Getting Rid of Odors in Cars – Smoke, animal odors, etc.
Sounds like a simple enough thing to accomplish right? You are a two car family, your husband/wife smokes? You have to switch cars for the week, but the smell is driving you insane? Here are some quick tips to help alleviate that smell.
1. Make a quick run thru of the car
Get your car mats out and vacuum with regular old carpet cleaner. This should take away a ton of the smoke filled leviathan that is fuming thru the car.
Even if you can fully get the mats cleaned, it should take away some, if not all of the smoky smell.
2. Clean out the Ashtray
Honestly this could be the first thing that you do. Once you have thoroughly cleaned the ashtray, simply take some ordinary air freshener and gently rub it around the inside of the ashtray with a simple paper towel.
What this does is it leaves a thin layer of air freshener in the ashtray that will permeate but is not flammable.
3. Hang an Air Freshener
This keeps the fresh smell going constantly in the car.
Just make sure you don’t have too may different scents going at once, this could be as bad as the smoky smell.
4. Put the car’s heater and air into recirculate for 30 minutes.
Unlock the doors, turn the engine on, and put your car’s heat and air into recirculate while you clean the rest of the car. As you continue to clean the car and remove some of the smoky odors, the new, fresh air will recirculate throughout the entire cabin and improve the quality of air in your car.
5. Go at the Upholstery with Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner
This does an excellent job of cleaning as well as neutralizing the smell in the upholstery. Most basic cleaners work to varying degrees. Something as simple as Febrez to professional upholstery cleaners can do the trick. The market is flooded with products that are made by Woolite, Bissell, Blue Magic, just to name a few. Some but not all come with a Scotch guard of some sort , however when all else fails, look to a tried a true method we use, “ The Ozone Machine”.
6. The Industrial Ozone Generator
Without getting too technical, Ozone generators do one basic thing; they remove odors that most say can not be removed. The basic premise is, the Generator breaks down the odor to the molecular level, spreads it out and dissipates it. Ozone Generators range in price from as much as $1000 to $85 depending on the need. Instead of masking the odor, the ozone generator will completely remove it. The ozone actually oxidizes and denatures the residual organic compounds causing the odor.
Now when all else fails….……….. Go to a professional and let them worry about it. One thing you know that is a pro has a wealth of knowledge about how to handle any situation that deals with detailing your car. It may cost a bit more, but it is something that he/she has been trained to do and the best part? YOU don’t have to do it.