Now that you have your new-to-you used car; there are several steps to take to make it yours… like removing that lingering smoke smell with Vamoose!
According to research, the lingering odors of cigarette smoke can decrease used car values by up to 7-9%.
If you’ve just purchased a pre-owned vehicle, RV, or trailer, this is good news for you, because it means that you might have gotten a serious discount on your buy.
However, once you bring that baby home, there’s something you gotta do. And that is figure out how to remove smoke odor from a car interior.
There are various methods for this, and some work better than others. Below we are going to run through five different ways you can de-odorize your new vehicle and banish that stale cigarette smoke smell.
Once we’re done, we’ll evaluate which methods are the most effective so you can get your recently purchased used car, trailer, or RV smelling crisp and fresh in next to no time.
If you are desperate to remove smoke odor from your new vehicle fast, keep reading and let the experts on smells share with you how to make a used car smell new.
- A Thorough Clean
The very first thing you should do with any pre-owned car, RV, trailer, or other vehicle is to give it a thorough clean.
Besides helping to reduce stale smoke odors, a deep clean will also make your used vehicle more hygienic. If you aren’t too fussed about this aspect, consider this fun fact: the average person sheds between 30,000-40,00 dead skin cells every hour.
Given how many hours most people spend in their car—suddenly a very thorough vacuum sounds like a must. Besides this, you should also ensure that you wipe down all surfaces with an antibacterial solution. Studies show that most steering wheels are home to more bacteria than toilets, so don’t skip this step.
Cleaning your newly purchased vehicle from top to bottom is a great starting point to both sanitize and deodorize it. However, it’s unlikely that cleaning alone with sort out the stale smoke smell
Once you have given your car a valet level clean, you’ll need to move on to tackling the odor problem specifically. Let’s take a look at a few popular methods and whether or not they are effective.
- Baking Soda
Baking soda is commonly used for deodorizing purposes. Many people use it to trap smells in the refrigerator, in stale smelling cupboards, or stinky trash canisters.
However, unfortunately, baking soda isn’t likely to make that much of a difference in a stale smelling vehicle. Why is this?
According to experts, baking soda’s ability to eradicate smell is thanks to its pH. Baking soda has a very high, alkaline pH. Most odor-causing particles on the other hand have an acidic pH. By bringing them into contact with baking soda, you can change the pH and effectively remove the odor.
The key here however is that baking soda’s odor-removing ability largely depends on direct contact with the source of the odor. Therefore, it’s not a very practical method for deodorizing one’s car.
For instance, if you have a stinking trash can, you can easily sprinkle a layer of baking soda at the bottom. When it comes to cars, though, this isn’t really feasible. Coating the entire interior of your car with baking soda is not only almost impossible but would also be a monumental mess.
If you want to try out the odor eliminating effects of baking soda, you can try placing tubs of soda in your vehicle. Be aware, however, this isn’t likely to clear up the stale smoke smell completely.
- Charcoal
Another substance that’s famous for its smell absorbing properties is charcoal. Charcoal is used in many different types of filters to trap and neutralize smells. It’s also used in water filtration to absorb impurities.
Once again, however, charcoal might not be powerful enough to truly suck the smoke smell out of your used vehicle. The reason for this is that charcoal is better at filtering air than neutralizing odors that have already permeated a vehicle, room, surface, etc.
If you don’t believe us, think of it this way. Many range hoods have charcoal filters in them to trap cooking odors. When you are cooking, you can turn the hood on and it will suck up the steam and cooking aromas, thereby keeping your kitchen free from old cooking smells.
However, merely having a charcoal filter sitting in your range hood is not going to miraculously eradicate all odors in your kitchen.
The same principle applies to your used car. If you take a piece of charcoal, or charcoal powder, and place it in a tub in your car, it isn’t going to be able to suck the old smoke smell out of the vehicle’s finishes.
- Air Fresheners
Another way that a lot of people combat stale smoke smells in cars is with air fresheners. Depending on where you bought your used car, trailer, or RV the used car dealer or previous owner probably did the same!
Unfortunately, while air freshers can be effective at temporarily masking odors, they do not take them away.
It’s a bit like putting on cologne or perfume after you’ve been sweating. You won’t really be able to get rid of the underlying sweaty smell until you take a shower.
The same applies to your car. If you don’t eradicate the smell, and instead just cover it up with air freshener, it will always be there. Once the air freshener wears off, the stale smoky smell will be back. What’s more, unless you spray an overpowering amount of air freshener, you’ll still be able to smell the old smoke underneath the scent of the spray.
Now that we have gone through the most popular de-odorizing methods for used cars, and determined whether or not they are effective, let’s not take a look at one method that we know definitely works.
- Vamoose!
When it comes to stale smoke odors, as you can see most DIY deodorizing methods are fairly hit and miss. However, there is one solution that we personally know works 100%.
How do we know this? Because it’s our product and we have put it through extensive testing.
Vamoose! is a spray-on deodorizing agent that completely eliminates cigarette smells from cars, RVs, trailers, homes, and more. Designed specifically to remove tobacco smoke smells, it also works to strip away tar build up from ceilings, upholstery, dashboards, and just about any other surface.
Besides this Vamoose! products are also completely non-toxic and will not damage fabrics, finishes, or leather upholstery.
How to Use Vamoose!
To apply Vamoose! all you will need to do is spray the product onto the interior of your vehicle.
Once you have sprayed in onto surfaces contaminated with cigarette smoke, it will immediately react with the built-up tar and odor compounds. While this happens there will be a “reaction smell” as the pH of the product neutralizes the tar and odor particles.
Once the reaction has happened, the product will continue to work at the surfaces, but at a slower rate. For the most thorough results, it should be left for 24 hours. Once this period is up, you will have a vehicle that is completely free of stale smoke odors.
Vamoose! requires no elbow grease on your part, simply apply the product, and wait. Once the waiting period is over, all you have to do is wipe the treated surfaces with a damp cloth or sponge to remove any potential residue.
Lastly, if yours is a car that was smoked in heavily, you might also want to apply Vamoose! to the inside of the vents, as well as the air intake. When spraying into the air intake, do so while the ventilation system is on, so that the spray can reach as far into the system as possible.
Effectively Remove Smoke Odor From Your Car Interior With Vamoose!
While there are various methods you can use to remove smoke odor from car interiors, there’s only one that we can swear by. That is Vamoose!
Our products have been scientifically formulated to eliminate all residual smoke odors, leaving your car smelling as fresh and new as the day it rolled off the production line. If your used car is wreaking of old smoke, we have the solution.
Additionally, the Vamoose! line of products isn’t just for use in cars. It can be used in any vehicle, as well as homes, offices, and more. Besides eliminating smoke odors, Vamoose! products are also highly effective at removing tar build-up and stains on ceilings, surfaces, upholstery, and more.
If that is not enough, Vamoose! is also safe, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly.
What’s more, we are so confident in the ability of our products, we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are not happy with the results of a product you have purchased, you can call us and one of our team members will assist you in getting the results you want. If you are still not satisfied, you can return your products for a full refund.
If you are excited to get your newly purchased pre-owned vehicle smelling fresh and new, head on over to our online store to shop our range of Vamoose! deodorizing products.