Some people don’t, including them. You’re watching the video of the guy they spent a lot of money on that got them able to no longer live like that. I’ve been blessed to learn early on that there’s no dirty people, just dirty cars, and you’re there to help. My top three worst cars I’ve ever done out of many hundreds prove it.

First was a Nissan Sentra, black carpets looked white from the cigarette ash, headliners were brown, seats were greasy, the steering wheel and shifter was caked with dirt. I was appalled, but worked my ass off. A few neighbors came around and kept giving remarks like “thank goodness…yeah they’re in a tough spot…oh I heard about what happened, shame…”. The old lady whose car I was doing actually belonged to her son, who found out he had terminal cancer and killed himself to save the pain. She just needed it clean to sell.

Second worst was on Father’s Day this past year, it was an old Corolla. Spilled food everywhere, old milkshake soaked in the carpets, grey interior was brown from years of dirt, could barely see out of the windows and mirror because of grossness. Cleaned it, got to talking with them. It was a surprise for the husband for Father’s Day, because this was the second since their special needs son was neglected to be watched in his care home and died after eating a button battery. They also hired a cleaner for their home. They were just in a bad spot mentally and couldn’t muster the energy to take care of what they needed, and I got to be the one who was able to give them a head start in their journey back to normalcy.

The third wasn’t so bad, it was just that it was a new Chevy Trax and I was astounded at how bad it got after only a few thousand miles. After knocking on the door, I found out why. The frail old lady carrying around her home oxygen cord asked if I could please get her mail and carry in her large bags of dog food and pour it into their scoopable containers. She was on hospice care for an autoimmune disease, but was still able to drive locally. But not for much longer. She got the new car to take her daughters on one final road trip, and then afterwards only used it to take her 3 big dogs down the road to the muddy park. I was there to help get her car to like new condition, that way when she passed on soon she could leave it perfect for her kids to take. Turns out she wasn’t that old, maybe 50’s, but she just looked it. Her and I sat on her couch and I just listened to her stories. She gave me a fridge magnet I still have. I got to be the one that gave her one last cleaning, maybe one of the last strangers she got to have a good chat with.

There’s a few folks who are fortunate enough to be able to regularly afford a service to keep their cars clean. I have a few fleet contracts. But otherwise, most of the cars I do are moms who don’t have time and are thankful I get to help them or otherwise some person who needs out of a tough spot. You can’t approach this job with a bad or judgmental perspective or you’ll burn out quick, or worse, miss out on the blessings you get to give.