If you want to remove the smell of cigarette smoke from your auto interior, use a Red Delicious apple. Cut it in half lengthwise, and place each half under the front seats. Throw them away when they're all dried out. For really heavy smoke smell, it may take a couple of applications.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My husband and I just bought a truck and it reeks of cigarettes. We have tried everything we know of, and can't get the odor out. I sprinkled baking soda into the carpet, and even went as far as spraying my favorite perfume into the A/C vents. While this helped some, and the perfume makes the air smell nice, it hasn't eliminated it. I really need some advice.
By stephanie from Albemarle, NC
I had the some problem, first I took the mats (vinyl) out and washed them with hot soapy and bleach water and left them in the sun to dry.
I then vacuumed, washed the entire interior with a Murphy's oil soap solution (use directions on bottle) even slightly swiping the cloth seats. This took about 2 hours. Take special care to double clean the windshield as this is where most of the nicotine collects.
After all this, I took about a cup of unused coffee grounds and spread them in an aluminum pie pan. I set the pie pan in the car and let the car sit in the hot sun for an afternoon. Talk about smelling heavenly and clean, unless of course you don't like the undertone of coffee.
My brother-in-law just got a work van that smells of cigarette smoke really bad. How can he get rid of the smell? There is no carpeting in it.
Hang a small bag made of cheesecloth, a coffee filter or other fabric full of ground coffee (unused). It absorbs odors and replaces the smell with a nice one.
Wipe all the surfaces with a strong foaming cleaner, preferably one that is ammonia based, to remove smoke residue from surfaces.
Spray any upholstery/carpet/fabric headliner with febreeze.
Replace the "bad" smell with a "good" smell.
Try an "air sponge" (sold where air fresheners are, comes in a small plastic tub).
Give it time.
I use OdoBan which I get at Sam's Club. It works on all odors and doesn't mask them. I use it for fire damaged homes and it works great. It will get any smell out and it doesn't return. It's great for litter box, too. It has a eucalyptus and wildflower smell.
I would like information on removing the smell of cigarette smoke in a caravan. Thank you.
By Mieke
Put a bowl of household Amonia on the floor mat, close doors & windows for 24 hours...presto!
I've had to do this several times both in the States where I'm from, and here in the UK where I now live. Trust me on this, if you don't get rid of the nicotine on the walls, floors, and ceiling, the smoke smell will come back no matter what you do to freshen the air.
So the best thing to do is get a huge jug (or several) of vinegar; make up a half vinegar, half water solution and use the solution to "mop" the carpets and ceiling with a well wrung sponge mop.
Then wipe down the walls with some more of the solution, and leave several shallow bowls of straight vinegar in each room for a couple of days. The odor of both smoke and vinegar will dissipate.
You'll be horrified to see the yellow-orange muck that comes out of the carpet and off the hard surfaces. It may take a couple of cleaning sessions to get it all off.
For a quick air freshener, you can dampen a tea towel with straight vinegar and flap it furiously through the room you are trying to freshen-my son is a chef and has used this tip several times when a trainee lets something burn in the kitchen!
Because you use the word caravan, I am going to assume you are in Europe, the UK, AU, or NZ - you are looking for distilled white vinegar. If the word malt is on the label the vinegar will be a bit stronger in the odor but will still work as a cleaner and air freshener.
How do I get cigarette smoke smell out of my car?
By Robin
Set a small pint jar half full of white vinegar, close up the windows and leave that all night. The vinegar will absorb any and all bad smells no matter where you find them, I promise.
I do this all the time in my home leaving several small jars of vinegar set in different areas of our house as this helps control cooking odors too (like the cooking cabbage smells).
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Can someone tell me how to get the cigarette smell out of a car?
How to remove cigar smell from automobile interior?