Published

Getting Rid of That Used-Car Stench

After a vehicle's fresh new car smell wears off there are a multitude of less desirable scents that can permeate the interior, becoming trapped in carpet fibers and other fabrics, or in tight spaces and air vents.
#interior

Share

After a vehicle's fresh new car smell wears off there are a multitude of less desirable scents that can permeate the interior, becoming trapped in carpet fibers and other fabrics, or in tight spaces and air vents. This can make even the shortest drive unbearable or a used car unsellable.

Enter The Odor Doctors. The nine-year-old, Houston-based company says it can eliminate any smell no matter how strong derived from any source.

Among the most common odor offenders are cigarette/cigar smoke, perspiration, gasoline, flood/leak damage, food and beverage spills, vomit, pet urine, skunk spray and roadkill stuck in a car's undercarriage. Odors also can come from chemicals or a variety of bacteria mold and growth.

The first step is to identify the location of the smell and what caused it, according to Odor Doctors. Once this is accomplished and the interior is thoroughly scoured with a cleansing spay, a corresponding microbial foam can be used to target specific odors.

A 150-lb psi compressor is used to apply a deodorizer followed by the sanitizing solution. The complete process, including drying, takes about an hour and costs $150.

Founded by former car dealer Frank Simmons, Odor Doctors works with 25 independent contractors that service some 500 dealerships in 25 cities around the country, mostly in the southeast and Texas. Simmons tells Automotive News that he plans to expand to another 125 cities within five years.

RELATED CONTENT

  • GM Seeks to Avert U.S. Plant Shutdowns Linked to Supplier Bankruptcy

    General Motors Co. says it hopes to claim equipment and inventory from a bankrupt interior trim supplier to avoid being forced to idle all 19 of its U.S. assembly plants.

  • 2017 Buick LaCrosse Premium AWD

    The Buick design team deserves the strongest of accolades for their work at transforming the appearance of the brand from one of, well something akin to “the last ride” to one of contemporary stylishness befitting of a the cohort of automotive customers who didn’t cast their first presidential ballot in 1968 or earlier.

  • Honda Re-Imagines and Re-Engineers the Ridgeline

    When Honda announced the first-generation Ridgeline in 2005, it opened the press release describing the vehicle: “The Honda Ridgeline re-defines what a truck can be with its true half-ton bed payload capability, an interior similar to a full-size truck and the exterior length of a compact truck.” And all that said, people simply couldn’t get over the way there is a diagonal piece, a sail-shaped buttress, between the cab and the box.

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions