I've just left my job and have had to give the company car back. As a result, I have been out looking for a replacement and have gone for a
relatively high mileage BMW 320d Touring. The engines are fairly bomb proof and great fuel economy. The only problem is that the inside smells of
cigarette smoke.
What's the best way of permanently getting rid of the smell. Driving with the windows open might be OK at the moment but will loose its appeal
when the weather turns cold again (i.e. in a couple of days!!). I suppose I could take up smoking so that I don't notice it any more, but the
lung cancer risk is not a price that I want to pay.
i'd get it valleted professionally our local place specialise in removing cigarette smoke odour.
Choose your valet people carefully, we got the inside valeted for the cigarette smoke problem and they filled the radio with water which messed up the
LED display. Obviously they denied it all.
But a damned good clean, replace the recirc air filter and time will all help.
We had the same problem, although I am a smoker, I don't smoke in the car due to Mrs Chippy having athsma. When I got the Xsara it stunk of ciggy smoke, I used an upholstery cleaner which was called Fabreeze, (think thats how it spelt), did the job in one go. HTH Ray
What they said is probably the best way but I've heard there are things you can do at home which usually involve lemon juice or baking soda. Have
a look on youtube and you'll see what I mean.
I would think you'd probably just get used to it after awhile, but it's deffinitly possible to get rid of the smell as I've seen cars
with smoking related damage that don't smell (Look out for rings around the lighter where it's been put back in blind, and marks on the dash
where they've been put out.
I had a Celica years ago with the same problem, my mate lent me a de-ioniser air purifier, left it in overnight
and it got rid of the stink completely.
I was told of a "smoke bomb" that valeters use to get rid of smells.
This looks like it might do the job though.
Linen Odour Neutraliser (142 gram)
Not a cover-up, but a true odour eliminator that oxidizes odour elements in the air.
Use it to combat smoke and fire odours, odours of the sickroom, animal smells, mustiness, decayed matter, pesticides, and basically any odour
regardless of its source.
Available from HERE
HTH
Neil
These bags get rid of the smell of dead rats A friend of mine used one to get rid of smoke smell in a car not sure if you can order from this supplier
but you may find somewhere else
http://www.killgerm.com/product-group.php?group=927
[Edited on 31/5/12 by bowood14]
Ring your local auto smart dealer they're who supply a lot of the valet ing places tell em you trade cars and they'll drop by in their truck they have all sorts on board to cure it. I can highly recommennd berry blast once destenched
I have had to deal a few times with smelly AC and nappy type smells in cars.
Spray all the porus surfaces with Spray on fabric conditioner --- dosen't have to be Fabreeze the Morrision own brand Passion
flower one works pretty well and smells a lot nicer than Fabreeze.
Also pasteurise the AC ie run it on fully hot for 5 minutes then fully cold for 5 minutes then fully hot for 20 minutes
If that isn't enough get a bomb type deodoriser and set it off in the car with the doors and windows closed (works best if left ovver night)
---- Halfords sell the Comma brand one.
You can also put a household gel type air freshener and leave it in the glove box.
Might also be worth changing the pollen filter.
My old Citroen AX GTi reeks of cigarettes, I used Neutradol aerosol deodoriser on the carpets, seats, door trims etc. and then scrubbed out the ashtray and filled it with Neutradol carpet deodoriser granules. I wasn't a fan of the smell of the Neutradol to be honest, but within a week or two you simply couldn't tell it had been a smokers car.
The problem is all the tar and other sticky gunk that has got itseld behind all the interior pannels... OK, a proper clean of the upholstry will
remove some of this but you wont get the stuff behind the panels. Every time the sun shines and it gets hot it will smell...
I stupidly bought a really nice Seat Leon Cupra R a few years ago, amazing car but I just couldnt stand the smell, so I sold it! (the smell was not
the only reason I sold it... Couldnt really afford to run it, but we wont go into that)
[Edited on 31/5/12 by tegwin]
If you're a non-smoker and always have been you'll never get rid of the smell totally, no matter what you do to it. But a damn good steam valet does reduce it a lot which you can then mask with a sickeningly sweet air freshener.
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
My old Citroen AX GTi reeks of cigarettes, I used Neutradol aerosol deodoriser on the carpets, seats, door trims etc. and then scrubbed out the ashtray and filled it with Neutradol carpet deodoriser granules. I wasn't a fan of the smell of the Neutradol to be honest, but within a week or two you simply couldn't tell it had been a smokers car.
3 Things you can try...
1. A good cleaning...seats, dash, carpets...all of it.
2. A bag of charcoal left in the car a few days will absorb a lot of the odors.
3. If charcoal fails, services that recondition homes after a fire will use an air ionizer closed up in the space for a few days.
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
My old Citroen AX GTi reeks of cigarettes, I used Neutradol aerosol deodoriser on the carpets, seats, door trims etc. and then scrubbed out the ashtray and filled it with Neutradol carpet deodoriser granules. I wasn't a fan of the smell of the Neutradol to be honest, but within a week or two you simply couldn't tell it had been a smokers car.
The smell of Neutradol gives me nausea.
Thanks for the advice. so far I have
i) sprayed a lot of Neutradol and left the car over night
ii) cleaned the hard surfaces with a vinegar based window cleaner
iii) then sprayed the soft surfaces with Fabreeze (to get rid of the Neutradol smell!!) and left for a couple of days whilst we were away avoiding the
Jubilee coverage - had to go to extreme lengths and literally went underground in the Yorkshire Dales.
This seems to have worked fairly well and the car is now useable but with a faint smell, so I will give it another dose of Fabreeze and also change
the air filters. If the summer ever comes back I will then clean the fabric bits with a wet and dry vacuum cleaner (needs a hot day to dry out
properly). If that all fails then a trip to the professionals will be called for.
I did think about one of the bomb type deodourisers, but I have heard that they can leave a sticky residue on everything.