Car valeting - worth it to get rid of smoke smell?

aliasojo

How do you rid a car of a previous owner's smoke smell? OH has washed inside as best he can and we have the usual air fresheners but it's still there.

Is there anything in particular we can do, or would a professional valeting make any difference? I'm assuming it's clinging to the fabric etc. Does a proper valeting deal with that too?

It's not as bad as it was but as an ex smoker (yeah I know, the worst kind ) it's really bothering me and is making our daughter feel sick.

What can we do?

dacouch

I assume you have sprayed the upholstery etc with Fabreeze or a similar product as this helps.

If this does not work, cut an onion in half and leave it in the car overnight, it obsorbs any other odours and will normally get rid of the smell of smoke. Don't worry the car won't smell of onions.

aliasojo

Yes we've tried the mainstream kind of things with limited success. I just wondered if there was something in particular the likes of garages etc did when they got a smokey car in as a trade in for instance.

Will certainly try the onion thing, thanks.

dacouch

It works really well, we use it if we have people round after the pub etc and you have a few people smoking. Normally in the morning the house reeks of smoke, if you do the onion trick it absorbs the smoke etc and you would not realise people had been smoking. The weird thing is the place does not smell of onions.

Its also a good trick if you have a smelly fridge as it does the same thing

harveybobbles

try cleaning the head lining as that is where most of the smoke goes. I valet cars most days and you'd be surprised what stuff is held in the headlining...

pavlovs_dog

get yourself over to the old style board woman. I'm sure they can suggest something cheap and cheerful (probably using bicarb and vinegar ) that you could try before paying out for a valet.

do you know anyone who owns a steam or carpet cleaner? anyway you could give the fabric the once over with one of those (with the warmer weather on the horizon drying it out shouldn't be such a concern).

maniac886

1. Vacuam the entire car including the headlining, you need to hoover all the nooks and crannys otherwise the smell will return.
2. Steam clean all the carpets,headlining,plastics and seats as well.
3. Use some all purpose cleaner and wipe all the plastics down.
4. Spray the car with plenty of air freshner.
5. Leave some bicard soda in the car overnight or longer

You need to be as thorough as poss otherwise the smell will return.

HTH

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Dont forget to do the roof & boot...

Volcano

Without a doubt, most of that smell will be in the soft furnishings/material parts of the car. Anything that doesn't specifically treat these areas won't last long. (and I honestly think that the onion thing has more to do with the onion smell cancelling out the smoke odour, especially if you can't smell any onion either!)

Febreeze treats the bacteria that causes smells, which isn't likely to apply to tobacco smoke odours.

Maniac886's advice looks to cover most areas I reckon.

thor

maniac886 wrote: »

1. Steam clean all the carpets,headlining,plastics and seats as well.

How would you go about steam cleaning? It's not something that needs to be done professionally is it?

vikingaero

Lidl sometimes sell an air-con antibacterial aerosol. Basically you set the fan and vents recirculate to full for 10 minutes and let off the aerosol in the middle of the car. Once you press the aerosol on it stays on until it's empty like a smoke bomb.