One of the saddest sights a professional auto detailer can witness is the results of hapless car owners in their failed attempt to clean food spills, pet stains or vomit from the interior of their treasured mode of transportation. They spray, they rub, they scrub, and all they accomplish is to force the fluids — and accompanying odors — deeper into the upholstery and carpet.

Like a visiting distant relative, you just can’t get rid of it!

That’s because merely mopping up the odor source does little to make the odor go away. By the time the customer has done his or her best to clean up, the bacteria causing the odor has reproduced and has worked its way into all of the porous interior components. These include the headliner, seating surfaces, dashboard and even the ductwork.

And you can’t really blame these folks for trying. It’s just that they don’t know any better. They aren’t the professionals. Just like you don’t know how to sell insurance, run a restaurant, or whatever else it is that your customers do for a living. The point is, as a professionally trained auto detailer, you should always be the go-to guy (or gal) when it comes to odors in an automobile.

But if your mobile or fixed-location detailing business has an ozone machine or two, you’re in like Flynn when it comes to providing a solution to this odorous malady. Ozone has been found to be the second most effective way to permanently eliminate odors caused by mold, mildew, smoke, body odor and pet odors. (Chlorine is the No. 1 solution, but we’ll get to that later on in this post.)

Ozone absolutely resolves nasal nuisances brought about by spills, including milk, vomit, urine, feces, body odor and other foul substances containing bacteria molecules that causes odor in the first place. We here at Detail King have been touting the benefits of ozone machines to our auto detailing professionals for well over a decade. And while these machines work wonders, the source of foul odors must be dealt with first. This involves cleaning the affected area with an enzyme-based product that destroys the bacteria causing the odor. Odor-causing bacteria reproduces like rabbits, and in just a few days after a foul spill, a car’s interior is on its way to smelling like the city dump.

What we offer is a product called Bio- Zyme which, when used in conjunction with a heated carpet extractor, can clean up the affected area. But you can count on a lingering residual odor even after a good scrubbing and cleaning, and that’s where the ozone generator comes in.

A professional-grade ozone generator will suck up those nasty molecules, breaking them down into ozone particles, which destroys the odor and then converts them back into oxygen again, odor free! Depending on the severity of the odor, this process can take one to several hours to complete.

Of course the best news for auto detailing professionals is the absolute absence of manual labor required to use an ozone generators. Just put the generator in the vehicle, close up the doors and windows, and turn on the switch. You come back in a few hours and you’ve eliminated the odors. And you can easily charge upwards of $50 or more just to turn on the machine and walk away. Your customers certainly won’t mind paying for a pleasant-smelling auto interior, that’s for certain.

Our professionally trained detailers tell us that their ozone generators are kept very busy immediately following proms, college commencements and holidays, due to the increased likelihood of celebrants throwing up in their cars. These magic machines are also in demand by folks who purchase a used car formerly owned by a smoker. And vehicles involved in floods ultimately require an ozone treatment after the interior has been cleaned and disinfected.

Now, back to the No. 1 most effective way to remove odors from an automobile: chlorine. This stuff really works, but the last thing you want to do is spray chlorine on any interior component. What we offer here at Detail King is a product called Auto Shocker that utilizes the technology of chlorine to remove serious odors.

• The Auto Shocker package from Detail King includes a packet that is placed in a provided plastic cup.
• Just add a little water and a chemical reaction takes place, enveloping the entire (closed) interior with a chlorine-like vapor.

The cost of each Auto Shocker package is around $35 and it’s only good for one application. This is too costly for an auto detailer who is serious about procuring odor removal jobs, but perfect for the college kid who just puked all over his best friend’s upholstery.

Detail King’s ozone generators are priced from under $400 for a basic, yet effective machine. If you get the one with all the bells and whistles that can also remove odors from buildings, it’s going to run you about $1,200.

Odor removal is a big business and a niche that can easily be cultivated with a small investment and some creative marketing. And with the bigger beasts, you might even expand your business to include apartment complexes, hotels and other facilities where odor is an occasional problem. We’re just sayin’.

Tags: Auto Shocker, Bio-Zyme, Carpet, Ozone, Ozone Generator