For those of you who smoked weed but didn’t inhale there can be an odor problem inside your car. In my home state smoking the bud is legal – but heavens no, I wouldn’t get into that! If you do participate in 4:20 activities this can leave a scent that you might not want to share with your passengers. I will share my tips for getting your car smelling like new again.
Get Weed Smell Out of a Car with an Interior Auto Detail
To begin this job you will generally need to do an interior auto detail. You can check out my full post on interior auto detailing for some in-depth info on this. As an OCD car nut I have an easy method to get weed smell out of a car.
You will need a sponge, towels, all-purpose cleaner (I like to use Simple Green – diluted down as instructed on the bottle), scented dryer sheets, a bottle of Febreeze, and a wet vac. That’s short for a shop vacuum – you can’t use the type you use in the house because moisture will ruin it. The last thing you need to do is electrocute yourself and ruin your vacuum.
Start the Process of Getting the Weed Smell Out
Start the job by giving your car a thorough vacuum. Now mix your Simple Green with some warm water. Since smoke rises you need to start with the headliner. Be careful with this step – you can’t soak a headliner without damaging it. If you get the headliner too wet it will sag down forever. Simply dunk your sponge in the mixture, wring out most of the liquid and lightly sponge down the fabric. Next, take a terry cloth towel and blot the fabric dry. Be gentle.
The next thing to shampoo is the seats. Like the headliner, sponge down the seat – the smell can hide anywhere. Rub the seat with the sponge and go over it with another towel. You can apply some firm pressure here to pull the moisture out of the fabric along with the smell. I’ll talk about that “smell” from your bean burrito in another post.
At this point it is time to shampoo the carpets. Get the sponge good and wet and rub down the floors. If they are really dirty you will need to go over them with a brush and the cleaning solution. Take your wet vac and go over the seats and carpets a second time. This helps remove excess moisture. Never vacuum a headliner because it will damage it.
Kill the Last of the Weed Smell
At this point you have done most of the hard work. The next steps will get the last of the weed smell out of the car. Take a few scented dryer sheets and tuck them way up under the front seats. This really works to freshen up any interior – especially when you are killing the weed.
The last thing you need to do is grab your bottle of Febreeze. This stuff is an odor remover – not just a nice smelling cover up. I like to lightly mist the headliner, the seats and the carpets. You can use a little more on the floor.
These are my professional car nut steps needed to kill that fragrant odor. Or who knows, maybe you like the smell in your car. But if you’re planning on picking up the carpool or the kid’s soccer team you might want to follow my advice. Maybe sucking down the smoke is best done outside the car. Go ahead and light up if that’s your thing. And grab some breath mints and eye drops while you’re at it.