anyone used an ozone generator?

[levemircento]

I was wondering about trying to get rid of smoke smell from a new used car [we recently bought a pug 308 for mrs], we have mostly succeeded but you know, sometimes you can still just tell its still lurking.

so I am wondering if anyone has used an ozone generator on here? a device which does as name suggests left in car for a few hours or overnight and generates ozone, then switch off and open everything back up maybe an hour before using the car again

they do full sized ones, which are dear, but also small ones, and therefore cheap, so over to you people to see if anyone has tried this method and if it works?

ta


big one £60+


small one £11+



cheers

 

[portland_bill]

Not used an ozone generator, but do still have on the shelf, unused for years, a 'Mountain Breeze' ioniser.
The theory of these is that they cause dirt and other particles in the air to drop out, and make the air cleaner and more beneficial for us.
My father loved his, used it all his life, and swore it reduced his headaches and migraine.
I found the opposite, causing mild headaches.
If you'd like mine, PM me your address and I'll blow the dust off and post it to you.

Not sure the ozone generator or ioniser will do what you want though. They are good at neutralising current smells, where the smell is still in the air. The smoke in your car has impregnated all the soft trim, so is less likely to 'drop' out of the air.

Have a look at this: http://www.bigclive.com/ioniser.htm
and read the description of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ1Mw8nMKr0

When I worked at a dealership, and managed the car preparation, when we got a serious smoky car in, the two lads would spend two days cleaning it.
First the rooflining. Spread a sheet over the seats, to catch the horrid drips. Spray upholstery cleaner over the whole rooflining, making it quite wet, but not so much to cause it to droop or destroy the board base. Leave to drip for half a day - yes, really. The sheet will be covered in brown goo. (May need washing before putting back on the bed.)
Now a bucket of warm water and lots of cloths. With a very damp cloth, wipe a section of rooflining. Rinse and repeat. May need lots of cloths.

Then you need to do the same with the seats, but of course you do not want to leave it wet for long. Spray upholstery cleaner over a seat. Leave for just a few minutes, and set to with the damp cloths. Repeat for all seats. Then the carpets.

Without a dry warm garage, you need a few hot dry days. After 2-3 days, the car will be dry, and should be pleasant again.

Whilst this was an intensive treatment, the cost was recouped easily as a clean smelling car was worth a lot more and sold more quickly.

We used Auto Glym products.

You might like to do a bit at a time over several days/weeks. But rooflining will be the greatest win, as the smoke rises and soaks in.

Febreeze might work, but probably only for a while if soiling is deep.

Good luck.

 

[chris3234]

If you have access to a wet vac/ carpet cleaner you get get the fabric a good soaking and cleaning then suck most of the water out

 

[dave]

I got this in a mystery box, would not normally have bought something like this, i then got a van that stank of rotten cheese ( it was an ex fridge van from a cheese company), used this and smell went

https://car-chemoriginal.com/store/interior/air-fresheners/odour-eliminator

 

[DaveMcT]

Wet vac with carpet shampoo does an amazing job. Wet a small area at a time and suck it dry with the hose end. Don't bother with the tools. Work grid-wise until the whole panel is done. The big snag is the headlining. Spray it with a hand sprayer and suck it dry but it may well always look patchy.


We had been out late, and cat went in with us. Went upstairs, cat emptied a cat full of wee on the bed. WTF - he had been outside for hours!!!


Bed was immediately stripped but it had already gone onto the (nearly new) mattress. I rushed down for the wet vac and sucked it out then soaked water into the area while sucking it out with the vac.

Upshot was a vacuum that had to be chucked out because I could never shift the stink of cat wee, but the expensive mattress was saved. The cat went back to Mrs family farm.

 

[levemircento]

just going back to this for those that replied and to close the topic

at the time, the car was scrubbed well, and aired out in the dry weather we had when we got the car before it was put on the road

I would say that sorted 95% of the smoke smell

I bought a small ozone generator and we put it in over night a couple of weeks ago, the smoke smell has now gone. as its my other halfs car its not often I go in it, so when I did before I could smell the smoke, but now, its gone completely.

for what I spent, it was worth every penny.

so for that reason, I recommend one for any car that has a smoke odour.