Are you looking for effective and cheap methods to remove the smell of smoke from your car yourself? Find out below which common household products work against it!
If the interior trim, car seats, dashboard or other controls and upholstery smell like cigarettes, you often have to remove the smell of smoke from your car. Such unpleasant odors linger in the interior for a long time and are also absorbed into clothing. Tobacco smoke in the passenger area can also be harmful to the health of people with breathing problems, which is why its timely elimination is an important matter. For non-smokers, the smell of smoke could even cause nausea and headaches, not to mention the health risks of inhaling dangerous ingredients. To prevent all this, you can take some countermeasures with affordable means and neutralize such smells.
Allow passengers to breathe freely and remove the smell of smoke from the car
As already written, the smoky car interior can become an unpleasant experience for followers of a healthy lifestyle. Even if you bought a car that previously belonged to a smoker, getting rid of the smell of smoke can seem challenging. Such smells like for smokers in the carlight cigarettes regularly, may not be a nuisance, but can quickly become a nuisance for those who are just quitting smoking and for non-smoking used car owners.
Unfortunately, car air fresheners may not always be effective, as they are contraindicated even for respiratory diseases and allergies. The successful approach to odor removal is primarily to use adsorbents as odor neutralizers. According to scientific information, absorption is a chemical process in which certain substances absorb odor particles from other substances.
What to do if the interior of the vehicle smells like cigarettes?
You can of course take a professional approach to removing the smell of smoke from your car by hiring a professional. However, given the high cost of such services, it would be better and possible to do this yourself. Fortunately, there are a number of home remedies and effective methods you can use for this purpose. Check out some of the most common ones below to quickly get rid of unpleasant and persistent odors in the cabin.
What first steps should you take to remove the smell of smoke from your car?
Before using effective odor removers, it is important to clear the vehicle interior of any residue such as cigarette butts or ash. To do this, you should get cleaning tools such as vacuum cleaners, window cleaners and cleaning cloths.
- First, empty the car ashtrays, which may contain more smelly butts and ash.
- Since the smell of smoke can penetrate and settle on any porous surface, the interior cleaning process should not end with removing old cigarette butts and ash.
- Therefore, the next step is to remove any stray objects that are on the floor or seats of the vehicle so that everything can be vacuumed.
- Now use the vacuum cleaner to clean floor mats, car seats, upholstery on the car doors and other elements in the vehicle compartment.
- First, spray the car windows with the window cleaner and wipe them thoroughly from the inside. This means that dust and odor particles will no longer stick to it.
Use classic home remedies such as baking soda if you smell smoke in the car
Baking soda is an absorbent that is often effective against unpleasant odors. You can remove smoke smell from car by using baking soda in liquid or powder form. Of course, the dry stuff is preferable as it is easier to remove than liquids after absorption. However, also remember that liquid baking soda has a stronger effect on dirty surfaces.
- First, you can use a cleaning cloth and use baking soda diluted in water to clean any part of your cabin.
- Then remove the residue with a vacuum cleaner.
- However, using baking soda also comes with some disadvantages. For example, oxidation may occur upon contact with certain surfaces.
- Adding baking soda can damage some types of natural leather. Fortunately, this is rare as leather quality in car seats is usually high.
- Another disadvantage of baking soda in powder form is the time-consuming cleaning of the remaining particles in the interior, which are located in hard-to-reach places.
- Because baking soda is an alkaline chemical element, it can accelerate corrosion when it comes into contact with metal.
Also read:Cleaning your car in spring: With these helpful tips you will get a sparkling clean vehicle!
Use distilled white wine vinegar and remove the smell of smoke from your car
Vinegar is another versatile home remedy in liquid form that smells just as strong, but its smell disappears quickly. Most products contain around 3 to 15% acetic acid, which can effectively dissolve grease, dirt and germs.
- By mixing a few tablespoons with a glass of water in a spray bottle, you can wipe down any interior surfaces and remove the smell of smoke from your car.
