How to prevent attack in smoky rental car?

[drjlm]

Hi folks,

I picked up a rental car for a short staycation at a hotel a few hours' away.

The first car they produced had that horrible stale smoke masked by cigarette smell odor. They brought a second which smelled almost as bad, but as they were about to close and they staff looked like they wanted to kill me I caved.

For the entire drive over here I felt like I was going to have an asthma attack.

This is a pretty remote place (although thankfully there is a hospital) but there's no public transport back home.

The car rental company is completely unsympathetic so it looks like I will need to drive this thing home in two days.

Is there anything I can do to prevent an attack? I was thinking of looking for a breathing mask or taking ventolin before I begin driving?

[hilary39]

Can you air out the car for a few hours before then, drive with the windows down, and wear a mask? I totally get you on this! I have the same issue with rental cars / zip cars and pet hair. People let their pets out and their fur gets everywhere and a quick vacuum (if they do it at all) doesn't pick it all up.

It's hard to control so many variables when you are using things shared by many members of the public! E.g. hotel rooms, rental cars, trains, planes, buses etc.

Good luck!