Another question about the '76 245 DL that I'm getting ready to make run.

Previous owner of the car smoked, a lot. The car has a very strong smell of cigarettes, even after being away from the previous smoking owner for almost a year now.

I'm in the process of cleaning up everything in the interior and I'd like some suggestions on what I could use to get this smell out. I'm going to be pulling the carpets to clean them up as best I can (although I don't know if I can get the cigarette burns out) as I think that's where most of the smell is coming from.

I looked in the archives, but I didn't really find much info. Most of the suggestions there seemed to cover the smell up, but I want to completely remove it.

Just how strong is the carpet? Would it survive say, a run through the washing machine as cloth seat covers do? I would just get some carpet out of one of the 240s in the junk yard, but red interior 240s seem to be rather rare...

Thanks as always.

Picture of the red interrior:


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If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

that carpet is so stupid. you don't want to ruin it because it's impossible to find a replacement. I know- I did it and I had to do a really sloppy carpet job. it probably won't last a wash in the load and it could possibly shrink (now that would be funny). if you febrezeed it, try hosing it down and hanging it out (that might shrink it, though). if that doesn't do it, take it to the cleaners. :D j/k

That stuff works miracles. It's worth it's weight in gold. It even got cat pee stench out of my sister's leather jacket.

My regular mechanic sells late model Volvos, BMWs and Audis. Part of the prep when the PO was a smoker is to run a comercial dionizer inside the closed car. It's not a cheap process but he puts a new filter in and runs the unit for 6-8 hours. Works like a champ. I bought a GT from him that was headed for the crusher. PO had neglectied it badly and a rod came through the block. She had also left a 50 lb bag of potatoes in the trunk. Made the skunk smell sweet. After the normal scrub up, the deionizer worked great. Check with a good detailer.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'83 242TI Flathood

Hello,

If you plan on taking out the carpet, as this is where the bulk of the stench lives, bring it down to your local self-serve wash and hang it on the floor mat racks they have. Then scrub the bejesus out of it with the foam brush and spray clean. Even the most fragile carpets would survive, and you won't piss off the wife stuffing it into the washer.

Other than than, yep, Febreeze in the vents, seat covers through the washer and some kind of orange clean on everything else.

Failing that, I've used an open tin of coffee grounds over several nights to erradicate remnants of fouls smells.


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Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Volvo's are alive and well in Brampton!!!

There is some stuff called Odo-Ban that is sold at Sams Club and various janatorial supplys.
You dilute it heavily and spray the fabric down to soak it, and let it dry and air out thoroughly ( wear a chemical rated respirator while working with it in a confined area )
It disinfects and gets rid of the stink.
When we moved into our curent house, the place smelled like the previous residents had a 500 pound cat that smoked cheap cigars. I tried a number of things, but the odo ban finally got rid of the stink.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '82 Mercedes 300SD

"500 pound cat that smoked cheap cigars"

LOL!!!!!!!! Great line!

Gotta love that 500 pound cigar smoking cat. Gotta get me one of those. My inlaws are alergic to cats and smoke.

I had the same problem with "B.T", I just vacumed very well, empty a bottle of Febreze Auto and clean the dash, wheel, etc. with some Orange Clean Wipes and hung a Pine Tree on the mirror. Now it smells like pine scented orange Febreze. Hope this helps.

To remove the tar (yes, tar- it is a byproduct of cigarette smoke) from the steering wheel, headliner, handholds, headrest, and other hard vinyl items, use Simple Green. Water it down a bit, and apply regularly for about a week with a rag. If watered down, there should be no need to rinse.
Also, remember to wash the insides of the windows, too. If your dash is all cracked up too, use the Febreze on the dash, too- it will deodorize the exposed foam. As far as cleaning carpets, I like the Prestone brand carpet cleaner. Yes, this is a lot of work...I've been through it all before, but it is worth it. Good luck.

I am told that releasing Mephitis macroura in the vehicle interior for a short period will eliminate even the faintest suggestion of cigarette odour. It might be worth a try.
JD

Oh, I should explain; Mephitis macroura is a striped skunk.
JD

I boght an '89 760 that was owned by a smoker and had pretty good luck with multiple cleanings. No-name upholstery and carpet cleaner for the carpeting. Spray on, let sit, wipe with damp cloth and vacuum dry, repeat every few days. Damp cloth on the leather upholstery and other interior surfaces, repeat every few days. Windows open as much as possible - day and night. And yes I did use one of the odor removal sprays. I guess it didn't hurt.

Remove as much interior trim as you can and vacuum up any ashes found. e.g. remove the shroud around the steering column, and any trim you can remove around the ash tray. The ashes seem to have no boundaries and emit their foul vapors for a long time. Pulling the seats and carpets is a great idea. Leave them out for as long as you can and air them out in the sun and fresh air if possible. I guess you don't get much of that in Portland this time of year.

I can't verify if this works or not for removing smoke odors, but I have heard that using an ionic air cleaner will help greatly. I have a friend who smokes in his house and he keeps a couple of these running. I must say that I have never noticed a smoke smell in his house other than right when he is smoking. Like I said, I don't know what it will do for a residual smell.

You may try some of the carpet and upholstery paint to touch up the burn marks. It seems a little wierd to paint carpeting, but I did on my daughter's '87 740. Leaking heater core didn't do 17 year old carpets any favors. I found some fair replacements at the wreckers and brightened them up with the paint. Looked pretty decent in the beginning, I'll have to ask her how it is 6 months later?

Good Luck.

Dan

Have you tried Febreeze? That in conjunction with airing the car out might work out. Go a little overboard with the febreeze, and make sure to get the headliner as that catches a lot of smoke. Try Febreezing the car, letting it sit with the windows open, then driving with the windows open to get the air flowing through.

Good Luck

Rob K.
Raleigh, NC
'87 245 DL
'87 244 DL (parting out, email for parts or to get a cheap parts car!!)

What about Febreeze or some similar product?

Good luck,
Keith
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1983 245 Turbo, 1966 Ford Bronco, GO BLUE!