Cigarette smell removal

[mpentico]

Thanks to a nice woman who did not believe the traffic light was red enough, I got the opportunity to replace my 05 Mustang GT. (see avatar)

Regretfully, I could not afford a new Stang, and with limited time and money ended up with a used 05 GT. It is white and was driven nearly 65K miles by a smoker. (NOT the tire burning kind of smoker either!)

Anyhow... I'm taking suggestions on how to rid the car of the rank stale cigarette smoke smell as quickly and cheaply as possible.
ie: Replacing the entire interior is not a cheap solution.

Post away with any suggestions that actually work!!!

 

[stanmckinney]

All I can say is, good luck. Cigarette smoke is about the worst stuff you will ever deal with. I hope the dealer discounted the car because of the smell. I guarantee they gave the previous owner less of a trade in because of it.
The stuff permeates everything. I know of nothing that will completely get it out.
Sorry. I feel your pain.

 

[explrsport]

You can find and try dozens of chem solutions from Pep Boys, AutoZone, Wal-Mart etc; some of them will work to some degree but as stated above, smoke odor is very difficult to get rid of entirely.

You not only have to remove it from the visible headliner, seats, carpets - but also from HVAC ducts and interior pieces that are not visible.

I went the DIY route with a 18-month old, 20M mile Explorer Sport I purchased for my son years ago - the original owner was a pipe smoker and if you think ciggie smoke is bad... Anyway, after I tried a half-dozen DIY chemicals, I decided it was worth $75 to have a detail shop go after it.

Amazing the difference between an amateur and the professionals. They got about 98% of the odor removed.

Good luck; if all else fails, since your new ride is retro to the late 60's...try burning some incense.

 

[timeless2]

Have someone fog it. Not much else will work in the long-term.

 

[agewolf]

weed. smoke as much weed inside the vehicle as possible. I mean cheech and chong volume.

That should rid your 'stang of any tobacco smell. However, you will have a small reek of nachos and big mac hamburgers. Weird.

 

[CPman]

If you talk to a detailer, he might be able to hook you up with a a fog or bomb type product that you set off in your car with the windows up. after 5 or 10 minute, open the doors and air it out. I think it works at the molecular level, actually killing the bio matter that creates the smell. Kind off like a roach bomb. If you can't find that, try visiting your local pet store as they should have an enzime type of oder killer that works much the same way the bomb does, only it comes in a spray.

 

[GOLDENPONY]

Cig. Smell

I had some luck with a product called Auto Fabreez (guessing on spelling). My mother had a Chrysler Laser and smoked heavily with the windows up. When she got too old to drive, I tried to clean it up for my sister to drive. I've seen Fabreez advertised for home use, but I found they had a product just for cars.
I vacuumed heck out of it and sprayed Auto Fabreez heavily from stem to stern. After it dried out, and sat with the windows all open for a few days, it wasn't too bad. The smell eventually went away, but I'd say the product didn't do too bad.

The best suggestion would still be a top notch detail shop.

 

[texaspony]

it's worth a shot....

A buddy of mine has a used car dealership. He said they cover every inch of the interior with old newspapers, leave all the windows closed and park the car in the sun all day. The newspaper will soak up the smell. Don't use all of those auto fragrances - they just cover up the smoke smell and make things worse.

 

[mpentico]

Thanks to all who posted!

I particularly enjoyed the suggested use of "smoking lots and lots of weed".
At that point burning incense is a must to cover the weed smell. But would I really care about the smell?

Looks like I will be spending a whole lot of time and effort cleaning and re-cleaning all of the interior surfaces. Then give some of these other suggestions a try.

Thanks again!

 

[drooks]

ozone generators will get rid of it. i have a small ionizer that also emits ozone and it got rid of all the smoke. there are also more expensive ones u can supposedly find to rent from some shops that will work as well. this is the ONLY way and best way i have heard of or found that will actually remove all odors. completely.

 

[Redfire281]

You might also want to change the cabin air filter that's located behind the firewall under the hood on the passenger side. If the filter is dirty or clogged you might be recycling stale air when the windows are up.

 

[stanmckinney]

A carpet cleaner guy I know suggests a light spraying with apple cider vinegar. Must be the apple cider variety. I tried it on a carpet in my house that got wet from a leaky ice maker and then a bit moldy and it worked like magic.
Worth a try.

 

[Jester67]

All the above will help but changing the carpet will set you back about $100 and remove the largest surface area and will give you a chace to wash down the floor pan and air out the seats.
JM.02 cents

 

[Towelly]

If you have the time and money, the best option is removing the carpet. But, if you can't, take out your cabin air filter and replace it with a new one. Before you insert the filter spray it down with your favorite cologne, it may be strong for the first day or two but it will be ok. This works good in the short term, but the best way I've seen is to first run your car with the air on and the cabin filter out. Spray the inlet with Lysol to kill all the order and bacteria in your vents. When your done with that use this : Clean Air Genie Fogging Air Freshener . When we got a car in at the dealership that was a smokers car, this was the only thing we could find that worked.

 

[spectre30075]

ozone generators will get rid of it. i have a small ionizer that also emits ozone and it got rid of all the smoke. there are also more expensive ones u can supposedly find to rent from some shops that will work as well. this is the ONLY way and best way i have heard of or found that will actually remove all odors. completely.

+1. I got on online for about $15 that plugs into the cigarette lighter; is that what you have too? I bought it not expecting much but it really does work. I've found that leaving it plugged in overnight works best.