'Smoky' interior - any good ways to rid car of the smell??

[johnnyb]

My wife bought a six month old Mini that had been owned by a smoker. The dealer promised this wouldn't be a problem as the car would have a full extra thorough valet. When we collected the car it smelled very nice which lasted a couple of days and then the smokey smell came back. The dealer took the car back for another valet and this time the smell came back after a couple of weeks. I decided to do my own research this time and had Dakota non smoke recommended.

A good blast of this around the interior and then leave the car parked with the windows closed for an hour or so. No trace of the smoke smell since.

 

[Palfrem]

What really annoys me is when you specifically ask the dealer "does the car smell of cigarettes?" or "has it been smoked in?" and you get there and it stinks of fags!

I'm an ex-smoker of 10 years and we must be the worst.

 

[E270 Owner]

My wife bought a six month old Mini that had been owned by a smoker. The dealer promised this wouldn't be a problem as the car would have a full extra thorough valet. When we collected the car it smelled very nice which lasted a couple of days and then the smokey smell came back. The dealer took the car back for another valet and this time the smell came back after a couple of weeks. I decided to do my own research this time and had Dakota non smoke recommended.

A good blast of this around the interior and then leave the car parked with the windows closed for an hour or so. No trace of the smoke smell since.

Yes a personal favourite of mine but it does have its own pungent odour to get used to better than the stale ashtray smell though

I run the aircon on and empty the whole can with the pollen filter removed externally then replace the pollen filter as well as internal filters
and leave the engine running with the aircon on for 20 mins then leave the car to sit for an hour before opening it up,
then if you can breath in there all's good if not leave it another hour

What really annoys me is when you specifically ask the dealer "does the car smell of cigarettes?" or "has it been smoked in?" and you get there and it stinks of fags!

I'm an ex-smoker of 10 years and we must be the worst.

Yea I'm a born again non smoker .......... I hate the smell of it now

 

[gIzzE]

When I collected my E320 it stank if cigarettes, in the end I just started smoking cigars in it, smelt much better.

 

[dhk284]

Two onions cut in halves, leave two halves under the front seats, one of the halves on the dashboard the other on the back shelf. charcoal is good, white viniger, cat litteror Jay's fluid

 

[mr vandango]

I had this problem a few years back when I purchased a Fiat Coupe. After a bit of research I found something that suggested putting coffee in a tin or tub with the lid off (the kind that goes into a machine, not the instant variety). It took a couple of months, but the smell did eventually leave. I guess it works the same as charcoal and cat litter but smells better (if you like coffee of course!)

The trouble with cigarette smoke is the it penetrates everywhere in the cabin, and leaves it's residue there too. This means that it will often only be masked by air fresheners and the like. Sometimes the only true way to be rid of it if it's particularly bad is to remove every bit of the interior and clean it thoroughly. I have seen somebody do this once

It maybe worth your while at least to remove the head lining, which is often fairly straightforward. Give that a thorough clean as it's often ignored when cars are cleaned. Then wet vac as much of the carpet as you can get to. If you don't have leather seats then wet vac your seats too. You could even roll out the seat belts and clean those. Anything fabric will hold the odour.

Maybe the guys in the detailing forum have more suggestions?

Good luck with it!

 

[1001ab]

What really annoys me is when you specifically ask the dealer "does the car smell of cigarettes?" or "has it been smoked in?" and you get there and it stinks of fags!

I bought a W124 estate that was very well presented. The bloke had a chauffeur car business and used the W124 from time to time but it was specifically mentioned that it had never been smoked in.
In among the service history and docs were two photos of Amy Winehouse in the car.
There's no way that she was in the car and never had a smoke, no way...
(smells fine, by the way)

 

[E270 Owner]

I bought a W124 estate that was very well presented. The bloke had a chauffeur car business and used the W124 from time to time but it was specifically mentioned that it had never been smoked in.
In among the service history and docs were two photos of Amy Winehouse in the car.
There's no way that she was in the car and never had a smoke, no way...
(smells fine, by the way)

I'll just get the broom and sweep up the name you dropped there fella