Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I love how so many have posted "DO NOT DO THIS...." but don't why other than they were told at one point in their elementary school life not to do it and from reading the back of a toilet bowl cleaner bottle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bpobill
I Googled mixing bleach and ammonia and all it brought up was how dangerous it is. Do you have anything showing that this works?
Sure. Like I said, use common sense (don't take a deep breath while holding your head over the bucket nor take a deep breath when opening the car door) and it's safe. Inhaling amounts of chlorine gas is dangerous. One or two accidental breaths will let you know you shouldn't inhale it but it won't hurt you. The concentration isn't that strong.
That's not true. You can get rid of 95% of it in short order. The rest of it will dissipate in a month or so if you don't smoke in it.
I agree. A car with only a faint smell of cigarette should clear up on its own. Like I said above...roll the windows down and get some air moving through the vehicle. Run a fan with the windows cracked when you're not driving.
I agree. A car with only a faint smell of cigarette should clear up on its own. Like I said above...roll the windows down and get some air moving through the vehicle. Run a fan with the windows cracked when you're not driving.
GF quit smoking after years, so this is very relevant.
Fabreeze works temporarily, and repeated applications help. Pro-tip: Go to Dollar-tree and get the knock off brand for $1.
I've also done the following, and it helps even more:
I make my own air-freshener spray from essential oils. You can google variations, but I think that you mix half water and half vodka (yes, Vodka, it's consistent in most recipes) and then drops of essential oils. The one I like the most for killing cigarette odors is orange, peppermint and Lavender. # of drops will depend on the size of your batch, I have a little one-ounce sprayer (probably got it at Walmart in the travel-size section), and I probably add 5-10 drops of each for a strong mixture. Might add a little Tea Tree oil too, that stuff seems to kill everything.
It won't fully cure the problem, but it helps a lot.
I won't tell you not to mix Bleach and Ammonia, I'll only say that I wouldn't do it....
EDIT: If that doesn't work, put a dead fish under the back floor-mat, and park in the sun for three weeks. I guarantee you won't be smelling the cigarette smoke anymore. hahahahahah
I love how so many have posted "DO NOT DO THIS...." but don't why other than they were told at one point in their elementary school life not to do it and from reading the back of a toilet bowl cleaner bottle.
Sure. Like I said, use common sense (don't take a deep breath while holding your head over the bucket nor take a deep breath when opening the car door) and it's safe. Inhaling amounts of chlorine gas is dangerous. One or two accidental breaths will let you know you shouldn't inhale it but it won't hurt you. The concentration isn't that strong.
We bought a car three years ago with terrible cigarette odor. The previous owner was a chain smoker. Her husband managed a car dealership that ended up selling us the car. He gave it the overnight ozone treatment and it took all the smell away. We drove it a week and the cigarette smell was right back
We tried everything, including most of the remedies discussed here.
We finally used upholstery clearer, carpet cleaner and liquid soap diluted with water and cleaned every surface of the car. Headliner, seats, carpet, windows, dash, vents, etc..... TWICE in two weeks. We did a small tin of coffee grounds under one seat and crushed charcoal briquets under the other seat for about a week.
All these things did help, but the best thing was time. After about a year, the smell went away. It took time. plus those remedies.
Same story as another poster here, bought a pre-owned vehicle at a dealership with the guarantee that they could get the smoke smell out. I am allergic to cigarette smoke so the whole deal depended on that. Well...they couldn't do it. Ozone, changed air filters, detailed again, still there. After a lot of fighting we ended up with a a new car.
If it is something that would be bothersome to you, don't buy it because you can probably only minimize the odor, not remove it.
The vast majority of people don't read directions completely and aren't smart enough not to say to themselves "hmmm. there must be a reason he is saying hold your breath, why would I do that?". CD posts come up on google searches. Of course if they didn't read your entire post, they probably don't read the follow up warnings, but I can guarantee that somewhere, sometime, there will be a person who sees your post and says "bleach and ammonia together, that sounds cheap and easy! One is good, both MUST be better!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by underPSI
I love how so many have posted "DO NOT DO THIS...." but don't why other than they were told at one point in their elementary school life not to do it and from reading the back of a toilet bowl cleaner bottle.
Sure. Like I said, use common sense (don't take a deep breath while holding your head over the bucket nor take a deep breath when opening the car door) and it's safe. Inhaling amounts of chlorine gas is dangerous. One or two accidental breaths will let you know you shouldn't inhale it but it won't hurt you. The concentration isn't that strong.
When a 61 Pontiac Tempest I owned years ago had a fire in the back seat, I went to a janitorial supply company and bought a product used to eliminate the smell of death. etc. Name was Big G or something like that.
It looked like an Air Wick air deodorizer. You pulled out the wick and left it in the car overnight.
Captured odor instead of hiding it. Fire smell never returned.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.