How to bring back Durian

The King of fruits has long been a love-hate affair for many. Yet even for those who smack their lips and suck their fingers clean of durian flesh hate the lingering smell it leaves behind from homes to their own cars. Imagine going to an important meeting smelling like Durian. Imagine getting rated badly by a customer due to a lingering durian smell. There has to be way for even the most die-hard Durian coffee loving group to get around this.

Have you seen those who tried to mitigate in-car durian smells and fail? Spraying air freshener is probably going to result in an aroma infusion because there are few things as overpowering as the Durian’s musk. Putting the durian stem on the air-con vent – while seems to do the work – is an absolutely easy way to turn your car interior from looking like a Lexus to a cheap Geely.

Here are some smarter ways to minimize the odor penetration and saving passenger lives from the Durian pungency.

Prevention is better than cure. Instead of simply typing up the bags containing durians, try to encapsulate them in a container – like those Styrofoam boxes you see at the wet markets. They are cheap though and get the job done. Just be wary of the spikes puncturing the soft Styrofoam and bubble wrap if necessary. Otherwise you could get a decent Coleman ice box and it would work just as well to prevent the smell from escaping into the car cabin.

Some believe that putting activated charcoal in the car will absorb the smell of the durian – similar to Thirsty Hippo dehumidifying wardrobes. There are fancy versions available at the local supermarket from gels, charcoal beads to charcoal-in-a-sack hangers. A cheap hack involves buying (or coping some from the next chalet BBQ) charcoal briquettes and stuffing them in a nice old sock. Makes for a neat and powerful non-toxic deodorizer. Just make sure you don’t burn it though.

Pandan leaves have known to be natural deodorizers as well – except that they are pretty useless when the leaves dry out. As long as you replace with fresh leaves, it leaves a refreshing smell that mitigates the durian’s leftover signature, removes the durian’s odors and as a bonus - even wards off cockroaches that your kids invite from snacking in the car too often. Kill 3 birds with one stone.

Alternatively, ground coffee or tea bags also help – each giving off their own aromas in the process. Although they aren’t as effective as Pandan leaves and charcoal, they do work somewhat.

Most modern cars todays try and incorporate some form of in-car ionizer to dissipate odors and even advertise themselves as having improved health benefits. Toyota Corollas for example come with a powerful ionizer called the nano-e which are super effective at removing gym sweat smells and equally good at breaking down Durian signatures. If your car didn’t come with one, consider buying aftermarket ionizers such as the Panasonic Nano E. It might be a pricey investment, compared to those $10 cigarette lighter ionizers, but it is a lot more effective – especially when it comes to fighting odors as strong as a Durian or the uncles who seem to use axe-brand oil as an aftershave.

Or if you haven’t heard – some luxury cars such as the new BMW 5 Series come with perfume cartridges to control interior ambient fragrances.

Some workshops offer packages to make your car smell like new – and even flush out the aircon and bring back the new car leather smell in the process. It can get pricey too, so do lookout for those in the mid $30-40 ranges and you will be delightfully relieved.

Whatever the case, don’t be this guy.

Credits: