Mask Up Your Car

Bosch encourages drivers to prioritize in-car air quality by fitting cars with a cabin filter with anti-bacteria and anti-virus properties to reduce the risk of exposure to airborne pollutants, bacteria, and viruses in this new normal. Did you know your car needs to wear a mask too? Just like how we have embraced wearing a mask in this new normal to protect ourselves in a public space, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia (Bosch AA) in a ‘Mask Up Your Car’ online media briefing session encouraged the same precautionary measures be practiced within our cars. 

‘Mask Up Your Car’ online media briefing session
(Second from left) Dr. Rajveer Singh Saren, ENT Specialist shared insights on how air quality directly affects our health and immune system

 

The mask we are referring to in this case is a cabin filter. Commonly confused with the engine air filter, the cabin filter is a very important car part that filters the air flowing from outside the vehicle into the car cabin through the air conditioning system. It not only improves the air quality you breathe in your car but also simultaneously increases hygiene in the car itself. 

The session was joined by special guest speaker Dr. Rajveer Singh Saren, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist who shared insights on how air quality directly affects our health and immune system. 

Dr. Rajveer said, “Air pollution is a silent killer and has caused over three million deaths in the Southeast Asian region. In Malaysia, the World Health Organization categorizes our air quality as moderately unsafe . In my 17 of years of practicing, I’ve seen an increase in health problems such as asthma, allergies, sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart attacks every year due to long term exposure to current air quality levels.” 

Reuben Chew, Product Manager of Bosch AA Malaysia emphasised the importance of cabin filters with anti-bacteria and anti-virus properties to reduce risk of exposure to airborne pollutants, bacteria and viruses

According to studies, in-car air quality can be up to 15 times more polluted than the air outside the car. Sitting in traffic causes the highest air pollution in the car as emissions from surrounding vehicles flow into the car. Subsequently, a Bosch AA study done in April this year reported that 96 per cent of Malaysian drivers showed concerns about air quality in the car. On top of that, exhaust or unpleasant smells and dusty air in the car are the two most common experiences 64 per cent and 58 per cent of drivers notice while driving respectively. These are an indication that majority of drivers may have a clogged cabin filter.  

Dillion Goh, Marketing Manager of Bosch AA said, “The new normal way of life has heightened the awareness on the importance of air quality in relation to our health. The quality of air in your car cabin – how much it stops airborne pollutants, bacteria and virus from the outside air brought into a car – can make a key difference being you staying healthy and falling ill. 

“We at Bosch highly encourages that drivers start making the air quality in the car cabin a focal point for health with prioritizing the use of good quality cabin filters in this new normal and beyond. Many drivers are unaware of the existence of a cabin filter as they are an unseen car part. They are in fact a simple, affordable, and very accessible car part that helps limit airborne pollutants, bacteria and viruses from flowing into the car cabin, and reduces our exposure to them. It is with this additional protection that drivers and passengers can be safer in their cars without wearing a mask.” 

The same Bosch AA survey also reported that the top three types of air pollutants drivers are concerned about are dust, dirt and bacteria.

A typical cabin filter filters out unwanted air contaminants and impurities such as dust, dirt, smoke, mold spores and pet hair. On the other hand, a good cabin filter like the Bosch Aeristo Premium comes with enhanced features including anti-bacteria and anti-virus properties that can help minimise exposure risks to airborne pollutants, bacteria and viruses. 

The Bosch Aeristo Premium cabin filter is suitable for everyone, and especially beneficial for asthma or allergy sufferers, pet owners, frequent travellers and families with children.  

To explain further, this cabin filter has a natural polyphenol layer made out of plants that has the ability to restrain viruses by decomposing the virus protein. Similarly, it has an anti-bacteria agent that prevents the growth of bacteria. Thus, reducing the invasion of virus and bacteria carried by the air flowing into the car cabin. 

On top of that, it is woven and layered with an electrostatic charged material that removes fine particles and air pollutants as small as 2.5 microns. Essentially, the Bosch Aeristo Premium has a filtration efficiency of a PM2.5 filter. It is able to filter 98 per cent of fine air particles at 2.5 microns. To give a point of comparison, a strand of human hair is 50-70 microns in diameter which means the cabin filter filters out air pollutants that are naked to the eye. 

As a bonus, this range of cabin filter is also fitted with an activated carbon layer that absorbs and neutralizes unpleasant smells and harmful gases such as smog, car exhaust or the ozone. The activated carbon is made from coconut shell that has higher filtration and absorption capacity than those made from wood or coal. On top of that, it also has an anti-allergy layer that has anti-fungus properties to filter common allergens in the air as well as prevent fungal and mold growth on the cabin filter. 

If you do not remember when your cabin filter was last replaced, Bosch AA urges that you get it replaced right away as an added measure to reduce the risk of contracting any form of virus or illness from poor air quality. 

Contrary to some perception, Bosch iterates that cabin filter is not a reusable product. The cabin filter should be replaced every year or every 15,000km, whichever comes first. A few potential signs that your cabin filter is clogged and needs replacing is when you can smell unpleasant odors from the outside of the car, frequent foggy windows and reduced coldness from the air con.  

For more information on cabin filters and authorised Bosch dealers, log on to Bosch Autoparts Facebook The Bosch Aeristo Premium cabin filter can be purchased on https://shopee.com.my/boschautoparts.os