Working all day on the A24 with the fan running
Taxi and private-hire drivers in Tooting spend their days on the A24 and around Tooting Broadway, where the A217 meets it and buses queue almost constantly. Upper Tooting Road and Tooting High Street are red routes with bus lanes, so stopping is restricted and traffic moves in slow, dense lines. Hours of that with the ventilation on mean the cabin filter clogs faster than on a private car, and the driver breathes whatever gets past it. Long summer days with the air conditioning running add to the load.
That's why we'd normally suggest an activated carbon filter for working cars. It traps dust and pollen like a standard filter and adds a layer that absorbs some of the exhaust odours and gases. Changed at least once a year, and more often on a high-mileage car, it makes a noticeable difference to how fresh the cabin feels at the end of a shift. Passengers notice a musty car, too. Electric and hybrid private-hire cars need cabin filters just the same.
Down in Lower Tooting, around Tooting Graveney Common and Tooting Bec Stadium, and near Springfield University Hospital, cars pick up more leaves and pollen. Parked on narrow terraced streets, they also collect debris around the fresh-air intake. We clear the filter housing, check for damp and mould, fit the new filter with the airflow arrow the right way and test every vent before the car goes back.
It's about 18 minutes to us: east on Mitcham Road from the Broadway, through Figges Marsh and round Mitcham, then Carshalton Road south into Hackbridge. The filter itself takes 15 to 30 minutes on most cars, and Saturdays and evenings up to 8pm suit drivers who can't lose a weekday. We'll give you a written quote first, and our work comes with a 3-month workmanship warranty.