Question--important

possibly a bunch of lysol?

Passage of time. It will fade gradually in the next few years.

Coverups are pretty obvious to anybody with a good sense of smell.

Sounds like you destroyed a perfectly good car!

Don

Tell them Joe smoked in the car - not you.

well, one old trick is to get a sponge, like the cheapo's 6 for a buck at a dollar store. Soak 2 sponges with some fragrance,not too heavy, something of an air freshener style. Stick one under the driver seat, one under the passenger [or better yet] rear compartment area.

Call a car detailing shop, they do this kind of stuff. Works great too.

Make up a spray bottle solution of white vinegar and water (~1/2 cup vinegar and fill the rest with water). Mist the interior including headliner. Do NOT saturate. Vinegar is a neutralizer and it's smell will disipate out. Good luck!

Bob M. wrote:

Try "Febreze Fabric Refresher," in the laundry detergent section of grocery stores. It's well-known for dealing with the after-effects of pet accidents. I tried it recently on the back seat of my car and am impressed. It might take a few treatments.

"ice23" wrote

Oops. Sorry. I see you say you already tried Febreze.

"Elle" wrote

No. Ammonia will help, but it won't get it all out by any means. Ten years later, the car will still have a hint of it.

--scott

Oh, they smell all right. They smell strongly. I go into junkyards to pull parts off cars, and I open the door and get in and I can tell if someone was smoking in that car ten years ago. It's a gummy resin that sticks to everything and dries out very slowly. I'll spare you the anti-smoking lecture 'cause you know exactly the analogy I'd be making.

--scott

Nope, you are caught.

Mike

Smokers can't usually smell smoke in a room or house even. As a new, 3 years and counting, non smoker, it is amazing the stench. I had no idea until I quit.

Mike

Yes it did work, and the guy that had the (company) truck was a regular smoker. It took them about 3 hours, but that included vacuuming and cleaning and so on. It was a pickup truck. Go to a dealer and ask the service and/or parts guys, they probably know where to go. Might also be in the yellow pages.

It's a complete waste of money. If either of your parents are at all sensitive to cigarette smoke they will detect it. All a detailer can do for you is reduce the cigarette smoke smell down then add in another odor that is stronger. For the casual person who isn't looking for it, or for someone who isn't that sensitive to cigarette smoke, this trick will work. If your parents are naieve in this area, you may get away with it.

But if either of your parents has ever been around a smoker regularly, or has a smoker who is a relative, they will be hypersensitve to the smell and they will also be very aware of all the tricks that smokers use to cover it up.

The biggest problem with smoke smell is it gets into the headliner which is impossible to clean without altering it. You can clean a headliner without damaging it if you know what your doing, but it will always change the nap of it slightly. And, the smoke gets into the pores of the headliner foam and you cannot clean that.

Ted