Finally, say good-by to smoking.
Cigarette smoke is possibly the most difficult to eliminate of all the irritating odors that prefer to stay in your car. Regular smokers may not notice the odor, but someone entering a smoky vehicle for the first time will.
The stink of perma-smoke may create migraines if you’re sharing or selling your car. Guests are not permitted to smoke in any vehicle on the Turo marketplace and may face fines if they do so. To reduce the likelihood of a smoking event, many Turo hosts proactively alert guests of the potential implications, and customers can decline a car and obtain a full refund if the car smells like smoke. Even more reason to clean the interior!
The simplest way to remove remaining smoke is to take your automobile to a professional detailer, who can employ steam cleaning or other treatments that need equipment that you are unlikely to have. If you’re determined to get rid of smoke odor without paying someone else to do it, there are many of excellent home remedies you can try.
To assist you with your quest, we’ve put up a guide for removing harsh scents baked into the interior of your automobile. We’ve highlighted some quick and easy ways to keep your car clean in the past, but occasionally you need to call in the cavalry and go to war on some stench. Combine a handful of these methods to get rid of smoke odor once and for all.
- Begin with a blank slate.
To get the most bang for your buck, clean every surface of your car’s interior before using any significant odor-eliminating chemicals. Begin your de-smoking process by properly cleaning your car’s cabin with these simple steps. This will give you a decent indication of how far you have to go to satisfy your irritated nose.
Begin by removing everything from your car, as clothing and other items absorb a lot of stench.
Remove the floor mats. If they’re carpeted, vacuum them; if they’re rubber, wipe them down with a surface cleaner. Then set them out in the sun to dry for a few minutes.
Vacuum the carpet, the seats, and the headliner. A shop vac is desirable, but a handheld dustbuster would suffice.
- Clean the internal surfaces
Once the dirt and debris have been removed, you may use an all-purpose cleaner to make cleaning your car’s upholstery easier. There are numerous solutions at every price point accessible almost anyplace. You can also use products designed for certain materials such as glass or leather, but check the labels beforehand to avoid hurting any surfaces.
Using your favourite surface cleaner, clean the glass, dashboard, center console, and any other hard surfaces.
For your seats, carpets, and headliner, use an upholstery cleaning or shampoo. Work the product in with a suitable scrub brush (mixed with water if necessary), then towel dry.
Pull the seatbelts out completely and clean them with a moist rag.
- Bicarbonate of Soda
Baking soda absorbs odor molecules and is a simple DIY smell elimination solution. Baking soda can be replaced with coffee grinds, activated charcoal, or a bowl of white vinegar. All of these goods absorb odor, thus removing them from your automobile eliminates the odor.
Ensure that all surfaces have been washed, vacuumed, and are totally dry.
Sprinkle baking soda on the seats and rugs, or fill a cup holder with vinegar.
Leave it in for at least a few hours, if not overnight. The baking soda or vinegar should then be vacuumed away.
- Deactivate the duct system
It is impossible to clean all of your car’s air ducts and tubes without disassembling everything. However, you can still treat the tarry cigarette residue that may be freezing in the pipes by spraying odor neutralizer into the air intake of your vehicle. A spray odor neutralizer, such as Meguiar’s Odor Eliminator, is available online or at any auto parts store.
Put the AC on full blast and the coldest setting with the windows open. Configure it so that the air passes through as many vents as possible, including the windshield defroster. Check that the air recirculation is switched off.
Find your vehicle’s air intake. The vents are normally placed around the wiper blades, but if you’re unsure, visit the interwebs.
Spray the odor neutralizer straight into the air intake system’s outside vents. Continue for a few minutes, or until you detect the odor fading.
Rep with the heat turned all the way up.
- Change the cabin air filter
Air filters remove dust and particulates from the air, trapping residue and odor. Even if you’ve cleaned every surface of your automobile, a dirty air filter might return odors to your cabin when you switch on the AC. This is a simple and inexpensive task that you can perform yourself; don’t let rapid oil change establishments overcharge you for something that takes only five minutes.
A replacement cabin air filter costs roughly $20 and can be purchased at any auto parts store. Check that it is compatible with your model and year.
Most cabin air filters are accessible via or beneath the glovebox – Google is your friend here. To remove the panel that conceals the air filter, no special tools should be required. Most automobiles include pull-away plastic tabs or screws that can be readily removed with a screwdriver.
Replace the old filter with the new one after removing the old one. Replace the inner panels and you’re finished.
Chemical odor bomb 6
Odor bombs are an extremely effective and cost-effective way to combat smoke or any other odor. Instead of masking the odor, they emit a chemical vapor into the cabin that eliminates the molecules that convey it. Stink bomb cartridges are single-use, but most are inexpensive – Dakota sells a popular odor bomb for roughly ten dollars.
Most odor bombs require a similar approach, so be sure to read the directions carefully. You’ll probably shut the windows and leave the odor bomb in your car for a few hours. Then, with the AC on full blast, roll down the windows and flush the air ducts.
- Ozone therapy
This is the nuclear option, which should be postponed until all other options have been exhausted. Ozone treatment is the most potent method for eradicating odor and should be left to the professionals, but if you have experience working with hazardous materials, you can rent an ozone generator and try it yourself.
UV light is used in ozone generators to break down O2 molecules into single oxygen atoms, which subsequently connect with additional O2 molecules to form O3 (ozone). Ozone is unstable and will cause an oxygen atom to connect with another molecule, which may contain odor. This process is repeated indefinitely, removing odor by modifying the chemical structure of odor-carrying molecules.
Because ozone is detrimental to your health in sufficient quantities, ozone treatment must be performed in unoccupied locations with plenty of space, such as your garage. It can also leave a temporary odor and irreversibly degrade interior leather and rubber. So, while ozone treatment is the most efficient approach for eradicating odor, we recommend leaving it to professional detailers.
Air fresheners (8)
After you’ve done some thorough cleaning and your nose is pleased with your efforts, you can put an air freshener in your car. A nice air freshener could be the final step in saying goodbye to unwanted odors, but keep in mind that it only hides odor and does so temporarily.
9th. Additional air filters
There are a variety of automotive air-cleaning equipment that you may plug in and forget about. Small air filters, diffusers, and humidifiers can be used by just plugging them into a cigarette outlet or USB port. These are useful for constantly cleaning the air in your car’s cabin, but they are not a full solution for eliminating the odor of smoke.
Contact Deodormaster for Odor removal services in Nashville, TN.
Share