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HOW TO REMOVE CIGARETTE SMELL?

Old May 29, 2008 | 02:22 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by bowmatt' post='591120' date='May 29 2008, 03:17 PM
First Post, new to the forums as I've only just bought my first e60, but as a smoker do have some experience with this.

Put some distilled white vinigar in a bowl and soak a hand towel in it. Leave the bowl in the car overnight the towel absorbs the odour. For stronger smells use another bowl.

There you have it, really does work!!!
first off Welcome and congrats on your new purchase!! is that a temporary fix??
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Old May 29, 2008 | 02:34 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by leggomysakyo' post='591122' date='May 29 2008, 11:22 PM
first off Welcome and congrats on your new purchase!! is that a temporary fix??
Seems to work permanently. Used this method on my sisters car (a hand me down from a heavy smoking grandfather) and the smells didn't come back.
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Old May 31, 2008 | 05:17 AM
  #23  
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Post # 19 explains it in detail and I own a company that does problem cars for insurance companies, large dealer groups and retail clients every week. You need to remove the source of the odor and soaking a towel in vinegar doesn't work. It is simple chemistry that that will not work. I've also heard of putting coffee grinds in a bowl under the seat. Doesn't work. Plus you have to remove the cabin filter and treat all of the duct work. I wish it was as easy as what the novice believes. Take the professional approach.
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Old Jun 2, 2008 | 08:46 AM
  #24  
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Originally Posted by tuningtech' post='555339' date='Apr 3 2008, 07:32 AM
What you actually are smelling is the off gassing of the nicotine that is coated on the inside of the car. Thoroughly cleaning with an interior cleaner, extracting the carpets and replacing the HVAC filter is a good start. Because the cigarette smoke is a much smaller particle size that h2o there are areas in a car that you cannot clean unless you want to start dismantling the interior.
The majority of the nicotine and carcinogens are found in the A-pillar(between the windshield and drivers side door) and the headliner. It is important to clean the headliner with a foaming cleaner that won't soften the glue used in attaching the liner to the backing.
If you choose not to remove the A-pillar to clean, you have to seal where you can't clean. That is done by thermal fogging which will seal the nicotine with the oil-based fogging medium and prevent the off gassing to occur. The fog will actually mimick the path of the exhaled cigarette smoke. Thermal fogging through the outside air pick up in the cowl will seal the HVAC venting and duct work throughout the vehicle. Only then will the ozone machine works to remove any remaining residual odor. Ozone(o3) will only neutralize the odor that is in the air and do nothing to remove the source of the odor like a cleaner will. If you can't physically clean it then you must seal it.
You need to remove(cleaning) or seal(thermal fogging) the source of the odor to rid the interior of that awful smell. An example that I use with a prospective client is that if put a piece of fruit under your seat you can remove the smell in the air but, until you remove the source of the odor, the odor will come back very quickly.
I have been doing nicotine odor, flood recovery, leak repair, mold and mildew and human/animal decay(biohazard) removal for over 15 years for insurance companies, dealership groups and private clients and have developed this system as the ONLY way to permanently remove these offensive odors. Even though each case is unique, this is the backbone of the guidlines that I follow attack even the most extreme cases.

What foaming cleaners would you suggest?
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Old Jun 4, 2008 | 05:43 AM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by anand_rahim' post='593607' date='Jun 2 2008, 12:46 PM
What foaming cleaners would you suggest?

Sprayaway makes a citrus-based aerosol foaming cleaner that works amazing for headliners. Just be sure not to over wet. As soon as you see the foaming action, stop spraying that area and let the foam pull out the nicotine and dirt(about 1 minute) that is in the material. Wipe with a micro fiber towel to remove the foam and another to buff the area dry. Any harsh chemicals WILL soften the headliner adhesive and eventually the fabric will start to fall.
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Old Jun 5, 2008 | 07:57 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by tuningtech' post='595330' date='Jun 4 2008, 08:43 AM
Sprayaway makes a citrus-based aerosol foaming cleaner that works amazing for headliners. Just be sure not to over wet. As soon as you see the foaming action, stop spraying that area and let the foam pull out the nicotine and dirt(about 1 minute) that is in the material. Wipe with a micro fiber towel to remove the foam and another to buff the area dry. Any harsh chemicals WILL soften the headliner adhesive and eventually the fabric will start to fall.

Would you suggest using a wet/dry vac to remove the foam from the headliner? Or is the cloth a better approach?
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Old Jun 5, 2008 | 09:08 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by anand_rahim' post='596154' date='Jun 5 2008, 11:57 AM
Would you suggest using a wet/dry vac to remove the foam from the headliner? Or is the cloth a better approach?
Don't ever use a wet vac or any other type of vacuum on the headliner. Since you are using an aerosol foam cleaner the headliner won't really get wet(just slightly damp) and it just needs to be buffed with 2 microfiber or cotton towels. Use the first to get the foam and any dirt that is brought out of the headliner then use the other towel to buff dry. You'll be amazed at the amount of dirt that is on the first towel.
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Old Jun 5, 2008 | 10:21 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by sixgun95' post='492408' date='Nov 9 2007, 08:33 PM
Any ideas how to remove the cigarette smoke smell from the interior of a car?


===================

I NEVER SMOKED! But in my younger days, I purchased an used 1995 S-10 Chevy Blazer from my boss who smoked like a freight train in it!! (LOL), I askd my friend the president of a Marietta GA Bank, how to the remove cigarette smell from it, and he told me of this bank trick, that works, so decided to try it, so I bought one bag of Apples at Kroger, took them out and cut them up in sections, and put them back in a plastic bag, and left open, and I placed the cut apples in the bag on my center console, for a about 48 hours, and I drove it back and forth to work, where it stayed parked out in the hot sun during the summer days, and this absorbed and ate up the cigarettes smell up, and gave it the sweet apple smell, for about two to three weeks or more, then it smell like it did before the cigarettes smell, almost like New again.(it did have a sweet apple smell for a few weeks, but hey it is better than old stinking cigarettes, and this cut apple method was cheap and it works!)


Hope this helps, this was given to me by my banker friend, (who gave me the loan for it), and he said that what they have to do to most of their bank repos to remove cigarettes smell, so the could sell them or auction them off.

Let me know how it turns out!!!

Sincerely,

Eddie Presley aka Presley348
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Old Jun 5, 2008 | 10:38 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by tuningtech' post='596229' date='Jun 5 2008, 12:08 PM
Don't ever use a wet vac or any other type of vacuum on the headliner. Since you are using an aerosol foam cleaner the headliner won't really get wet(just slightly damp) and it just needs to be buffed with 2 microfiber or cotton towels. Use the first to get the foam and any dirt that is brought out of the headliner then use the other towel to buff dry. You'll be amazed at the amount of dirt that is on the first towel.
Do you know the exact cleaner to use? Sprayway makes a few..
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Old Jun 5, 2008 | 10:53 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by bowmatt' post='591120' date='May 29 2008, 05:17 PM
First Post, new to the forums as I've only just bought my first e60, but as a smoker do have some experience with this.

Put some distilled white vinigar in a bowl and soak a hand towel in it. Leave the bowl in the car overnight the towel absorbs the odour. For stronger smells use another bowl.

There you have it, really does work!!!
I've heard of that before. I was at a restaurant that had got'n painted, and they were boiling distilled viniger to get rid of the paint smell that was left behind after getting painted. vinger does'nt smell to good either but it dissapates fairly quikly, I assume.
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