Expert: Bob - 2/12/2011

Question
I live in BC Canada in the lower mainland just outside vancouver and we get very wet weather this time of year as it is right now in fact. I have a friend at work who has a small detailing business and he offered to do my older pathfinder but it is in an underground parking lot and not really available to an indoor heated garage situation. that is for drying out I mean say over night after he gets finished doing the cleaning process for the interior. is there any other way to approach cleaning the inside of a car interior other than steam cleaning or using water and cleaing solutions that need drying out? is there some way I could speed up the drying process or find another way to dry out the interior other than to wait for sunny warm weather?

Answer
HI,

The first thing I would question is "Why is he using that much liquid that you have to be concerned with a drying period?" Unless the interior is extremely dirty and needs a large amount of liquid to clean., the proper procedure to clean it should not leave it that wet. The warm air from the heater should dry it in minutes. My concern if using that much liquid would be it not drying properly and promoting mold or mildew growth. If this happens you might as well buy a new interior.

The other question is about your friend. I have to assume that this is a part time job for him. If so, how long has  he been doing the detailing and does he have the experience or knowledge to under take this cleaning. Don't be fooled by someone just saying they detail cars. It usually means they don't have any idea what a professional detailing really entails.