TidySemi recently detailed a smoker’s personal vehicle. Our extensive steam cleaning of the interior resulted in a complete removal of odors, especially odors from tobacco use. The customer was very satisfied, and as a result, even let us know that he no longer smoked in the vehicle as a result of our mobile detailing service.
Detailing Process
We arrived on-site and throughly documented and reviewed the existing stains, dirt and any damage present on the exterior and interior of the Chevy SUV. The customer did not want to perform any exterior detailing or washing and wanted our team to strictly focus on cleaning out the inside of the vehicle.
We started out with vacuuming the entire vehicle and removing all the floor mats. The vacuuming included any and all crevices, underneath the seats and anywhere else that dirt or trash may be present.
We lightly cleaned all the interior glass as well as the dashboard and common areas as we knew that we were going to be performing extensive steam cleaning on the inside which would fog up the windows and different parts of the vehicle.
Steam Cleaning
Steam Cleaning, is the ultimate cleaning tool when it comes to interior detailing. The steam will pull up oil and dirt and instantly kill bacteria in the process without using extensive chemicals. When detailing a vehicle that somebody may be or has smoked in, we generally recommend a thorough steam cleaning to address the stains and odors.
We started out the steam cleaning process in the trunk of the vehicle. Some areas of the trunk required a little bit of additional work and where an unknown liquid spilled out at some point did require a little bit of additional work and chemicals, but both our team and the customer were happy to see that all the stains had been removed and the trunk was back to its’ original condition.
Our team then moved to the back seats of the vehicle, performing steam cleaning on the rear seats, the rear carpets, the rear of the front seats and the center console. During this process, we had to address several stains located on the carpets and cloth seats but were ultimately able to remove them all.
Interior Detailing Continued
After steaming and cleaning the entire rear area and wiping down any excess water, we moved to the front of the vehicle.
Perfection is a must before we consider a vehicle detailed. As such, we steamed the front seats of the vehicle, putting extra work into the driver’s seat to address all the readily apparent stains. After steaming the front seats, we steamed the headliner above the driver’s seat to address any and all stains and odors associated with cigarette smoke. This would help us ensure that the car would no longer present a cigarette odor once it was returned to the customer. We also deployed some fragrances in the trunk, rear and front seat carpet areas to address any lingering odors that may have remained once our steam cleaning was complete. This service is refered to as ‘Interior odor eliminator application’ which we included for free for this customer to ensure they were satisfied with the results.
Upon completion of all of the steam cleaning, we moved on to wiping down the interior glass, all the upholstery and the vehicle’s trim as you cannot call a vehicle detailed until this is all done.
The interior glass required extra attention due to the heavy amounts of cigarette smoke that settled. We used separate microfibers and performed several passes through all of the windows on the interior to ensure they were crystal clear. After the windows were clean and fully dried, we applied our anti-fog treatment to ensure the windows would not be fogging up on the inside in the near future.
Trim and UV Protection
We moved on to cleaning out all the vents with a brush and then wiping down the vent plastics with a microfiber towel and applying a UV-protected interior cleaner to the vents.
After wiping down all of the upholstery and trim, we also applied UV protection to the dashboard and other interior elements that may be exposed to the sun in a regular course of operating the vehicle. UV protection helps ensure that interior plastics and trim do not fade or experience damage as a result of being exposed to the sun. It is just one of the many things included in our Premium Interior Detailing.
While all of the interior trim cleaning was ongoing, another technician was cleaning and scrubbing the rubber floor mats then hosing off and wiping off all the excess water to prevent any blemishes.
Conclusion
We strive to perform vehicle detailing with a focus on details. We want our customers to be proud of the state of their vehicles. This is why we go above and beyond when it comes to performing mobile vehicle detailing services and never skip or leave our job unfinished only to save on time or money. We know that efforts count, and it will keep our customers coming back while building a relationship founded on hard work and trust.
If you’re looking to perform detailing on your own car, we recommend that you employ some of the techniques we mentioned in this blog post, including steam cleaning. Don’t be afraid to do a couple of extra passes with the steam cleaner or with the microfiber towel to get rid of any and all stains and dirt.
If you’d like to put your vehicle in the hands of our team, we’ll be happy to help you! You can schedule an appointment with us today by CLICKING HERE.