Smokey smell

Golfgorfield

Hi all,

Ive just bought a 09 Skoda Superb from the UK, former company vehicle, high mileage but in amazing condition.

The previous owner, it smells like, was a smoker.

What is the best was to treat this?

PS Car is leather if that makes any diff!

Curran

The smell is going to be mostly in the fabric of the car...carpets, mats.
You can get odour neutralisers that are quite effective. CarPro So2Pure is worth looking at.

Bear in mind, for best results, carpets and all surfaces should be given a clean to help remove some odours and give the neutraliser the best chance to work.

*Kol*

Even febreeze is quite good. As Curran said the carpets would definitely benefit from a clean too. I would bin mats and replace them. Use a good quality leather cleaner on the seats rather than wipes. You would be surprised at the grime that will come off them.

randy hickey

Cigarette smoke particulate will coat almost the entire surface area of the interior, and depending how heavy a smoker the previous owner was, and how long long the interior was exposed to smoke, some vehicles will take a lot more effort than others to rid of the smell.

As the lads above have said, the first port of call is to clean all interior surfaces with an appropriate APC, but especially the headliner.

I ran the extraction machine on a neighbour's car a while back, and the amount of nicotine-coloured and foul-smelling sh1t that came out of the headliner would make you want to chuck up. He had the car about ten years from new, and used to have a single fag on the way to work, (short commute), and the same on the way home -he only used this car for the commute to and from work - so not a heavy smoker by any stretch. Car smelled brand new when I was finished with it.

Some of the lads have used the odour-bomb type products, so maybe they'll chip in and let us know if their effect is long lasting or not.

vectra

Did the E60 over christmas as it was an ex smokers car and to me and any ex smoker it smelled foul.
First port of call was to clean the full interior with an apc solution.
Wet vac'd all fabrics and washed down any plastic & leather.
I repeated this process with Valet pro enzyme odor eater.
Let it dry and sprayed diluted VP enzyme odor eater around all mats and fabrics once everything was dry.

I then used an Odor Rescue Interior Deodorizing Kithttp://www.i4detailing.co.uk/shop/odor-rescue-vehicle-interior-deodorizing-single-kit.html


This was a super product.
I will warn you though there is some stink of chlorine after it for a while. But if you air out the car as suggested then it will be fine.
Now it gets an occasional spray of Air freshner and I can assure it smells like a new car. Would I recommend this method?
Absolutely.

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

Have a fag and you won't notice the smell.:)

daithi55

wash the inside of roof if possible smoke rises as they say

biko

Cleaning the windscreen and the dash should remove some of the smoke film that will sit on those surfaces.

rebel.ranter

I'd recommend a thorough cleaning with upholstery cleaner, for the carpets & seats (if not leather,), not APC as others have suggested. APC is not designed for imteriors, it can actually cause mildew, upolstery cleaner foams differently & is designed for the job. As mentioned don't forget the roof lining.
Next steam clean the carpets, the headlining (& the seats if they are fabric). You'd be surprised where ash gets in to so I'd advise stripping down the centre console & ensure there is no debris in & around the underside of the ashtray.

If the seats are leather use a good quality leather cleaner such as Dr Leather or Zymöl Leather cleaner or Gliptone Leather cleaner.

It is also worth running a Comma Air Con cleaner can through the air con system. These are available in Halfords & are simple to use.

As mentioned the grime & odour holding substances can cling to all surfaces including the glass, door panels & windows. APC is fine on these areas. Unless they are made of leather.

The right job is to use an Ozone machine after all of this, but who has one of these?

The place that will be most difficult to get the smell out of is the foam in the seats, it will be well engrained in there. Maybe a Neutrodol stuffed under there until the smell fades over time?
That's my 2 cents. You might have to do all this a second time, maybe even a third. I'm in the middle of doing this with my latest car. I even replaced the ashtray, cigarette lighter & ashtray surround. The biggest difference I noticed was after the steam clean.

vectra

rebel.ranter wrote: »

, not APC as others have suggested. APC is not designed for imteriors, it can actually cause mildew,

Never heard that one before and never came across it in all my time using it.
Do you have evidence of this?

if you are correct there are going to be many millions of detailers around the world upset

Noccy_Mondy

Am I the only non smoker weirdo that actually doesn't mind the smell of smoke in a car?

LollipopJimmy

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Am I the only non smoker weirdo that actually doesn't mind the smell of smoke in a car?

If we were in medieval times you'd be burned as a witch

I don't even like people smoking near my car