The great Houston Flooding of May 2015 took down my sedan, in my parking garage. Yes, the poor thing still had a couple of inches of deliciously inky and murky rainwater lingering in the backseat carpet and the front and passenger carpet mushily soaked the next morning.
After toiling in vain for a couple of hours, failing to effectively scoop and sop up the entirety of foul-smelling swamp water, it became apparent that my car required professional intervention. I whipped out my trusty Yelp app the next morning, called a handful of nearby car detailing businesses, to no avail. I hesitantly called Car Butler, as it "felt" pricier, but sure enough they were open and able to accept my stinky car. $400 felt steep, but there was a mention of an "ozone machine" as part of the extensive flood cleaning treatment.
I dropped my car off in the morning and the employees reportedly slaved away into the advanced after hours of the late evening and perhaps some of the next day? I picked my car up two mornings later and it smelled, um ripe. The carpet also felt damp to the tough but I didn't think much of it.
About two weeks later, my car still reeked of moldy swampiness, even with the windows left cracked every evening. I went so far as to dump carpet freshener powder and vacuum, which slightly alleviated the mildew aroma situation. I also discovered that Car Butler had trapped one of my backseat seatbelt buckles during reinstallation of the backseat (at least it's evidence they did in fact thoroughly clean it!). These two issues prompted me to call Car Butler and they happily asked me to bring my vehicle back in for a courtesy cleaning. Due to scheduling issues, I wasn't able to actually bring my car in until two weeks after notifying Car Butler about my concerns, at which point, the stank had finally started to significantly dissipate. I believe they still cleaned the carpeting, though not as extensively, and some extra detailing touches as well. Car was returned to me in stellar, non-stinky condition - much pleased.
Anyway, I definitely appreciated Car Butler's friendliness and willingness to resolve a couple of minor issues. In the off chance it floods again and I'm foolish enough to not park somewhere elevated, I will be back! read more