MOTORONE has extended its reach in the vehicle care and protection market with the launch of 23 Mercedes-Benz vans fitted out for on-the-spot car detailing and sanitising in response to demands from managers of fleets and from car retailers needing to bring their stock up to safe levels cleanliness for both staff and customers.

The detailing and cleaning service offers three levels ranging from 50 minutes up to two hours and costs between $160 and $255.

There is also a special quick-sanitisation rate based on a $65 call-out fee and $95 an hour for multiple cars with an expectation of four to five cars in an hour.

The initial focus of the service has been to sanitise cars during the pandemic, but the intention is for the service to continue on as a detailing operation for individuals, dealers and fleets.

The vans are fitted out with a compressor, power generator, water tank, steam cleaner, spray washes, vacuum cleaner and various sanitising fluids including MotorOne’s Germinator interior sanitisation ‘bomb’.

The units are completely self-contained using the on-board generator to produce steam, as well as to drive both compressed-air cleaning and vacuuming. The compressed air is used to clean out hard-to-reach crevasses in-between and under seats.

The CEO of MotorOne Greg Lewis told GoAutoNews Premium that MotorOne had accelerated the launch of the service because the company had received “massive enquiry about how MotorOne can help plus people wanting to understand the various levels of vehicle sanitisation that are available. This all stems from the AutoKlene part of our business”.

He said that the vans will operate mostly on the eastern seaboard and can service vehicles varying from fleets or mini fleets; from one vehicle, up to dozens of vehicles.

“So, if I’m a fleet manager and I have obligations to my staff to provide a safe workplace they can get their people to bring their company cars in and we can sanitise them all. The vans are totally self-contained, they don’t need any external power and they have their own water tanks.

“The steam is created from a generator in the vehicle, so it’s independent of land power. We can do it remotely; in car parks or virtually anywhere the customers chooses.

“We’ve had a number of enquiries from rideshare/short term rental companies where people rent out their cars to other people when they’re not using them.

“Another example is sanitising cars from nurses when they change shifts, ambulances when they change shifts and from other industries where different drivers are in a car over a shift.

“We’re also getting enquiry from end-of-lease, where we come in and do a full sanitary clean before it moves on, as well as enquiries where people have purchased a vehicle and want us to come in and do a full sanitation detail so the person buying the car knows that it’s been comprehensively and professionally done.

“Part of our process is a leave-behind checklist showing what we’ve done including the actual certified disinfectant we’re using, so they’ll have confidence that the vehicle has been treated and will be safe,” Mr. Lewis said.

The steam at 160C is applied on the interior to the carpets, seats, door trims, headliners, ignition, steering wheel, vents and the door handles and on the outside, to all the touch points including, door handles, bonnet-and-boot. It’s the combination of the sanitiser and the steam that kills the virus.

Mr. Lewis said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted an area of hygiene which car owners should have always been aware of but had never taken the extra step to address.

“The air conditioning and the steering wheel of a car are massive bacterial and germ hazards. People sneeze, they cough they sweat into the seats and all this is contained in what is after all, a sealed vessel. If people use recycling all the time they are just continuing to breath these germs in. They don’t even get any fresh air.

“If I was buying a new vehicle I would be doing a full clean and sanitisation including the condenser of the air conditioning and deploying the Germinator bomb,” Mr. Lewis said.

The three levels of cleaning include:

Interior ‘General’ Clean and Sanitisation 50-60 min

• Interior general vacuum
• Interior general clean
• Apply sanitiser then steam and wipe all interior plastics with disinfectant incl. vinyl
• door handles, leather seats and other hard internal surfaces.
• Steam all touchpoints in the vehicle.
• Steam and extract all fabric seats and carpets.
• Netbiokem disinfectant cleaner is used on all interior surfaces and exterior touchpoints
• Includes additional interior sanitising using a Germinator Sanitisation bomb.

Interior ‘Deep Clean’ Detail 1.25 – 1.50 hrs.

• Interior Detailed Vacuum (carpets, floor mats, boot, under the seats)
• Interior Detailed Clean
• Steam Clean interior plastics/vinyl
• Vacuum and clean leather seats
• Steam and extract carpets and fabric seats.
• Clean and Condition Leather Seats

Interior Deep Clean Detail + Sanitisation 1.50-2.00hrs

• Interior Detailed Vacuum (carpets, floor mats, boot, under the seats)
• Interior Detailed Clean
• Netbiokem disinfectant cleaner used on all interior surfaces and exterior
• touchpoints.
• Sanitise/Steam and wipe all interior plastics with disinfectant, vinyl door handles,
• leather seats and any other hard internal surfaces.
• Sanitise and Steam all external touchpoints on the vehicle.
• Steam and extract all fabric seats and carpets.
• Clean/Condition Leather Seats
• Germinator Sanitisation bomb.

By John Mellor