Heavy Spills

by Prentice St. Clair

A customer asked if I could help her out with an odor in her car. She indicated that a week earlier, she discovered that a gallon container of drinking water that she was carrying around had leaked on the carpeting of the rear foot well, and that, since then, an odor had developed. I said “no problem” and booked an appointment.

I find these types of special jobs to be mentally stimulating in that its not just another detail but more of a puzzle that requires solving. Since I have dealt with flood cars before, I know that it is nonetheless a relatively straightforward task to clear up the problem. Typically it involves pulling up the carpeting, completely drying out the area, and replacing the jute or padding under the carpeting.

I started the process. First, I asked her to explain, as thoroughly as possible, exactly what happened. She opened the left rear door and pointed to where the water container had been—in the foot well of the left rear passenger area. She also indicated that she had felt dampness on the carpeting in the driver’s foot well and she suspected that the water had crept into that area as well. I could feel dampness in both areas and there definitely was a musty odor about the car.

The next step was to investigate the extensiveness of the spill by lifting up the carpeting. I recommend wearing disposable gloves whenever dealing with interior spills. You might also want to wear a dust mask to avoid breathing in any mold spores that might have developed, not to mention the smell!

In order to pull up the carpeting in the left rear passenger foot well of this Toyota Matrix, it was necessary to remove the back seat bottom, pull off the plastic kick plate at the bottom of the door jamb, undo the lower anchor of the seat belt, and pull off the plastic cover of the “B” pillar.

Once free, I pulled back the carpet pad far enough to look under. The padding underneath the carpet was soaked and the bare floor boards were damp as well. Fortunately, the transmission hump acted as a dam, keeping the water from migrating over to the passenger side of the floor. But I realized it was a fair bet that the jute under the driver’s side carpeting was also soaked, so I knew at this point that I would have to lift up the carpeting in that area as well.

In order to do so, it was necessary to remove the driver’s seat. I checked for the presence of airbags built into the driver’s seat and found none.

It is important to note here that whenever you are removing front seats, check to see if they have built-in air bags. These are covered with plastic or upholstered panels and marked with the letters “SRS,” which stand for “Secondary Restraint System.” The electrical wiring that services this device probably runs under the seat through a quick disconnect harness.

In most vehicles, if you disconnect the airbag, even if you are simply unplugging and re-plugging the wiring harness, a sensor light will illuminate in the instrument cluster of the dashboard as if a malfunction in the airbag had occurred. The sensor can be reset by a certified technician using equipment typically found at the dealership service center. Although it is a relatively simple fix, the customer may incur a charge to reset the airbag light. Thus, it is wise to explain this to the customer and seek permission to continue.

More Work Required

Upon lifting up the carpeting, I found a few surprises. First, there were the moldy cashews that were stuck to the bottom of the jute. Funny how I didn’t really even think about how they got there at that moment—I guess I figured that they simply had slipped through the cracks somewhere.

Then there was the worm-covered puddle of cashew “paste” on the floorboard. I guess the worms had made “cashew butter” while eating it. Finally, I noticed that the hollow stanchion onto which the seat belt is anchored was completely stuffed full of cashews. It was obvious that this was not a random spillage event, as there was no way for the cashews to spill or drop down into this area when the carpeting was in place. Instead, I was confident that this was the food cache of a mouse. (The customer later shared that her roommate had admitted to spilling a large bag of cashews that was, apparently, not completely cleaned up!)

Upon discovering all of these lovely surprises, I asked the customer to take a look at the situation with me. I explained that the initial estimate for drying and deodorizing the area was going to be significantly increased (almost double) due to the biohazard nature of the new problems. She was completely in agreement and quite appreciative that I was there to take care of the problem. In fact, she commented: “I’m SO glad I didn’t just take this over to the local car wash—their express detailers would not have known to even look for these problems!”

The Remediation Process

The first step to correcting this problem is to remove contaminated material. I pulled out all the damp jute and threw it into a plastic garbage bag. I then grabbed a couple of older detailing utility towels, wiped up the cashew paste and the uninvited guests and threw those towels into the same bag. I vacuumed up the remaining cashews, later replacing the vacuum bag upon returning home. I cleaned the floor boards with all-purpose cleaner and utility towels, then sprayed the area liberally with isopropyl alcohol to disinfect and deodorize the area. I let the alcohol air dry over several minutes.

Then, I placed the carpet back down temporarily to clean it with the extractor. I sprayed the carpeting with cleaner, scrubbed with a stiff-bristled brush, and extracted; making sure the extractor water was as hot as possible.  Then, I positioned an air mover in the car to dry the carpeting for about 20 minutes. During this waiting period, I completed a courtesy vacuum of the remainder of the car and cleaned all of the plastic and vinyl parts that were removed for carpet access, including the sides of the seat. Next, I misted the carpeting with odor neutralizer and cleaned it with a dry vapor steamer. The purpose of this step was to sanitize the carpeting with the 240-plus degree steam.

I propped up the carpet pad and set up the air mover so as to make sure the underside of the carpet and floor boards were completely dry. I let the air mover run for about 15 minutes. (In similar situations in which the area was much wetter to begin with, I have let the air mover go for up to an hour.) It is critical to make sure that everything is dry before re-assembling the area to avoid any possibility of mold or odor developing in the days following the completion of the service.

When I was convinced that everything was thoroughly clean and dry, I cut and placed new jute under both foot wells and reset the carpeting. Then, I reassembled the car in the same order that I had taken it apart, making sure to really crank down on the seat belt and seat bolts to make sure they were extra snug.

In an admittedly compulsive move, I set up the air mover on the back seat with the flow facing down onto the carpeting while I put all of the other equipment away.

Customer Satisfaction

I have seen the customer since providing this service and she confirms that the car smells completely normal again. She also reiterated her thankfulness for knowing someone who could really take care of the problem.

One thing this story demonstrates for sure is the need to investigate odor complaints quickly and thoroughly. Start by interviewing the customer to determine the source and extent of the problem. Then poke around the location of the spill to determine the full impact of the spill. Realize that spills of more than an ounce are likely to soak through the carpeting and into the padding. If there is an odor associated with the smell, it is likely that the carpeting will have to be lifted in order to gain access and eliminate the source of the smell.

Moreover, a water spill should not be considered innocuous. It is easy to conclude that a water spill will simply dry up, but as this story showed, the water can create a host of other problems if it is not properly removed and dried.

It is best to deal with odor and spill problems as quickly as possible. Anything but water should be dealt with immediately. Educate your customers on the importance of reacting quickly to spills in order to minimize odor problems. Additionally, it is well known in the mold remediation industry that water spills must be dried within 48 hours to minimize the possibility of mold growth. Many would simply extract the carpeting and use fragrances or odor neutralizers. The immediate result is an improvement or masking of the odor, but, as the above story indicates, the true problem has not been solved and the customer is likely to be quite dissatisfied when the odor returns. Use of the extractor alone might actually intensify the problem by adding more moisture to the area.

Summary

Although this was not one of the most pleasant detailing experiences, I was able to solve a problem for a customer who is now eternally grateful and has already sent more customers my way. Second, I enjoyed the challenge of taking apart the car, cleaning up the mess, and putting it all back together again.

Treat heavy spills (even water) as a “detailing emergency” that should be dealt with as soon as possible. Educate your customers so that they will react as such. Provide a thorough service such as that described herein so as to ensure a positive outcome—no more smell!

Prentice St. Clair is the president of San Diego-based Detail in Progress Inc. which offers consulting and training in the automotive detailing and reconditioning industries. He can be reached directly at 619.701.1100 or by e-mail at prentice@detailinprogress.com.