Audi: How to Remove Smoke Smell from Interior

This article applies to the Audi Q5/Q7, A3, A4 B7, A4 B8, A6 C5, A6 C6.

Whether you are a smoker or not, having the smell of cigarette smoke trapped within the interior of your Audi is not ideal as a car owner. In fact, the longer a foul odor lingers in the interior of your vehicle, the more likely it is to seep in. To combat odor, you will need to go to the source. In most cases, this will be your carpets and seats. But other areas trap and hold foul odors and will also need to be cleaned. Keep reading to find out how to get rid of smoke smells from the interior of your Audi.

Step 1 – Shampoo the carpets and headliner

You have a number of options here. You can either pay a professional detail team to shampoo the interior of your Audi, including your carpets and headliner, or you can scrub these areas yourself using a high quality spray-on carpet shampoo. Portable automotive carpet cleaner machines are also available online for approximately $100 and can assist you in removing hard-to-clean stains and deep carpet burns.

Step 2 – Clean and condition the leather

Using a high quality leather cleaner, give your leather seats a deep cleaning, paying attention to the lower seat cushion, which is always dirtiest and exposed to the most odors due to immediate contact with clothes and skin. For deep-seated odors, we recommend using a terry cloth over a standard microfiber cloth. Apply pressure as you scrub, keeping with an even circular motion as you go.

Once you are done cleaning your leather, it's time to condition them using a dedicated leather conditioner. Apply as directed by the manufacturer of the product, and remember to wipe away any residual product before finishing up.

Step 3 – Clean the vinyl surfaces

While you might be temped to skip this step, thinking it's not important, don't. Once again, go ahead and use a terry cloth for this step. It's best to apply the vinyl cleaner of your choice directly to the terry cloth you will be using.

Step 4 – Add fragrance

When it comes to adding fragrance to a vehicle, there are a number of ways you could go. You could spray Febreeze into the interior cabin, even wiping down your vinyl with the product sprayed onto a microfiber cloth, leave a bowl of orange peels in the car overnight (with the vents open and the windows and doors closed), or simply plug in a car freshener product to one or more of your vents. For deeply trapped odors, a standard car tree air freshener might not suffice.

Related Discussions and Video

• Cigarette Odor Removal - Audiworld.com
• DIY Smoke Removal Tips - Audiworld.com
• Odor Remover Machine - YouTube.com