Buying my 2nd C5 convertible and while the previous owners didn't own it long they did smoke in it. I want to do a thorough cleaning and want to get rid of any residual smoke smell...any suggestions...thanks....

 

Simple Green for the hard parts and Febreze for fabric/carpet.

 

...

 

ozone generator

 

This is the best stuff I have ever used. It is also good for any other odors in your car or home.

 

 

Take it to Phoenix and leave it in the sun for a week....that will burn out anything.

 

x2

Just buy this.


IDK what the shipping to and from would be but if you want to use mine and pay shipping it's yours.

 

That is NOT going to work.

 

This is a start, but really the idea behind cleaning every single surface in the car is getting all the tar removed. If you want to be thorough, you will need to get into the HVAC and get the tar off the ductwork, fans, blend doors, etc. This would entail removing the dash pad. It's a pain, but worth it if you really want the smoke smell out. After you have removed the tar, ash, and bacteria by hand, THEN you will need to do the ozone generator for a couple of hours with the AC running. Even then, a second ozone treatment might need to be done a few months later. Leaving it in the hot sun with the windows down does help, but I tend to think leaving a 20 year old car in the sun isn't as good an idea as the ozone generator.

I had to do this to my Silverado. It was an LTZ Z71 with 40K miles on it and the price was right, so I took on the task and was able to get it clean. Smells great now, but it took a couple of weekends and about 20 hours of work. Just make sure the price reflects your efforts.

 

May not be the cats ***, but I'm betting something similar will be the tactic used. Question is, just how **** are you about it?

 

Ozone

 

I left baking soda sprinkled on the carpet for 3 days and then sprayed Ozium Sanitizer a few times and I never smelled smoke again.

 

Another vote for the ozone generator
Thats what the professionals use
I found out about it many years ago when looking at motor coaches. That is what they use on preowned coaches and buses to remove the lives in smells from cooking/smoking/living in one.
It will take the smell out of the nastiest cars from my experience, most other stuff is just a temporary cover up.

 

Says the man who got the Hell outta there, and we're now a fan of the man from Tennessee!! Are you there yet?? Sorry for hijack, but couldn't resist...

 

Ozone works pretty well but keep in mind that ozone will deteriorate natural rubber so if there is anything inside the car that is made from natural rubber, expect to have other problems later if you do ozone it to long. Do some researching from reputable places on how to ozone vehicles specifically, not from just some guy who did it to his car one time. Also, don't sit in your car while the ozone is running waiting for it to get done.

 

If they smoked in it for any real amount of time, say a year or two, find a different car.
I smoked for a while -- three pack a day guy when I finally quit. Never cease to be ashamed of what I did to cars, clothes, houses, and computer equipment (killed more than one hard drive in the early ST506 days). The resins left behind are pervasive and tenacious. Thorough cleaning and Febreze help a lot, but you'll end up needing new air fresheners on a weekly basis.

 

Ozonator, cleaning solutions, a few hot days in the sun, and laundry detergent with hot water worked for me. You need to use hot water or hot temperature to release the smell.

Ozonators are what all car dealerships use to remove smells, especially smoke, from their used cars.

I bought one for about $100 on Amazon to get the smoke smell out of my wife's SAAB 9-3 vert. My brother borrowed the car and smoked in it for 7 months.

Cleaning products and hot water helped reduce the smell and cut the stink significantly but not enough. Top down parked in the sun helped significantly. The Ozonator worked 100% to remove the residual smell completely. Two 45 minute timed treatments and car was and remains smoke stank free.

Be sure the car is completely dry inside. No damp carpet etc. before using an Ozonator.

 

This is sound advice.

First though....please don't get scared off by thinking ozone machines are bad...like many things in life, common sense prevails. Overuse & misuse of ozone machines may cause accelerated breakdown of plastics. The key thing about using an ozone machine is to follow manufacturer directions. Before using an ozone machine, do vacuum and thoroughly clean all surfaces that you can reach and let dry. Some folks over-expect an ozone machine to be a one-stop "miracle cure" in removing odors. Multiple short ozone treatments will be more effective and less harmful to a vehicle's (or home) rubber/plastics rather than a single long treatment session. Ozone machines come in different sizes/output. Based on a machine with an ozone output of 10,000 mg/h and a vehicle the size of a Corvette Coupe, 2-3 minutes running at a single time should be enough. Air it out, wait a few hours and check your results before contemplating doing another cycle or more. Prominent car detailers will follow these shorter cycles as part of their super-deluxe detail packages. Used car dealers, on the other hand, will usually do the long one-shot bomb method as they just want to move cars quickly and could care less about prematurely damaging any plastics, whereas slum-lord apartment owners/managers will run these things for many hours at a time depending on the smell they are trying to get rid of (dead body odor). There is a danger factor; do not occupy the area you are running the machine in....do not let non-canned food items sit out....remove house plants, pets, goldfish, mothers-n-law, etc. as you can kill anything that lives with one of these within a closed area (includes mice & cockroaches). ALWAYS open doors/windows & run a fan for a sufficient time before entering any car or room. Even after a good airing out you will notice some ozone lingering like that of a fresh air smell following a rain. I've owned one for about 5yrs now and have used it for several different needs and can say they do work if you follow directions.

 

fire up a good cigar, that'll get rid of the cigarette smoke !