Your vehicle is your sanctuary. When you’re away from home, your car can be utilized for various purposes other than transportation.
You can easily stop at a restaurant and eat inside your vehicle. Alternatively, you may decide to take a quick nap inside of your car. Unfortunately, owning a vehicle is a lot of responsibility. You’ll want to keep your car clean and fresh. Nothing can prevent this from happening quicker than nasty cigarette smoke. If you’ve finally stopped smoke and want to get rid of that smell, you’ll want to follow the tips below to restore your car’s interior to perfection.
Understanding The Problem
Before trying to learn how to get the smoke smell out of a car, you should familiarize yourself with cigarette smoke. Many people mistakenly believe that they’ll be able to spray a deodorizer inside of their car and rectify the problem. This isn’t the case. While smoke can linger in the air, it will also coat everything inside of the vehicle. The smoke residue will cover the steering wheel, dashboard, seats, and even the windows. To remove smoke smell from the car, you will need to restore the air quality, while also giving the vehicle a good scrubbing.
Let It Air Out
First and foremost, you should remember that your vehicle is very similar to an oven. When the windows are rolled up, the air and smell will be trapped inside. If you wish to get rid of smoke smell in the car, you will need to roll down those windows and let the vehicle air out. Park the vehicle in a shaded, safe location and roll down the windows. Make sure you remove the keys from the ignition and take them with you. Now, you’ll need to wait it out.
You should leave the windows down for a good period of time, depending on the severity of the smell. Although this might not completely fix the problem, it will cause the smell to dissipate to some degree.
Add Potpourri
Once you’ve allowed the vehicle to air out, you will want to consider using potpourri to cover up the smell. Fill the vehicle with a generous amount of potpourri, roll up the windows, and step away. It is generally best to do this after you’ve finished using the vehicle for the day. Leave the vehicle alone for at least a day. After twenty-four hours have passed, you will want to remove the potpourri and replace it with a fresh batch. Repeat this process for several days. Generally, the smell of the potpourri will help to disguise the smell of smoke.
Clean The Interior
Besides the vehicle’s air quality, you will also need to clean the remaining items. This includes the seats, steering wheel, dashboard, and windows. The smoke residue will cling to these items and emit a bad odor as well. If you really want to learn how to get the smoke smell out of a car, you will need to clean the interior thoroughly. Use a good cleaning agent to scrub the vehicle down. Using disinfecting wipes and a deodorizer is recommended. This will help to decrease the intensity of the smell greatly.
Vacuum And Shampoo
It is essential to remember that your vehicle’s interior is covered with a carpet-like material. The floorboards, ceiling, and seats are all covered with carpet. To remove the smoke smell from the car, you will need to target these problematic areas too. In order to do so, you will want to utilize a vacuum cleaner and a shampooer. First and foremost, use the vacuum cleaner to remove the ashes and other debris from the vehicle’s interior. Make sure you get in between the cracks and crevices. And of course, be sure to remove the floor mats and clean underneath.
Once the vehicle has been entirely vacuumed, you will want to use the shampooer. It is recommended that you start with the highest portions of the vehicle and work downward. This is best because the soap and water will drip down and get the other surfaces dirty. Nonetheless, don’t stop until each portion of the vehicle has been cleaned thoroughly. The shampooer will prove to be very helpful and will greatly reduce the intensity of the smoke smell.
Check The Ashtray
The vehicle’s ashtray will prove to be very beneficial for smokers, but it will be a major annoyance for those that hate cigarettes. The ashtray will be full of ashes and it will stink to high heaven. With this in mind, you will need to go above and beyond to clean the ashtray thoroughly. Make sure you use a vacuum to remove all of the ashes. If the ashtray detaches, this will be much easier. Nonetheless, make sure the ashes are removed and the inside of the tray is cleaned spotless.
Deodorizing
Once the vehicle has been cleaned thoroughly, you will want to deodorize the carpets. It is possible to do this in various ways. Some individuals will recommend utilizing vinegar, while others will prefer baking soda. There are also many over-the-counter deodorizing products and they’ll all work exceptionally well. If you opt for vinegar, it is best to soak several towels in this liquid. Then, sit the towels inside the car and roll up the windows. The vinegar will help to remove the smoke smell. Alternatively, you can sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the carpets and seats.
After the baking soda has been allowed to penetrate the carpet’s fibers for several hours, you should vacuum it up. This will effectively eliminate the smell, without leaving a mess behind.
Add An Air Freshener
Finally, you should remember how difficult it was to eradicate the smoke smell. The amount of time and effort it took should remind you to never smoke in your vehicle again. In order to avoid going through this process again, you should prevent yourself and anyone else from smoking inside the vehicle. Also, you should add a good air freshener to the vehicle’s interior. The air freshener will make the vehicle smell great, while also diminishing the smoke smell.