[oldeguy]

A friend of mine is looking at purchasing a 2010 Fusion. The previous owner was a smoker, and my friend asked me to ask all the smart people if they know how to permanetly remove the cigarette smell from the interior of a vehicle. Any assistance would be appreciated.

[darkpuppet]

Time and air. Febreeze can help a bit. A good detailer will be able to help out as well (maybe flo has more ideas?)

But the more serious question is if he should even be buying the car.

Smoke has a terrible effect on the plastics and the glue that keeps things like the headliner attached... effectively ruining the interior. Personally, I wouldn't buy a car from a smoker unless it was a great deal.

[Oscar The Grouch]

Take all easily removable parts out first. Carmats, floor mats, seats if you can. Use compressed air and blow out all the nooks and crannies. Clean all plastic/vinyl with a vinegar based solution (i used windex with vinegar) and scrub/wipe. Use a foam interior cleaner/carpet cleaner on the carpet/seats. When dry, sprinkle some arm and hammer pet fresh baking soda all over the cloth seats and floor and let sit at least 24 hrs. Vaccuum up the baking soda and put a fresh box of baking soda in the trunk for a few months. I did this with my jeep as it had a fairly hard smoke smell and now it smells ok. Just make sure you drive around a lot with the windows down/sunroof open.

[Focus man. Focus.]

Even easier way to not notice the smell is to take up smoking. That is what all the cool kids are doing.

[Oscar The Grouch]

Just don't smoke that cheap s**t.

[rnzo86]

my car used to be owned by a smoker, it does take time all I did was vacuum, used autoglym to clean the leather seats and the interior and i used a certain air freshener

[mo_focus]

I purchased a car once that was bad with smoke and pet smell. I purchased smoke eater/bad air sponge and placed under the driver seat. It helps a bit and they at cheap to get. Got them from Walmart for buck or two.

[Flofocus]

Shampoo the carpets, floor mats, and headliner with a carpet extractor. Steam clean everything you can touch with the steam. Like Oscar said - remove anything that can be removed and clean up with soap & water.

I would also poor baking soda all over the interior, let that's it for a week before vacuuming out.

[oldeguy]

(06-05-2012, 12:51 AM)Flofocus Wrote: Shampoo the carpets, floor mats, and headliner with a carpet extractor. Steam clean everything you can touch with the steam. Like Oscar said - remove anything that can be removed and clean up with soap & water.

I would also poor baking soda all over the interior, let that's it for a week before vacuuming out.

Would it be worth taking it to an auto detailer, or will most of them just charge an extremely high rate to get it cleaned? ( Note, the guy is in the GTA, so he won't be going to Ottawa)

[moon111]

How about adding one of those Fram Fresh Breeze with Arm&Hammer? I know they are only for filtering outside air... would they help? Add a clean smell? I'm just adding this because all the good suggestions were taken.

[Flofocus]

A good detailer would do wonders. I don't know any in the Toronto area though.

[oldeguy]

(06-05-2012, 09:23 AM)moon111 Wrote: How about adding one of those Fram Fresh Breeze with Arm&Hammer? I know they are only for filtering outside air... would they help? Add a clean smell? I'm just adding this because all the good suggestions were taken.

The best answer would be that he should buy either a used 2007 Focus, from a non-smoker, or a new 2012-13 Focus..........

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(06-05-2012, 11:27 PM)Flofocus Wrote: A good detailer would do wonders. I don't know any in the Toronto area though.

I'll let him know that it's would be best to get the car detailed by the pro's. Or buy a new car.