perts are often called upon to rid cars of a
variety of different odors, including those
from food and beverage spills, cigarette
and cigar smoke, and animal “accidents.”
There are different ways to tackle odor
problems, and which products to select
and how to proceed require some understanding of odors and what causes them.
For our discussion here, we will focus on
two different types of odors:
• Cigarette and cigar odors can be very
difficult to eliminate because they are
so pervasive. The smoke travels almost
everywhere in the vehicle and can
permeate the car’s carpets, upholstery,
headliner, and just about every nook
and cranny.
• Putrefied odors usually refer to odors
emanating from decomposing animal
proteins. This can includes foods,
beverages, and a host of other liquid
and dry items that can decompose over
time. If sufficient oxygen and moisture
are present as the substance decomposes, bacteria can develop and cause odors.
A November 2009 study released by
Northwestern University Kellogg School
of Management determined that “scents
play an active role in [stimulating] positive
or negative experiences.” The researchers
found that when participants were placed
in pleasantly smelling rooms or rooms that
had no odor whatsoever, they were trusting, fair, charitable, and pleasant to their
partners in the experiment. However, just
the opposite occurred, in varying degrees,
when malodors were present.
Applying this research to automobile
drivers, malodors in a car may play a part in
a driver taking greater, potentially dangerous risks while driving; being less patient
with other drivers, becoming bothered more
easily, and having less focus. So although
malodors may not cause road rage, studies
show they can be a contributing factor.
As the survey pointed out, odors can
have a real impact on people. In addition
to the emotions they can evoke, smells can
also cause physical effects, including nausea, throat and nose irritation, and a host
of other health-related problems. For these
reasons, it is very important to remove
odors from cars.
Eradicating odors from cars
Professional detailers and car care ex-
Simple odor eradication
There are many different ways to eradicate
odors from the inside of a vehicle. The fol-
lowing terms are used to identify these dif-
ferent procedures and the different types
of products used to treat relatively simple
odor problems:
• Maskers: As the name implies, these
products mask odors. They are fra-
grances or deodorants that overwhelm
the malodor. They can be used as the
final step in the odor eradication pro-
cess or as a temporary measure.
