from a web page: http://www.air-purifier-power.com/ozone-air-purification-danger.html O3 is a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from O2. It is chemically reactive, and destroys itself by attacking other chemicals. The problem is it’s relatively long survival time (half-life) in air: up to three days! O3 air purifiers are not safe for routine, daily household use.
O3 is the main component of smog. California?s EPA recommended lowering the state’s outdoor limit to .070 ppm.
Been there, done that. Had an ex-girlfriend that bought a smoke car. Really pungent, especially on humid days. The bad news is that cleaning the interior soft parts will only go so far. The smoke has also been drawn into and through the air ducts and the oils are coating the ducts, fan blades etc. That’s the hard stuff to get at and it gets pumped around the interior every time you run the fan. It took two years for it to diminish enough that it was barely noticeable. It was tolerable much sooner than that tho-
Beware of too much ozone treatment. It breaks down rubber parts very fast.
Start smoking weed in it. You’ll never notice that pesky cigarette smell again.
Seriously though, using an air freshner called Ozium. It comes in a small bottle, all you need is one squirt. I think it does something chemically, because it doesn’t smell real strong but does help a lot.
Plan on a two year project…rent a carpet steam cleaner, do everything that’s fabric, winter and fall for two years. We got great deals on used cars that belong to smokers…but had to be willing to put the time and labor…You can’t afford to pay for the DETAILING it takes to get the smell out…CLEANING and leave doors and windows open, every oportunity…it WILL WORK.
I have had pretty good luck washing the windows with a vinegar and water mixture (mostly water) and using ammonia in a spray bottle with lots of rags on the hard plastic surfaces. The ammonia can take off the white lettering on the controls, like the wiper and turn signals. You should see lots of brown residue on the cloth. Wear gloves!
I agree that the short term may be to cover up the smell with something you either LIKE or don’t mind, like vinegar! I have big time dog smell in my car (years worth) so I, who don’t mind it, try to help out unfortunate passengers by cutting lots of fresh rosemary and lavendar and putting them under the seats to dry out, sometimes leaving them on the dashboard in the sun to hasten the process. Otherwise, open windows whenever possible helps (and I have been known to use Ozium once in a while, too). Good luck - I hate cigarette smoke MUCH more than dog smell!
What smell do you like? I noticed when I was buying perfume for my Wife this Valentines Day that the counter had a jar of COFFEE BEANS with a mesh top on the jar. When I asked why, they sprayed one perfume in front of me . . for my approval/not . . then shook the jar of coffee beans in front of me, and it got rid of the perfume smell immediately, so they could spray another one. Maybe you could put a small jar of coffee beans with a mesh top on it under your car seat. If you get tired of the coffee . . try something else. Also . . keep cleaning the seats, dash, ceiling, etc . . on a regular basis. Rocketman
After a thorough cleaning with cleaners of your choice, and if you have a garage, park in there and leave the windows & doors open every night. Smell disappears slowly over time (year or so in our experience with 2 smoky used cars). You can temporarily mask the smell with those neat pinetree car-fresheners, just like that psycho guy in “SEVEN” used to mask the smell of his dying bedridden victim’s open infected sores.
Here’s something so obvious that I’m sure you’ve done it. CLEAN THE ASH TRAY. I mean, take it out and steam clean it at a car wash. Even a small bit of ash stuck in there, can stink up your whole car. If you’ve done that,the next best thing would be to unload it on a smoker. Good luck. big red.
Where do you live? I am involved with the mold/restoration business. If you are in or near Illinois, email me I can rid the smoke smell. Someone mentioned Ozone. I use Ozone in mold restoration, hotels, cars etc. This is exactly what I market to… It will do no harnm to the car since it will only need a couple hours of use, (very long term use can affect plastics) and it will be evacuated so you don’t have to worry about health effects. ptpinspect@sbcglobal.net
