Does your car or the car you just scheduled to detail have the potential to make you sick? This is a question I imagine not many have you have ever thought of and to be honest in my 30 years of detailing I never did either. We put more thought into making paint shiny or getting that stain out of the seat or carpet than we do protecting our self from getting sick in the process.` That is until I received a new product called Odor Aid from Chris West the creator of Solution Finish and started researching whether a product like this is really needed. It didn’t take much surfing to find out that the inside of your car or the car your about to detail is a breeding ground for germs and in a lot of cases more germs infested than a public toilet seat.` And then one of the detailers from the Face Book group I belong to Detailer Buddies got sick this summer from a dirty interior he detailed and spend several days in the hospital and the question was answered. Yes its needed.
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So all gloved up and armed with your favorite APC and micro fiber towel you jump in and start on your transformation to turn the interior to a like new condition but what you may not think about is who was in the car before you: Were they clean? Were they sick? And could that make you sick?
One of the reports I read was by Jeff Rosen of Today News. In his report they tested six rental vehicles and in some of them they found visible filth, including mystery stains as well as a hairball.` They hired scientists from a certified laboratory. Armed with gloves and goggles, they swabbed every car from top to bottom: the steering wheels, gearshifts, door handles, even the GPS units. One of the minivans they tested showed dangerous bacteria, including something called human bacteroides all over the steering wheel. Translation: Human fecal matter. A rental car seat they tested tested positive for sewage contamination. While this report is about rental cars the car your detailing is essentially that, your rental car for the day that you’re going to clean and potentially be exposed to all these same germs.
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Another report was by Health 24 website in their report they state the average vehicle has approximately 283 different types of bacteria in every square centimetre, according to a study from the Aston University in Birmingham. The study was led by Anthony Hilton, the university’s director of Biology and Biomedical Science. The gear stick was said to be home to approximately 356 different germs, while your trunk, where you normally place all your groceries, contains about 850 bacteria.
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And another study conducted by by Charles Garba and Sheril Maxwell, found that married people have more bacteria in their cars than single people. The same study found that females have more bacteria in their cars than males and cars that transport children on a regular basis had more bacteria than cars that did not carry children.
The car is consistently dirtier than the home, having 1700 times more bacteria, according to a study done by GAP Enviromicrobial Services. The cup holder in a car has 228% more bacteria than the average toilet seat according to Jessica Shaw, an environmental scientist who took part in the study.
Personally I have no idea if the APC’s I use as my go to cleaners for interiors is killing all the germs or not so I have changed my approach to cleaning interiors and maintaining my own cars. I now use Odor Aid on my personal cars and any interiors I now do.` My method for doing a detail car is the same as I did on the minivan we rented this summer. Real simple, put on some gloves and coat every surface, if I can reach it, it gets sprayed. I did the van in the rental lot before I ever got in to drive it.
The Odor Aid name gives the impression that it is going to be some type of air freshener type spray. In actuality it has a very light clean fresh smell to it that doesn’t last very long at all after the product has fully dried.` The directions say to spray directly onto any hard surface and wipe off.` The spray head provides a very fine atomized mist and there is no residue or change in appearance of the surface it was applied to.
Odor Aid is clinically proven to eliminate the following:
Bacteria:`
• Staph
• Strep
• MRSA
• VISA • Influenza type A / Brazil
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Viruses:
• Norwalk
• Respiratory Syncytial` Virus (RSV)
• Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1&2
• Human coronavirus
• SARS associate coronavirus``
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ODOR-AID is also a mildewstat and will effectively inhibit the growth of mold and mildew and the odors caused by them when applied to hard surfaces. With its non-aerosol bottle and 360 degree sprayer ODOR-AID effectively targets even the most hard to reach places to thoroughly disinfect and deodorize.
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For more information or ordering contact Chris West at Solution Finish.
