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KnowNuthin's avatar
KnowNuthin
Explorer
May 03, 2021

Removing cigarette/cigar smoke residue, ozone machine?

We use our FW as a guest house from time to time... our last guests were smokers —one tobacco cigarette user, one “Black” clove cigarette user (I’m not fond of either).

While they respected or wishes to not smoke in our trailer, they sat in their car just outside... unfortunately leaving both the car and trailer doors open and the Fantastic Fan running...

We have washed all the bedding and throw rugs and still have an unpleasant odor throughout the trailer...

Has anyone tried an ozone machine to remove the embedded smoke molecules from unreachable nooks and crannies?

Anyone have experience with other products that work on smoke in particular...

14 Replies

  • Ozone works. Years ago had an apartment that needed special cleaning. At the end the insurance company set an ozone machine to rid the final odors. Ran a few days maybe a week. All was good after.
  • I used an ozone machine to get some mouse odors out of a popup camper one time. I ran the machine for 2 days after scrubbing everything down with soapy water. The combination of scrubbing and the ozone machine really surprised me. All of the mouse stink was gone. And mouse stink is much worse than cigarettes.
  • As far as ozone machine, you have to know what you're doing a little.

    You never want the machine *in* the area you're ozoning. The intake always needs fresh air to pull in. I usually open a window, wedge the machine in, and use cardboard to close off the rest of the area.

    You want the ozone running for a while (half a day), and then let it sit for a day at least before running it again. The material you're ozoning matters a lot. Thick cloth material/chairs will take much longer than concrete/wood/less porous surfaces.

    The issue would be air movement inside the rig. How is the ozone going to circulate everywhere? Put a small fan to blow the ozone around. Make sure you're getting the ozone everywhere you can.

    In my car I did 4 hours ozone, let sit 12 or so, ozone again.

    After you're finished, depending on how many cloth surfaces you have, it could take a very long time for the ozone smell to completely dissipate, which isn't a huge deal generally.
  • A few years back I found my dream Jeep. The problem was the owner was a smoker, didn't notice it at first but as it warmed up it was very noticeable. The dealership promised they could remove it, so much they would refund my purchase if I wasn't satisfied - I figured I had nothing to lose. I could have left it with them or do it at home using Auto Shocker Quick Release To be honest I was less then thrilled and figured I'd be taking the Jeep back. But I followed the directions, in fact let it sit for a couple of days instead of the 24 hours. Then vented it Sunday night. Monday morning, I couldn't smell any smoke. That afternoon, when temps were in the 80s, I took it for a drive and nothing. I was honestly shocked that it worked, but very happy about it it. For the price it might be worth a try, you an find it cheaper on Amazon too.