This steering wheel is smokin'

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clhyer

clhyer

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Evening folks,
I just received an ebay purchase of a steering wheel for my Duster. The later model with a large center vinyl pad. Anyhow, this thing is in great shape, but was fairly dripping with what I guess is tars from 30+ years of smoking in the car. It smells very bad. We've washed it a couple times now and gotten most of the gunk off, but it still smells terrible. Any suggestions for getting this "clean"?
No offense intended for those smokers on the list, but if your lungs are in the condition of this wheel; make sure your life insurance is up to date!
C
 
Have you tried febreeze? It works pretty good on nasty smells, as I had a neighbors cat trapped in my cars front seat frame for a day or so. Let me say that it smelled not so nice. But I used that spray and the smell is gone, I applied it about 2-3 times. Good luck.
 
Regular old rubbing alcohol will remove a lot of your gunk and get it to an acceptable stench level. That's what I used to clean my cars when I was young and didn't want my mom to know I smoked. You'd be amazed how well a good slug of Jack will clean out your lungs. Why do you think smokers spend so much time in bars?:drinkers:
 
You might try putting it in a box with a bunch of crumpled up newspapers. I've read that they're good for removing odors from refrigerators that have had food spoil in them.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. The crumpled up newspapers was interesting. It came packed that way and I had to carry the box and newspapers out to the trashcan at arm's length! We'll be trying some of these over the next few days.
C
 
wash it in a baking soda paste and let the paste dry ,then wipe down the bakingsoda and the soda will have pulled any odor out of it. Thisa also works good for beer in the floorboard . Shampoo with baking soda let dry and vacumn
 
There's some stuff out there called "Odors Away" that will kill just about any smell...even fish.

Ace Hdwe usually has it. I'm sure others do as well.
 
Your local pet store will have lots of different products to remove pet urine stains and odors. I've used a product called Get Serious! with good success. If this can remove the smell of dog piss, it should be able to handle tobacco smell.
 
Thanks again for all the suggestions. What we have done so far:
- Washed it down with simple green to get the crud off it
- washed it twice with baking soda paste, leaving it on for several hours each time
- It is now in a sealed bag with used coffee grounds (another home remedy we learned about some time back)

It is getting better! We will do the coffee ground routine probably for a few weeks, right now time is not a concern. We'll get into more of the store bought stuff later if we need to...
C
 
"Westleys Bleach White" whitewall cleaner will absolutely clean the worst stinking and stained vinyl uphoulstry, door panels, steering wheels not to also mention whitewall tires. You will want to apply a silicone spray after to bring back the shine. I have cleaned the ultimate smoked in car and just watched the YELLOW nicotine stains just drip off of all of the interior vinyl. You must rinse with sponged water many times.
 
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