There are only a few ways to effectively remove weed smell from cars because of the nature of the odors and the vehicle it's in. In this article, we will cover 5 different methods for removing the wed smell from cars.
Some are temporary solutions and a couple of methods fix it forever. However, forever is dependent on it not being smoked in the car again, or stored in the car where the odors will permeate the interior of the car.
First, let's talk about hiding or traveling with cannabis in your car. Unless you have smell proof containers, don't do it unless it's a short ride home, and you're in a legal state and in possession legally.
The smell will absolutely overtake your car if not sealed.
Smoking in your car is worse. You're likely driving and using the AC or heating system, maybe just the fan, but you are circulating weed smoke through your heat and ac ductwork. Spraying air fresheners will not work.
Every fabric, including fabric on seats, carpets, and headliners becomes saturated with weed odors, so you'll need something that can penetrate and eliminate the weed odors.
There are a lot of mediums that smoke sticks to when it comes in contact, and that odor lingers.
Now we're going to cover how to remove weed smell from cars.
1. Ozone Generators
Ozone is known for protecting the earth's atmosphere from many miles about the earth where it hangs out mostly, but it's actually all over the atmosphere. It's just much denser in our upper atmosphere, and for good reason.
Ozone is generated in thunderstorms, which are scientifically proven to clean the air. It's the ozone and massive amount of negative ions in the atmosphere that does the work. I also just gave you a hint about number 2 on our list.
Ozone reacts to organic matter, breaking it down chemically into an inert and odorless particle. Ozone is one of only 3 ways to permanently remove weed odors from your car or any enclosed room or building for that matter.
It's a permanent solution for someone who just bought a car that's saturated with cigarette and weed smoke smells, plus any other organic odors you may want to remove, such as that musty mold and mildew smell that sometimes ends up in a vehicle.
Your local car detailing place can do a couple of ozone shock treatments and solve the issue, or you can buy an ozone generator and do it yourself
2. Ionizers
Ionizers are machines that do produce ozone and negatively charged ions, just like a thunderstorm. The amount of ozone produced is negligible, so no need to evacuate the car, room our house during treatment.
Ionizers are much less powerful in effect when compared to an ozone generator, but with continued use, it will eliminate weed and most other odors. It's just not as quick and thorough as ozone.
3. UV Light Air Filters
UV light kills bacteria and other odor-causing sources just as ozone and ionizers and can be used safely in a home, car, or any enclosed area. Leave them in the car overnight, and after about a week, your problem is solved.
4. Ozium Air Freshener
Ozium is is an air freshener that is glycol-based. One of the active ingredients is propylene glycol, which is on the FDA GRAS list (generally recognized as safe) and has been for a long time. Propylene glycol is used in asthma inhalers and pumped into hospital HVAC systems to kill bacteria and viruses.
The problem is it only kills bacteria and viruses that are airborne. It's more of a masking thing than actually removing odors at the source. It only works on airborne material.
This means it may be effective at eliminating initial smoke smells, but not saturated odors in fabrics, drapes, bedding, clothing, and more.
5. Fresh Air
There is another long term solution, but it takes a while to start seeing results. Drive with your windows down and your AC/heat on and force air throughout the entire car. Fresh air removes odors because they have ions, UV light, and ozone in the atmosphere, just at much lower Parts per million.
These are the basics of how to get rid of the weed smell in a car. Your results will be a direct reflection of the 5 methods you have here, with number 1 being the best and descending from there. Urban Aroma has a great article on how to remove weed smells from cars that go into other options you may consider before making your final decision on what path you take.