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Hi Wacco buddies, I have bought a large van which apparently was smoked in heavily. At times like today when the humidity is high the smoke haunts me coming out of the upholstery to be almost unbearable. I've put boxes of bicarbonate of soda and replaced them several times. Would appreciate any and all suggestions on how to get these toxic smells out of my van.
Hi Dorothy ~
You may want to try an air purifier plugged into the cigarette lighter. I discovered recently that Amazon and other companies will not ship these to California due to some weird law about ozone; however, if you know someone who doesn't live in Calif., perhaps they will order for you and you can reimburse them.
Here's one example of what I'm referring to.
Smoke is notoriously difficult to eradicate, especially from upholstery. You may decide you're better off selling the van and buying one that's smoke-free. Good luck!
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Posted in reply to the post by Dorothy Friberg:
We bought a good car with the same problem, and found that putting chunks of charcoal in a couple of low flat pans gradually got rid of the smell entirely. Good Luck!
Smoker residue will be greatly reduced by multiple warm slightly soapy water washes. Use a shop vac to suck it out of porous surfaces like rugs after generously scrubbing it in.
After thorough drying, sunny weather helps a lot, use an ozonator. For a van 20 minutes on with the van closed up for two hours before airing for hours. Do this everyday maybe a week or two. This will break down the rest of the residue for a clean ride!
I suggest that you use sweet orange essential oil. Orange EO doesn't just mask odors, it works to dismantle the molecules of odor. I have used it for many bad smells and have been very impressed. I used it when I bought my car but I was especially pleased to remove wet dog smell from a house with redwood walls. In my car I just put drops of essential oil on the car mats and left the bottle open in the car. For the wooden walls I used a fine mist in a spray bottle and used it weekly for several months before all the bad smells were gone.
If you are looking for a similar cleaning product consider CitraSolv which is pure orange oil. You can use it as a carpet cleaner or for cleaning upholstery. If you don't find upholstery cleaning instructions on the bottle go to their website.
CitraSolv is a little pricey at around $12 a bottle. A bottle of sweet orange essential oil is much cheaper and goes a long way at around $5 or less. You can get both of these products at Whole Foods or Oliver's.
Be sure to let us all know what worked!
Emerald
Hi, this is my first post, so please forgive me if it doesn’t go so well...
I would suggest burning a bundle of White Sage. Trap the smoke inside, so it dissipates slowly. Sage is a natural cleanser, a sacred medicine used by Native Americans for thousands of years, and works like a “Natural Febreeze.” So your van will be getting a physical and energetic cleanse! :-)
A lot of people with asthma and/or chemical sensitivity have an allergic type reaction to essential oils. I personally can't tolerate any essential oils, no matter how "chemical free" they claim to be.
Using sage has always worked for me with clearing out most smells.
Body shops use an ionizer. They are rentable from many rental places. Another good idea is to wash the seats first if they are fabric and the smoke residue can be in the carpet as well, not sure what to tell you about the overhead fabric.
Few glass or ceramic cups (not metal) filled with straight white vinegar placed anywhere you want any smells removed. Roll up windows Leave overnight or as many overnights it takes. Smell will leave.
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Posted in reply to the post by Dorothy Friberg:
Many professional car cleaners use an ozone generating machine. It worked for me with removing dog and cig smell from a van I wanted to buy.