Whats the best way or product to remove soot from smoke damage in a car?

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WaxmanRonnie

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I got a call a few weeks ago from a gentleman that had some smoke damage from his house. Soot got into his VW Golf and it's pretty messed up. The engine has been completely cleaned. Filters have all been changed as well as inside the vents. What I'm dealing with is pretty much everything on the inside.
I wasn't going to tackle this issue. I suggested to the owner that all the carpet and headliner at least be changed. He said that wasn't an option and the best job would suffice for him. Seats are leather.

So, since I haven't done this before I'd like some products that could help or any suggestions. I plan on dry vacuuming every inch of the car to get as much out as possible.Feed back please

Thanks in advance!
 
Smoke damage can be insidious in cars...and homes. The smell will certainly be trapped deep in the fibers of the carpets. Personally, I would rent an extractor and pull as much as I could out of the carpets and headliner. I would then treat the entire interior with Car Pro So2Pure. It may take a few treatments but I have had great success with that stuff on some really funky smells.
 
Porsche Pilot said:
Smoke damage can be insidious in cars...and homes. The smell will certainly be trapped deep in the fibers of the carpets. Personally, I would rent an extractor and pull as much as I could out of the carpets and headliner. I would then treat the entire interior with Car Pro So2Pure. It may take a few treatments but I have had great success with that stuff on some really funky smells.
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I've got an ozone machine. Would that help?
 
An ozone machine would certainly help! I would still go with a deep cleaning via extractor and then use the ozone generator.
 
Here's a couple pics...
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Yikes! Yeah, you are really going to have to clean every inch of that interior, probably more than once. Plastic, leather, carpets...they all soak up the funk pretty well. I would definitely be billing this one hourly.
 
Porsche Pilot said:
Yikes! Yeah, you are really going to have to clean every inch of that interior, probably more than once. Plastic, leather, carpets...they all soak up the funk pretty well. I would definitely be billing this one hourly.
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He's willing to pay a hefty price. Half upfront. And it's not a total guarantee I could 100% take it all out. But I'm definitely going to get some of that product you mention. See how that goes.
 
Be careful on initial vacuuming...you can easily grind in the soot in the process. Several companies make soot and smoke cleaning products, soot sponges (rubber soot eraser) works well on smooth surfaces. When the clean up is complete use a smoke/soot counteractant to remove the odor. Ozone should be affective as well...some pros use thermal fogging to displace odors, but I am not certain what is involved with that...
 
BMW said:
Be careful on initial vacuuming...you can easily grind in the soot in the process. Several companies make soot and smoke cleaning products, soot sponges (rubber soot eraser) works well on smooth surfaces. When the clean up is complete use a smoke/soot counteractant to remove the odor. Ozone should be affective as well...some pros use thermal fogging to displace odors, but I am not certain what is involved with that...
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Thank you!
 
Is a "fogger" the same as an ozone generator?

My altima was heavily smoked in before I bought it. I told the guy I would buy it IF he could get the smoke smell gone completely.

He called in a local detailer with a so called "fogger" machine or something like that and he let it run inside the car with the vents blasting for about 30-45 minutes. For the next few days my car had chemical smell to it that eventually went away and my car is totally smoke free.
 
A few more things to consider. You will probably want to pull both front seats out to clean under there as well. If he has already changed the cabin air filter he jumped the gun. He shouldn't have done that prior to having the interior cleaned. If he has driven the car then all of the odors have now been recirculated through the system. Luckily the filters are dirt cheap and I would recommend to the owner to change it post cleaning.

With access to an ozone generator you have a good pan of attack. Thorough vac to pick up the larger particles and APC clean all surfaces. Then you can attack on the molecular level with the ozone and So2Pure (really get this stuff). Remember to use care with the ozone generator as it can damage interior surfaces if left to run too long.

Please let us all know of the outcome as this experience is great learning for all of us.
 
timaishu said:
Is a "fogger" the same as an ozone generator?

My altima was heavily smoked in before I bought it. I told the guy I would buy it IF he could get the smoke smell gone completely.

He called in a local detailer with a so called "fogger" machine or something like that and he let it run inside the car with the vents blasting for about 30-45 minutes. For the next few days my car had chemical smell to it that eventually went away and my car is totally smoke free.
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Nope...they are different. An ozone machine generates ozone which binds to particles thereby altering their chemical structure which renders them imperceptible.

I believe a fogger generates a chemical which permeates porous surfaces and masks the soot and smoke smell.
 
You should also clean all of the vent lines. I would think it got down in there as well. A lot of people always forget this when cleaning out a car that has been smoked in...
 
I am facing this problem currently with a smoke damaged 2011 M3 convertible in my collision center. It is BAD. The insurance company is replacing many interior items such as seat covers, etc., and they think a typical 3-hour detail will be sufficient, I know won't be. The owner had the top DOWN in his garage during the fire, so it is especially sooty/stinky.

This may be a joint effort between my detailer and I. (I used to be a detailer here, but have since moved to office work). I may have to come out retirement for this bad boy.
 
Click on my facebook link below, on the top of my page i have a video pinned of my Tornado removing cigeret smoke. Its great for hard surfaces as well as headliners. If you scroll down a little you will see a 50/50 pic i did of a headliner half clean. This with an extractor will get alot of the bulk out, but you will still need another chemical for the smell. I use Chemical Guys order eliminator. It has a strong apple smell but its much better than the Megs brand i was using, which smelled like cheap beer.
 
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