We parked our car next to a campfire on a camping trip and left the windows open, so now we have smoke odor with us all
time. What do you suggest to get rid of it?
A:
Wipe every interior surface with the appropriate cleaning product: leather cleaner if you have leather seats, rug cleaner on the floors, fabric cleaner for fabric seats and so on. Clean the inside of the windows with glass cleaner. Do everything on the same day.
Then put several containers of baking soda or vinegar in the car, roll up the windows, leave it overnight and cross your fingers that the smell will be gone by morning.
I’m betting this will work, though you may have to repeat the sequence one more time. If it doesn’t quite do the trick and you’re willing to shell out some extra bucks, look up “disaster recovery” in the Yellow Pages. They’re the folks who arrive after your house floods or catches fire. They usually have plenty of tricks for getting rid of smoke smell, including some very impressive ozone machines.
Reader help:
I recently responded to a reader who asked me to identify a peppy-looking little car with a hatchback that comes in a bright teal-like color. She’d seen it pass by but couldn’t detect the make, and wants to buy several because that’s the color of the branding logo of a company she’s launching. With this car, she wouldn’t have to pay for a custom paint job.
I told her I thought it was probably a Toyota Yaris.
It may have been, but a helpful reader emailed and said it might have been a Mazda2 instead. The Mazda2 also comes in a similar teal tone. He was kind enough to include photos of the car in that color. Maybe he’s a Mazda salesman. Or maybe he’s just a guy who keeps up with new-car colors. Either way, he had information and I’m grateful for his help!
I also heard from two Toyota dealers who said they’d like to work with the woman to give her a fleet rate. Unfortunately, she lives across the country from both. But she said it was great encouragement to press even harder for a multiple-vehicle deal.
© CTW Features
Email questions to [email protected].