How to get rid of a smoke smell

[zoso]

So I got a used 2004 Mazda 3, had it fixed, but the guy who had it was a total slob. the cup holders were stained with coffee, and a smoke smell that just doesn't go away.

If i left the ash tray door open for mere seconds, the whole car would stink, of course while cleaning out my car i just opted to throw it away. but if i leave my car locked up and everything closed, when i sit in it there is a stale smoke smell.

Any ideas to properly get rid of this smell, don't want to keep smelling it for as long as i have this car

[Cardinal Fang]

The smell is in the porous parts of the upholstery. Don't bother spraying any deodorant until you've cleaned the upholstery. Steam clean the carpets, head liner and seats would be my suggestion. Smoke is a pesky odour to get rid of.

[Shawn]

I have never smelled a car that got rid of smoker smell. After steam clean try freebreeze too, It is supposed to encapsulate smoke molecules.
OR replace headliner, smoke goes up usually. But you could get on your knees and start sniffing the carpet. :chuckle

[dhlwtu]

try and get it cleaned professionally. spraying all that crap will only mask the odor not rid it.

[zoso]

Because this car seemed to be neglected, i'v been cleaning it weekly on the inside, applying generous amount of condition on the leather, it's slowly getting better and using spray on carpet cleaner and microfiber cloth for the fabric areas, It seems to be getting better, will update in a few weeks

[Shawn]

I have also heard that ozone will help remove the smell too. I agree professional cleaning, if you can afford it.

[DrunknFoo]

Keep doing what your doing and cut 2 lemons in 1/2 and place them in the car overnight it should help a bit. oh and vinegar/water mixture to clean leather, dash/trim pieces. It'll stink real bad at first, but it'll help =D

[horto]

professional detailing, 65% off, today only... http://www.groupclick.com/toronto/DynamicAutoCareToronto?a=315c27cbba37

[Default User]

Professional interior detailing is...what....about $100 now? and thats with guaranteed results.
save yourself the time and energy.

in the meantime - leave a pack of McDonalds french fries in the car over night - should take the smell away for a while

[Elusivellama]

Seems kind of ironic that the Mazda would have an ashtray in it, along with a cigarette lighter - old school, yo. Ah well, at least the ashtray is a perfect coin holder for loonies and quarters, and I can still use the cigarette lighter, you know, if someone tried to carjack me, I'd plug him with that red hot thing, right between the eyes!

[Default User]

my 05 has the push-in lighter and ashtray

[J_man]

Good luck buddy..... I think all u can do is try to mask the smell.... or always drive with the windows open :)

[torch23]

hey man try febreeze auto, worked for mine.

[zoso]

Well after a good few cleaning sessions with carpet cleaner and a microfiber cloth, the smell is almost gone. Definitly no where as bad as it was before, but on hot days where the car bakes there is a very faint smell like if a smoker sat in my car, but it goes away the second i open the windows

[cramp11]

I've always used plain ol' vinegar. A buddy gave me an 11'x17' area rug that had butt burns, spills and god knows what else on it. Smelt awful. I spot cleaned all the crap and sprayed it with vinegar, let it dry and repeated the process about 4 times. No cig smells and no perfume smell.

Should work for for a car too.

Another tip that is supposed to work... orange peels. Just leave them in a bowl in the car. No idea how it's supposed to work, but it's suppose to.

[TheMAN]

the only thing that will work is an ozone generator... those things are expensive for the cubic feet required... there are varying sizes for the area you are working with... so in otherwords, you need to find a shop that can do this for you... you can also try asking a mazda dealer to see if they will do it for you for a fee... most dealerships that handle used cars will have an ozone generator on hand

[Mr Fatty]

A friend of mine told me about using used coffee grinds in a clean sock and placing it in the car for a few days. He said he put it under a seat. The smell was gone in a few days. I've been meaning to try it, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, nor have accessible used coffee grinds, I haven't been able to try it, but I'm interested in finding out if it really works.

[antifuse]

My current car (an '05 Infiniti G35x) had a smoker for its previous owner... The dealership I bought it from sent it for professional detailing/cleaning TWICE, and I still catch a whiff of stale smoke every once in a while... Note, I've had this car for almost 2 years now.

[zoso]

I essentially just took carpet cleaner to the whole car and rubbed it in with a soft cloth and then out with clean warm water. threw out the ashtray (every time i opened it my whole car would smell). over the summer i just drover with my windows down, only used the A/C like 4 or 5 times. all the fresh air seemed to do it good the smell is gone

[BlueJoe]

Seems kind of ironic that the Mazda would have an ashtray in it, along with a cigarette lighter - old school, yo. Ah well, at least the ashtray is a perfect coin holder for loonies and quarters, and I can still use the cigarette lighter, you know, if someone tried to carjack me, I'd plug him with that red hot thing, right between the eyes!

lmao, maybe you could pull the ashtray out and throw it at him too? :)

[aris]

My current car (an '05 Infiniti G35x) had a smoker for its previous owner... The dealership I bought it from sent it for professional detailing/cleaning TWICE, and I still catch a whiff of stale smoke every once in a while... Note, I've had this car for almost 2 years now.

Open your windows over time the smell should go away

[antifuse]

Open your windows over time the smell should go away

Umm, yeah, I've had the car for almost 2 years. I've had the windows open quite a bit. Still has a bit of a smokey smell. I'm trading it in on a new Sport GT :)

[froggy]

A friend of mine told me about using used coffee grinds in a clean sock and placing it in the car for a few days. He said he put it under a seat. The smell was gone in a few days. I've been meaning to try it, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, nor have accessible used coffee grinds, I haven't been able to try it, but I'm interested in finding out if it really works.

go to a starbucks you can usually get free coffe grinds from them

[aris]

Umm, yeah, I've had the car for almost 2 years. I've had the windows open quite a bit. Still has a bit of a smokey smell. I'm trading it in on a new Sport GT :)

If your still smelling their has to be a cigeratte butt somewhere...check your car

[antifuse]

If your still smelling their has to be a cigeratte butt somewhere...check your car

Well as I said - I'm trading it in, so I don't really care :) The new car is brand new, and no smokers are getting anywhere near it. :)