delivery but the dealership would just mask the smell and vacuum the inside so it looks clean. the key is a good clean that eliminates odours throughly and the smell should be gone and there will be no need for masking any smells. i switched to an e-cig when i bought my camaro haha

[Criticalmass]

Originally Posted by Niceun

Hey guys I just got my 2012 45th Anniverary RS Saturday. My 1 and only complaint is the prevous owner was a smoker (cigarettes) How do I get that smell out? So far here is the list of things I have done:
1. Spray Febreze on the floor mats.
2. Put charcoal under the seats.
3. Put a box of baking soda in the floor.
4. Put an automotive air freshener in the floor.
5. Sprayed Febreze into the cowl vents. This was the advise of the chevy service writer.
One last thing, I asked the chevy service writer what they do to get rid of the smell and he told me the dealership has a machine that deodorizes the interior. But he could not guarantee it would be 100%. The cost was $52.00 The smell is getting better but I thought I would put it out there to see if anyone had a solution. Thanks

Have the interior detailed by a professional, then buy some ozium gel containers. Should get rid of the smell after a month or so. Ask me and my Provari (e-cig) how I know? Now my cars smell like Vanilla and Cinnamon once the new car smell wears off (actually that's not true. They only smell that way when I am using my e-cig and have one of those flavors loaded up).

[coryrulez9]

Wrapping everything in newspaper helps. It soaks up the smell

[Destructo09]

Change the cabin filter for sure, it's easy and cheap!

[Evergreen6]

My first car I owned had been smoked in...big time. It was more common back then, and the price was right, so I bought it anyway.

As others have mentioned, TIME is really what does it. I started by washing (bucket, terry cloth, a neutral cleaner soap like Dawn)- all the plastics, everything inside the car, even ran the towel over the seats and carpets, and it's pretty amazing the brown film that came up.

That helped.

I also would hit the inside with Ozium if the car was going to be parked outside in the sun. That's when it was the stinkiest...all the fabrics and plastics opening up with the heat.

More washing the interior. Vacuum lots.

Replace the cabin air filter.



After about a year of wiping the interior, vacuuming, Ozium, and ventilating, it was barely noticeable. You could still tell on warm days, but it didn't hit you like a ton of ash trays like when I first bought it.

I was never a fan of masking sprays (Febreeze, air fresheners) - they are their own brand of nasty junk that sticks to everything and leaves a crusty film or something else to attract dirt.

[Jt1988]

Back when I had my Subaru we went fishing in those island we were using squid as bait my buddy had caught the squid a week prior. So on our way back home we still had some squid and the bucket spilt in the car, on a hot day 2 years later it stunk something horrible. I can live with smoke the squid was awful.

[BLU DUCE]

Originally Posted by Destructo09

Change the cabin filter for sure, it's easy and cheap!

+1

[jrhagen]

Originally Posted by Comrando

Ozium works well. Just don't breath it.

+1 spray on warm to hot day, close windows, let bake.

[Emig5m]

Vacuum good then take microfiber rags and clean entire interior (carpet, cloth, plastic, everything) with this stuff: