Coffee beans might work better than you think. Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen says that coffee beans absorb surrounding odors, which is why you’re supposed to store them in an airtight container if you keep them in the fridge or freezer. So putting some coffee beans in a non-airtight container in your car might actually help. And the smell will at least cover the smoke smell.
You should also clean the inside of all the windows. Smoke settles on surfaces, including the windows, and when it’s humid or warm out those solid particles can evaporate. Cleaning them will be really gross and you’ll need lots of paper towels or rags, but it might help a little bit.
clean everything first…then get some pure vanilla extract, put in a cup or can close windows and let it sit. you will be surprised how well it works… OLD USED CAR DEALER TRICK
The main problem with cigarette smoke is it bonds with all of the fibers in the fabrics in the car such as the carpet and the seats, assuming they are cloth. What you need is a strong Odor Counteractant which is different from an air freshener. An odor counteractant will neutralize the odor, not just cover it up. Fabreese is one that is easily available. However, see if there is a janitorial supply house near where you live. Ask them what they sell to the hotels to combat smoke in the rooms. Get some of that and use it according to the directions. You may need to do this several times to fully neutralize the smell, but it will eventually be reduced to acceptable levels. Good Luck
open the top of a box of baking soda and secure it so it will not spill. change it in a month if needed but it will get the stench out.
Wait for a nice day…get a bottle (or two) of Febreeze (the odor spray for fabric, sold almost anywhere; walmart, target…they even make an “auto” version sold in the car department). Start by spraying down the whole interior…everything, even plastic & dashboard, except electronics on dash…go heavy on the fabric surfaces, including seats, rugs, interior roof until they’re just about soaked…then close all doors & windows and leave the car for an hour or so. After that, leave all the windows open until everything dries completely. Repeat this process as many times as needed throughout the day (might work in one try though!) Once you feel confident the smell is gone, wipe all plastic down with Armorall…or whatever you usually use and let that scent air out too. If the fabric or carpets feel funny from drying…use a shoe brush to fluff them up a bit. Ta-Da! I’ve tried this approach three times…once with smoke…once with wet dog smell and once on a friend’s car when she found an old exploded apple juice box one of her kids left under the back seat…p.u. Worked every time. Good luck!
Sounds dumb I know; cut an large in half. Place in car 4 about 24 hrs.or so. Onion will absorb odor. Or try some one drop room deoderizer available at paint store. Onion is painters trick.
John
I left out onion in my reply to question about cig smell.
John
I had an '88 Grand Am that I got for a steal because of the cigarette smoke smell. I used a carpet and upholstery shampooer to clean it. After several cleanings, what was landing in the recovery tank was still a dark brown liquid, maybe like coffee and creamer colored. I finally gave up, went to the junkyard and found seats, a headliner, and a rear deck liner. I bought a new carpet for it from JC Whitney and that took out the smell, at least as far as I could tell. I cleaned the hell out of the interior of that car, but the smoke was still in it. I don’t think you have a real good chance apart from replacing some or all of the upholstery. Certainly leaving the windows open, getting some enzymatic cleaners or sprays, and air fresheners won’t hurt, but that stench is always going to be there.
A big bottle of Fabreze. Spray it all over any cloth or carpet material. Wait a couple of days and repeat. Do it about three times. It worked for me, after the ionizer failed.
Ellen,
Unless you’ve left the country by now, tell us if you actually got rid of the original odor.
Put a skunk in there and irritate it. After that you will no longer have a cigarette odor problem.
