I am in the process of trying to quit smoking. Managed 4 days so far, so fingers crossed....
I would like to get rid of the stale tobacco smell in my car, and recall reading somewhere that the only real way to do this is to fumigate. How does one go about this?
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Joe
First of all, keep up the good work. I did it 17 years ago and still only regard myself as a "lapsed" smoker. Isn't it amazing how foul smokers and smoky environments (even worse when stale)smell after you've stopped - frightening to think you used to smell like that too!
As regards the smell in the car, I'm not sure fumigation would do it. Anti-tobacco candles would appear a bit risky too. The problem is the smell gets into all the fabrics, so liberal applications of things like shake'n'vac and Febreze, repeating when necessary, should work eventually. Certainly, shake'n'vac worked for a colleague who moved into a house previously owned by smokers. He sprinkled it around and left it down for about a week before vaccing it up and it did the trick. Also, not very practical at this time of year but keeping all the windows open as much as possible would help.
Hope this helps and good luck
Terry
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Give the interior a liberal spraying of Febreze when you've finished using the car for the day.
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my missus doesn't smoke either, but she hangs a couple of those "mighty oak" air-freshners in the car (one in the front-one in the back) with the cellophane completely removed.
you will not smell tobacco (or anything else!!) for quite some time after!! belive me!......
billy.
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Rather than use \'neat\' shake and vac, mix 30% with 70% Bicarbonate of soda, brush into the carpet, and leave for a few days. Not only will it absorb more smell, it\'s cheaper, and doesn\'t leave the car reeking of the sickly shake and vac \"Norwegian Pine\" or \"Summer Flowers\" ...
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Not a cure, but try putting a couple of sheets Bounce, that stuff you put in tumble dryers under the seats - it gives a kind of neutral fresh smell rather than smelling of something.
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Hire an ESCORT carpet shampooer from Sketchley (make sure they have an upholstery attachment) or a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner from , Homebase and places like that.
I always do cars when I buy them second hand, and am amazed at the gallons of warm jet black water and silt it sucks out of cars which looked clean already. (I have only used the Sketchley ones)
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Ambi Pur do a after Tobacco air freshner it's ok.But a carpet cleaner will also help.Good luck with the non smoking,i have packed up for 3 weeks now and it is starting to get easier>
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Autoglym - Autofresh sprayed at least once a week. It worked on a car that I bought that had been used by a smoker. I had to spray everywhere in the car and also thoroughly washed and cleaned all the ashtrays and also replaced the cigarette lighter.
Why not send it for a full valet for a start (with the seats wet cleaned).
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Why not take Puntoo's advice and go for the full professional valet. Spending £60 - £100 on having the smell properly removed may give you the incentive not to smoke in the car?
Air purifiers (Ioniser / De-Ioniser not sure which) claim to be able to purify the air in you home. I am sure someone along the way has invented one of these for your motor? Haven't a scooby how these things work, may only remove airborne smoke particles which would be little or no use to yourself.
Did see something on that "how clean is your house" show where the two old girls go to the homes of the country's least domesticated families and offer them a quick tidy up and a few housekeeping tips. Regarding getting the smell of smoke out of your house carpets they used a common household item - I think it was vinegar? Can someone confirm this?
Only catch is this may induce a craving for fish and chips!!!
Leon
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Why not take Puntoo's advice and go for the full professional valet. Spending £60 - £100 on having the smell properly removed ...
Having been out of UK for a fair while, this may sound silly - how much is a packet of smokes these days?
Work out £60/cost of packet, and you probably find you will have 'paid' for the valet in a fortnight! (Well, given the rate I puff them, I would!)
So who smokes, and how much do you pay?
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I have been smoking 40 a day, cost per day is £9, or £3,285 a year. This will pay for a new car, let alone a valet!
Just passed my first test, darts match in pub last night, and I didn't succumb.
I will give the car a real going over this weekend with those spray on foam upholstery cleaners and see how I get on.
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Don't forget to wipe down all the hard surfaces as well. You've seen how tobacco smoke can coat the walls in a pub? That's happened to your dash, steering wheel, centre console, door trims, a/b/c pillar covers, windows..... The worst culprit will be your roof lining.
Autoglym vinyl and rubber cleaner used sparingly with a J-cloth will sort out your hard surfaces and leave a subtle lemon smell, windowlene and plenty of paper towels for the windows (all of them) and no idea about the roof lining. Perhaps just a good fabreze session will do for that, but before you do the rest of the car or your hard work on the other surfaces will end up with fabreze blotches all over.
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On your behalf Joe, Badger has had a word with his worldly-wise ancient mother and posed your problem to her. Putting down her clay pipe filled with Battleaxe she snorted that the smell of tobacco is only noxious to those miserable people not addicted to the weed.
However she did delve amongst her many papers and came up with these simple and cheap remedies from times past:
For clearing the air:
Cotton cloths and pine oil.
Sprinkle pine oil on the cloths and leave around the car.
Unpleasant odours such as tobacco smoke:
1-tablespoon ammonia solution (to make the solution: half litre of warm water and a tablespoon of household ammonia)
1 tablespoon lavender oil
Mix ammonia solution and lavender oil together in a bowl and leave in the car each night until the smell has gone.
Musty smells?
The oils in lemon and orange peel are released by heat. Hang some around the car heater.
Incidentally Badgers are known to like strong tea for it helps them to concentrate when motoring (connection) and achieve this at no cost by leaving a piece of orange peel in the tea caddy.
DVD
PS. Never be tempted - it only takes one and your back on them heavier than before.
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PS. Never be tempted - it only takes one and your back on them heavier than before.
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My father, a 30-a-day man, gave up circa 1981, and did rather well.
However, he "fell" during a trip to Germany in abut 1988, when he was travelling about with 3 smokers, in midwinter, all in one car, [obligatory motoring reference] and was unable to open the window due to the cold. He then gave up again in 1995, after suffering a mild heart attack, and having a subsequent by-pass.
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Well, I ought to report back on my car "de fugging" efforts.
I cleaned the seats and roof lining with spray on/hoover off foam. I treated the carpets with good old shake and vac (left on overnight).
I think I may have overestimated the required quantity of shake and vac. Upon getting in my car this morning, I thought I was going to be sick, the synthetic lemony perfume smell was so strong. Drove all the way to work (50 miles) with the windows wound down!
I am sure the smell will fade, just as long as it takes the fag smell with it too!
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The only way is to clean all the surfaces - that's where the smell is coming from. A sponge and soapy water is still the best I've found for cleaning flat surfaces. Aggressively cleaning all fabric surfaces with the narrow hoover nozzle should see to them. Don't forget that 'air fresheners' work on the principle of anaesthetising your nose (really!) and masking the smell. Good luck staying stopped. It gets better!
PB.
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I used to fly 767's for Alitalia when smoking was allowed. Boeing delivered 6 new planes to the airline but within 6 months there was a large orange streak behind the two outflow valves (small doors under the fuselage at the rear of the plane) where the cabin air was bled out into the atmosphere. Frightening.
I recommend Rug Doctors too, a great way to purge PONGS (Previous Owner Nasty Gasses and Smells) from your car.
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