A warning about toxic car accessories

[SoleusBB]

I just recently bought a 1m x1m “noodle type” carpet (replica Nomad 3M material) planning to DIY 2 new front mats for my Hilux.

The moment I opened the packaging, I noticed the rubber/chemical smell was very strong. My hands weren’t sweaty, but even just by handling the material, the smell clung to my hands. I soaked it in a large basin with laundry detergent for two days, hung it out to dry, liberally sprinkled it with car shampoo + baking soda and made it foam (tinapakan ko, with rubber slippers on, not bare feet), hung it out to dry again, then washed it a third time with a laundry bareta.

I’ve left it hanging to air out in an open ventilated area for two weeks already, and there’s still a smell, though greatly reduced.

Intrigued, I did a little reading about the PVC material they used in it, and I tell you, aside from lead, cadmium and dioxins, there were numerous other toxic substances in it that even as a medical doctor, I’ve never even heard about.

While some unverified sources say (alam nyo naman ang internet) it may take 4 weeks for the materials to “gas out”, I’m not so sure. I’ll see what happens after 2 months. If I ever use this, it’ll probably be just for outdoor mats at the balcony and entrance way, but I don’t think I’ll ever dare to use this in an enclosed space like a car which gets baked in the sun where I rarely open the windows.

And it’s not just because it’s cheap either. Even high end materials (genuine 3M ) give off this smell, just less pronounced. Andaming accessories (steering wheel cover, mats, dashboard covers, etc) na umaamoy like this, so payo ko lang magingat sa mga binibili nyo. Either don’t buy or don’t hesitate to throw it away if it’s slowly poisoning you.


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While I believe even the plastic/vynil materials they use in your car (new car smell) are probably toxic, bakit mo naman dadagdagan right? Kunsabagay, I’d say it’s probably best to spend the least amount of time inside your car anyways. Wag magbabad sa loob if it can be helped

[sparc179]

I absotively agree with you Doc, so many of the products we use and come into contact with on a daily basis are contaminated with toxic substances. Is it any wonder that we have such high incidences of cancer and other diseases?

Even our food is full of micro-plastics and other chemicals that it's almost impossible to escape untouched be the thousands of harmful chemicals in our immediate environment.

To add to you your specific concern, those car perfumes and air fresheners that are so popular with the young folks. I never did like adding any more aromas inside an enclosed space, now I see even more reasons not to do it.

Which reminds me, we must do some cleansing this weekend. Prune juice and fresh mountain air, here we come.

[chronicle]

The cheap steering wheel cover that can bought at ace.
Malakas din ang amoy.

Scary lalo na hawak mo all the time ang steering wheel. Who knows what chemicals are being absorbed by your hands.

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[oj88]

Washing and airing the rubber mat set I bought for my vehicle was the first thing I did. It took a few days for the smell to dissipate and it was practically gone in a couple of weeks.

[Athrunzala]

That's why a lot of people, when they use their car especially when they left it parked under the sun, they first open the windows, so that the floating chemicals in the air would go outside rather inside your lungs

[yubby24]

Yung mga Shark na rubber matting may ganyang amoy rin ba? Yan sana plano ko ipalit sa free floor mats ko eh.

[StockEngine]

Yung mga Shark na rubber matting may ganyang amoy rin ba? Yan sana plano ko ipalit sa free floor mats ko eh.

most of these chinese sourced accessories have toxins.

[Shutterbug]

Not an accessory but one of the usual or common thing I see is the plastic on the sunvisors that most people dont remove for whatever reason i dont know.

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