How to Get Cigarette Smell Out of a Car

Why the smell stays in the car

Smoke leaves a sticky film of tar and nicotine on everything it touches: the glass, the plastics, the seat foam, the carpet, the headliner, and inside the air vents. This leftover residue is called thirdhand smoke. It keeps giving off smell long after the last cigarette, and more of it on hot days.

Research on smokers’ cars has found nicotine in the dust and on surfaces even in cars where the owner had stopped smoking months earlier. A car is a small, closed space, so the residue is concentrated. That’s why you have to clean it off, not cover it up.

1. Remove the source

• Empty the ashtray and wash it in hot soapy water. If the smell won’t come out of the plastic, buy a replacement insert.
• Pull out the floor mats and look under and between the seats with a flashlight. Old butts and ash are often stuck in the seat rails.
• Empty the door pockets, cup holders, and center console, and check the trunk.
• Clean the lighter socket with a dry brush. Don’t use liquid in it.

Vacuum everything thoroughly, including the seat seams, the headliner edges, and the trunk.

2. Clean the glass

The haze on the inside of a smoker’s windows is the residue itself. Clean every window and mirror twice with glass cleaner or a mix of equal parts white vinegar and water, using a fresh microfiber cloth each time. If the cloth comes away yellow, keep going.

3. Wipe every hard surface

Wipe the dashboard, center console, door panels, steering wheel, gear lever, and the plastic around the seats with an interior cleaner or warm water and a little dish soap. Work in small sections and rinse your cloth often.

Clean the air vent louvers with a soft brush or a cloth wrapped around a flat stick. Don’t spray liquid into the vents or onto the screens and buttons.

4. Shampoo the seats and carpet

Fabric seats and carpet hold most of the smell. Use upholstery shampoo or a portable carpet and upholstery cleaner: spray, scrub with a soft brush, then extract the dirty water so the residue leaves with it. Do the floor mats outside.

On leather seats, use a leather cleaner and then a conditioner. Don’t soak leather.

Dry the car fully with the doors or windows open, in the sun if you can. Damp seat foam can go musty, which is a second smell to deal with.

5. Clean the headliner and seat belts

The headliner, the fabric on the ceiling, sits right where the smoke rose, so it often holds the most smell. Clean it gently: spray upholstery cleaner onto a microfiber cloth, not onto the headliner, and dab rather than scrub. Too much liquid soaks the glue and makes the fabric sag.

Pull each seat belt all the way out, clip it in place, and wipe it with warm soapy water. Let it dry fully before it retracts, or it can mildew.

6. Replace the cabin air filter

The cabin air filter catches smoke from both outside and inside the car. In most cars it sits behind the glove box; your owner’s manual shows where. Replace it with a cabin air filter, ideally one with activated carbon or baking soda.

With the new filter in, run the fan on high with the windows open and the system set to fresh air, not recirculate, for 15 minutes to clear the ducts.

7. Absorb what’s left

Leave activated charcoal bags in the car for a week or two, under the seats and in the trunk. Sprinkle baking soda on the dry carpet overnight and vacuum it up. Park in the sun with the windows cracked whenever it’s safe.

When to call a professional

If the car still smells after all of this, a detailer can do a hot-water extraction and treat the vents with an odor fogger, ozone, or chlorine dioxide. Ozone and chlorine dioxide treatments are only for an empty car, and it must be aired out before anyone gets back in. The EPA warns that ozone damages the lungs and can harm rubber and fabric. Read are ozone generators safe? before you try one yourself.

Smoke smell in the house works the same way; see how to get rid of cigarette smoke smell in a house. For other smells in the car, see how to get rid of a bad smell in your car.