- In addition, vinegar has absorbent properties, and you can leave a cloth soaked in it in the vehicle compartment overnight.
- Another option is to place a bowl of vinegar somewhere inside when you won't be using your car for a few days. This eliminates any unpleasant odors that could otherwise last for a long time.
Neutralize smoke odors in the vehicle compartment using activated carbon as an absorbent
Carbon can be an equally good ally in the fight against unpleasant odors. Since carbon refers to colloidal substances, these colloids can effectively absorb odor particles through their unique property. Thanks to these properties, activated carbon can be surprisingly effective at removing foreign odors such as tobacco smoke. In addition, the material is ideal for cleaning black surfaces.
- If you want to remove stubborn smoke smell from car, you can simply put activated carbon in a disposable filter first.
- Then leave the stuff in a bag in the interior of your vehicle for at least a week.
- Another trick is to place the carbon in different corners on the bottom of the car. You can use filter bags so that it doesn't leave any traces.
- This method is suitable for smokers and can be very effective against the lingering smell of tobacco in the car. You can replace activated carbon with new ones several times in a row.
- The only downside to using activated charcoal is its slow absorption. However, the desired effect is usually much stronger than with other home remedies.
Can you use ozone or ammonia to remove smoke smell from car?
If the methods used so far do not produce the desired result, there are still some helpful and cost-effective alternatives. For example, you can use a solution with ammonia as an odor neutralizer. This is a fairly strong absorbent, the strength of which is significantly superior to the previously mentioned vinegar and baking soda.
- First dilute ammonia in water in a 1:2 ratio and pour the solution into a shallow and open container.
- Leave the stuff in the cabin for at least 5 to 10 hours so that it is able to remove even the most stubborn odors in seat upholstery, car roofs and plastics.
- However, keep in mind that high concentrations of ammonia in the air could cause dizziness or even fainting. Therefore, use a protective mask and do not enter your vehicle during the process.
As for ozonation of the interior, this could be the last resort for those who were not satisfied with the previous methods. This is a service offered by car washes, but you can also rent a unit. When using ozone, you can remove the smell of smoke from your car by creating a so-called absorbent dry fog.
- The procedure takes place in a closed car for about 30 to 40 minutes, filling the interior with ozone or aromatic liquid.
- However, the effect of ozonation is considered more effective because, in contrast to the sprayed liquid with aroma, ozone neutralizes unpleasant odors as well as bacteria, viruses and spores.
Apply more hacks with natural products and get rid of smoke smells in the vehicle
You can also use some other alternative methods if there is constant cigarette smoke in your car. This can penetrate deeply into surrounding objects, and if someone has smoked in your vehicle just once, the smell of cigarettes will linger for a long time. In such cases, just try the following tricks:
- ApplesUse as natural absorbents: First, take a few large and ripe apples and cut each of them in half. Then core the halves and leave them in your vehicle for a few days to allow them to absorb any odors.
- Like removing the smell of smoke from a carCoffeeUse: You can distribute coffee pods or bags with ground coffee in various places in the car. Leave it like this for a few days to get rid of the bad smell of smoke in the car.
- VanillaUse as another absorbent natural product: Take 2 natural vanilla pods and first divide them in half. Then place the pods in various places inside your vehicle for at least 7 days and enjoy the lingering vanilla aroma instead of the smell of smoke.
- Use ofCat litter: This is another alternative option that you can use to remove smoke smell from car. Regardless of whether you have a cat, you can put some of the absorbent stuff in a suitable container and leave it to act as an absorbent in the car overnight.
- apple cider vinegar and cinnamonCombine: Last but not least, you can mix a cinnamon stick or cinnamon powder with apple cider vinegar until you get a paste. Then put these in a container with a lid where you can make several holes. Then place the mixture under a car seat for a few days until the smell of smoke disappears.
Also read: “VOMIT IN THE CAR: HOW TO REMOVE UNPLEASANT SMELLS AND RESIDUE FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE?“
