Durian fans and smokers, rejoice. This homegrown gadget will defeat any smell in your car, says its creator

SINGAPORE — It’s a problem that has defeated science and technology so far: can anything remove the potent smell of durian? This is a fruit that food writer Richard Sterling describes thus: “Its odor is best described as…pig shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from many yards away.”

But maybe it takes a local solution to solve a local problem. Singaporean entreprenuer Lenz Wong has invented a small air purifier that, he says, will break down the chemicals responsible for foul odours. Including that of the King of Fruit.

The Octygen InRush, he says, is a plasma ion generator designed to work in a car. It’s essentially a scaled-down version of the commercial units that his company, Pure Science International, has been supplying to hospitals, hotels and other buildings for more than a decade.

“If you like durians, it’ll take the stench out of the air-con,” says Mr Wong. Of course, the InRush is aimed at a wider group than fans of the spiky, smelly fruit. “Basically it’s for people who want to keep their cars nice and clean inside.”

Older cars whose interiors reek of stale odours, or smokers’ cars are other prime candidates for the product. “It will probably take weeks, but it can get rid of smells that have been there for years,” he says.

The $250 device works not by covering up existing smells with perfumes, but by breaking down the chemicals that cause the odours to begin with.

That approach brings health benefits, too. “Germs and viruses are organic, in other words based on carbon and hydrogen. Once you break down that chain, you can deactivate viruses and kill germs,” says Mr Wong.

It also produces negative ions, which are associated with feelings of well-being. “It creates a nice fresh environment,” Mr Wong believes.

Some cars come with plasmacluster negative ion generators built in, for precisely these reasons. Certain Lexus and Nissan models, for instance, use similar technology to break down odours and promote driver alertness.

But Mr Wong says that the InRush trumps them in two ways. First, an optional power adaptor allows users to take it with them, say, to deodorise hotel rooms when traveling.

Second, the InRush lets users to vary its plasma output, which is apparently a world first. This means that they no longer have to rely on a car’s sensors to determine whether the car’s cabin needs deodorising. “Sometimes this is the best sensor of them all,” he says, tapping his nose.

Mr Wong is currently signing retailers for the InRush, but the device is available on Octygen’s website to people who want it now. And for those who install one in the car, what better way to put it to the test than to go on a durian outing?