Michael McAleer answers your queries.
From Edmund Burke: Do you know of any company which sell cars which have been repossessed?
The usual route is from the front door of the indebted motorist to the nearest motor auction.
There are several car auctions around the country all operating in conjunction with the banks and finance houses. However, not all cars that are repossessed are sold.
While it may seem that the banks would be keen to get their hands on the cash and sell off the cars, numerous repossessed cars are held at the auction sites while the motorists try and find more finances. The cars are auctioned off only when the banks give clearance.
Numbers vary, but an average auction in Dublin may feature 50 or so repossessed cars in their sales during the week.
From Jim and Katie Corbett: Contrary to your response about spilt milk on car seats, the problem of residual odours can be solved. We have successfully remedied this by using a strong solution of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) in water.
Mix two dessertspoons in a cup of water. Rub it in well with a cloth. Leave it to dry. If the smell persists, repeat the exercise. If it still persists, sprinkle the baking soda on the stain and leave it for a few hours. Remove it later with a vacuum cleaner.
While we have never seen any effect on the fabric or colour, you may want to test it on an inconspicuous area first. This method also works well on many other spillages associated with children. We hope that this is of interest to your reader. Best of luck.
From John Mitchell, Dublin 1: A US product, Meguiar's Car Odor Eliminator, is available in most car accessory shops. It freshens your car by permanently eliminating hard-to-remove odours trapped in carpet and upholstery. We have sold a quantity of this product and nobody to date has come back and said it does or doesn't work - we only wish customers would; then we would know it does what it claims. The makers have a website at www.meguiars.com
From John Magill: A number of industrial bacterial cleaning agents are available which digest things such as spilt milk. Our cat peed on a carpet a few years back. No cleaner would cure the problem, so my wife contacted some industrial cleaning firms and was introduced to an importer of one of the bacterial cleaners. The smell was gone in no time. I can't remember the importer or product but I know it was for stains such as milk.
From Stephanie McDonald: I had a similar problem some years ago. It was possible at that time to take the back seat completely out of the car, pour warm soapy water on it, rinse it off thoroughly and leave it in the sun to dry. (We had summers in those days.)
These are just a few of the remedies on offer from readers. It would seem the onset of sour milk brings out the ingenuity of the Irish motorist.
From Ted Morrissey:
Here's a warning sign which appears on the four main routes approaching Dundrum. They refer to major road works in connection with the new Luas bridge which were completed six months ago.
Admittedly the signs are of the cheap and nasty style and fold over on windy days, so motorists are spared the misleading information whenever the wind gets up.
Political parties must take down posters within a set period after an election or face litter charges. Perhaps similar charges need to be levelled against those who litter with irrelevant road signs.