My brother was given a car that was horribly coffee and cigarette stained (pots and pots of coffee, and cartons and cartons of cigarettes). They were able to clean a great deal of it out by removing the seats and carpet from the car, then attacking them with a power washer loaded with Simple Green. Worked miracles. Of course, don’t hose the seats down if there are airbags contained within… otherwise, it might be worth a shot if you have the means. Otherwise, like everyone else has said, lots of soap and water on the hard surfaces, steam cleaning on all the soft stuff.
ellen2, there,s a company called Living Air, they make purifiers that use ozone. my ex was a smoker and whenever she had to drive her bosses around i would purify her car so that the cig smoke would be removed. they recommend that you place the unit in the car, running with the a/c on high and all windows close, the unit should be set to HIGH, leave the car running for 2 hours. then unplug the power to the purifier.and then open all windows still leaving the car and a/c running for another hour or so, be careful because YOU SHOULD NOT BREATHE THE AIR IN the car when you enter it. this works, used it many times even on my boat to get rid of diesel fuel smell. not sure of the price maybe 50.00 hope this helps, jim
I Think I would try a detailer at a car lot, if all else fails, then I would spray febreeze everywhere there is carpet or cloth
Try using a steam iron or clothes steamer on the seats, carpets and roof. Steam, steam, steam. That’s what usually takes odors out of fabric. Hope this helps.
if you havent figuredit out yet, i was a used car manager for 15 years and i used to get a citrus spray from south florida.if i get the info i will post it. also you can try a pealed apple skin under the seat.
Place a large, shallow glass or plastic dish on a level surface in the vehicle. Fill the dish with ammonia, close everything up, and let it sit overnight. Empty the dish in the morning, air the car out, and it’ll be daisy-fresh!
While it is probably true total odor removal by washing the interior may not work, and you can’t afford replacing the entire interior of your car, there are some options that may mitigate the situation.
First, wipe down all hard surfaces with a good cleaner which will not mar the finishes. TSP can work, but you must be careful about how strong a mixture is used; usually a tablespoon per gallon of clean water will work, followed by a wipedown with clean water. NOTE: Find an out-of-the-way spot to test first…
For cloth upholstery, remember the materials are permeable, and therefore absorbent. Shampooing the upholstery will definitely help, but remember the cushioning materials may not be totally free of odors or stains, but at least the shampooing process will help. Again, test clean a spot you aren’t worried about being easily seen. Avoid harsh chemicals; regular carpet cleaner generally provides satisfactory results. Better to use a product that is hypo-allergenic, as well, in case someone is sensitive to cleaning chemicals. But, I’ve had fairly good results using an over-the-counter product with the shampooer.
Baking soda will absorb odors as well. Think about why it is used in refrigerators to control those smells! It may work in your car, as well.
The bottom line is when you are dealing with smoke odors in porous materials such as cloth, deep cleaning is probably the best option.
You can certainly follow the cleaning process up with using an air freshener, but bear in mind these kinds of products only mask the odors. Alone, they will not remove the smell. Again, after cleaning, if a deodorizer is used, at least your car will smell a little better.
Finally, there is nothing better than fresh air to help remove odors. When you have a chance on a dry day, take a drive with all the windows down. I’ve heard Tom and Ray say this works very well. Then again, they’re so cheap, they don’t have windows in their cars!
If all else fails, try one of Tom and Ray’s Cheap Cigars! They’ll kill anything!
Good luck.
In all seriousness, try some of the simpler solutions, such as the deep cleaning, fresh air, and maybe a deodorizer of your choice, because in combination, this is probably the most cost-effective way of resolving your problem.
Hammond John
Thanks everyone for the ideas about cleaning a smoky interior. First–all the negative comments caused us to walk away at the beginning of April from buying a 2000 Toyota Celica that had been owned by a smoker. It didn’t look hopeful for the car, based on those comments. Three weeks later, the car was still on the lot and the price dropped by more than $900. We decided to take a chance on it with the decreased price. The auto dealer must have tried harder to clean the interior, because it wasn’t as bad as the first time we looked at it. The dealer also gave us a can of “Rid-It” to try. That helped some. The interior is still a little stale but better (and tolerable now). I’ve been driving with the windows down to air it out. Next we are going to have a detailer come and do their premium cleaning.