My OCD Almost Killed Me!

Ok, a bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but this experiment in cleaning/disinfecting left me with watery eyes and a cough that lasted a few hours...

If you recall back in August after I first took delivery of the car, one aspect I thought was odd was the interior smell.  Kabe-san at Rapt assured me that the smell was consistent with the Lexus IS smell, but I just wasn't sure...

So I began to research - I didn't want some perfume-laced gel or thing-that-hangs-down-from the rearview mirror that covers up smells. I wanted something that would attack the source of the smell, and eliminate it. Leaving only the actual smell of the plastic, wool and leather in the car.

I also realized that the smell that was bothering me was not from the seats, the leather or plastic - it emanated only on start-up when the A/C had not yet kicked in fully. Thus, I suspected something in the A/C system was the origin of the smell.

Without disassembling the A/C system, the only way is to use a device which uses chemicals in a gaseous form that recirculates in the system.  I soon found this - it was cheap enough (few hundred yen), so I went out and got this:

It got pretty good reviews on the Japanese car blog site Minkara...

Basically, you mix water and a chemical which causes a chemical reaction that releases a gaseous disinfectant.  I couldn't find many versions for cars - although this aerosol concept is well known in Japan for getting rid of mold and insects.  There also are lots of products available here in Japan for tablets you place in the car (that absorb smells) and sprays that you spray into the A/C vents (but this doesn't reach far enough I think), but I wanted something extremely thorough - hence this aerosol product seemed to be the answer.

I bought this version because of the claim of "odor-less" and because the manufacturer Earth Chemical is a well known consumer products company known for their anti-pest (insects, rodents, etc.) products and household cleaning products.

I was a bit hesitant to use it - until this past Sunday, when I took my car into the Lexus dealer for its "12 month checkup" (post coming soon) and Ishikawa-san, the chief service tech himself said that he too sensed something was slightly off in the A/C system when he went for a test drive - however he felt it was within what would be found in a used car.  But it inspired me to go home and throw caution to the wind and try this product.  Even though it was evening and it was getting dark (hence my photos aren't the best).

Anyway the instructions are clear - open it up:

It even comes with pre-measured water so you can do the disinfecting anywhere!

Remove the cartridge from the silver and green aluminum wrapper, place into cup, then pour water over the cartridge.

And then yes wait for the smoke to begin emanating - it got really thick shortly after this

The car should be set up to recirculate on AC mode, and full blast. As the smoke thickens, keep the engine running, windows up, and the smoke should circulate throughout the car nicely. I unfortunately sat there like a stooge after setting the product on the passenger floor mat as indicated in the directions... and then had to stumble out of the car when my eyes began to water and I began to cough...

After 10 minutes, I followed the directions to the letter and shut off the car and open all the windows to air out. Sounds simple, except...

When all was said and done, the car smelled like insect repellant!!! Not fair, I thought this was supposed to be "odor-less" but when I think about it, makes sense as insect/pest repellant is what Earth Chemicals specializes in...so I decided to drive around for awhile with all the windows (and moonroof) open, in the hope that the smell would dissipate.

Unfortunately, this did not immediately remove the smell, apparently the chemicals really get into the A/C system...

In any case, I was resigned to waiting for the smell to gradually, and hopefully, naturally fade.  However due to having to leave the car at a work site, I ended up leaving the car outside, in the sun, for a few days.  And, guess what... the smell went away! Success?

Maybe - the old weird smell is gone, yes - but it's been replaced with another weird smell, hard to describe. I may have to repeat this experiment, will do so after I take my car in for a full detail (soon).