HOW DO YOU REMOVE MOLD? from a cars interiour

[IH2LOSE]

Well some of uou guys know I have an older caddy also.Today I went to get the car from a garage I store the car in for a holoween parade my wife is putting it in and I found a puddle of water under my car and the stains from water laying in the garage for a while
( I still dont know why all of a sudden there is water in this garage)

Anyways The last time I drove this car was in a labor day parade and I dont think I been there since.The inside of the car is covered with mold and mildew see attached pictures.Does anybody know what to use to kill it? This is real depressing I just put an entire new leather interiour in this car less then 3 years ago

If you look at the carpets they are as perfect as I left them?

 

[IH2LOSE]

2nd picture

 

[IH2LOSE]

3rd picture

 

[IH2LOSE]

And allthought its not a vette in the pictures it can happen to any car
last picture

 

[atmmac]

Man what happened to your caddy I would try good old soap and water and then a leather cleaner. Good Luck

 

[Yoda]

Oh man that is sad :cry

If it were me I'd be on the phone to an upholstery shop or trusted detailer. They may have had to deal with something like this before and can offer some suggestions.

I'd be scared to death that it discolored the leather interior..

Good Luck IH2LOSE

Bud

(I also moved this down into the Car Care section.)

 

[jimred75]

Try ArmorAll "Cleaning Wipes". I just got an 80 which sat for over 3 years and had alot of moisture dirt and black growth over most of the interior. I wiped alot of it off with only a couple of pass'. It's almost a month later and so far no return of the growth.

 

[Tommy L]

I would try Vinegar & water mixture as it is an acid and should kill the mold. Try a small area first to see if it takes the color out. I have used this to clean stains from furniture.

 

[Tommy L]

Hydrogen Peroxide works very well on carpet to remove stains but I have never tried it on Leather, it might work too.

Good Luck it looks like a nice car!

 

[singledad_9]

First off, lets not make it any worse by allowing more water/humidity to seep in to your car. Park your car on top of a large drop cloth. When parking your car for a long period of time, put a dececant, used to dehumidify closets, in your car. I get them at wally world and hang mine on the mirror.

As far as cleaning, I avoid using armor all, after one of my dash boards cracked. Meguiars or zaino is what I use on leather. Before hand though, check but I thought vinegar is a good cleaner for plastic. Try it on a spot that if it is too acidic, that it will not show. Afterwards, use Meguiars or Zaino to protect the plastic or leather. I use clear vinegar for windows and used to use it on my clear plastic rear view windows on my MGB with good results.

Rugs in your car should also be washed to get rid of the mold spores. There are auto rug shampoos out there that you can use.

Finally, let the car air out before closing it back up for storage. Choose a day or two that it will not rain and keep the windows open to allow it to dry before closing it back up again.

 

[IH2LOSE]

Ok I think We are inn a little better shape.I took mr clean citrus cleaner with water and completely scrubbed everything in side of the car.I towled everthing off as I went.All of the leather it wiped wright off.but the vinyl door pulls and dash bord had tiny black stains that required elbow grease.I have a dehumidifier in my garage for the night and the top is down.(all thought the car was dry as a bone it was like a powder inside the car) tomorow I will vacum the top and scrub the head liner then leave the car closed up with the de humidifeir in the car for the night.You think its hard to clean a vette try cleaning a 67 deville there is alot of surface area in that car. On friday I will scrub the interiour again with leather cleaner.then treat it leather conditioner.My garage stunk like an old pool over this afternoon so you can imagine what the car smelled like with the top up

I spoke to the fellow who owns the garage and we had some major rains last month and the pipe from the gutter was damaged and the water pooled by a window and when it got high enought it came in thru the window sill.

Tanks again ever one time will tell if it comes back.As far as I know mold is a living orginism and it must be KILLED to remove it

 

[WayneC]

Bleach is the best killer of mold, but unfortunately it's not a good choice on upholstery fabrics.


Google search turned up the following information, in which an alcohol/water mix is recommended when bleach can't be used:

http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod02/01500044.html

http://www.avatar-moving.com/kb/doc_mildew2.html

http://www.iosso.com/products.htm (click on boat care products)

 

[MinnesotaPaul]

Get some of this

http://www.milcompass.com/silica.htm

It's a silica gel desiccant and will keep moisture in the car under control. It's also great for preventing rust that is caused by moisture in the air.

Pau

 

[IH2LOSE]

Thanks every one for the suggestions,Tonight I vacumed the headliner (it seemed to be the worse part of the interiour)After vacuming it there seemed to still be circle like stains all over. I sprayed the entire headliner with lysol cleaner and like magic all of the circle like stains disapeered once the lysol dried (de humidifier inside of car running) the headliner looked like brand new.I vacumed it again and I have just resprayed it with lysol again in a different direction to make sure I have covered every square inch of the head liner.(In case you didnt know allthought its a convertable it has a padded headliner the same as the new C5's have) I will allow the dehumidifeir to run in there for a few hours and then I will open up the windows tonight to let it air out and on friday I will scrub the insides with a good leather cleaner and then follow up with a leather protecter.

The car now smells like lysol but its better then mold and mildew

So what did I learn

I used to stop in and visit my car weekley just to check on it.then I went to monthly,and up until wensday I only went to the car when I wanted to take it out.(this year because of a busy work schedule I unfortunatley only had it out 3 times or so) So now I will go back to monthly visits Thanks again everybody

AND YES I WILL NOW FIND A DESACENT TO PUT IN ALL MY CARS

 

[singledad_9]

Put a ground cloth under your vehicles too. A good drop cloth might have reduced the moisture coming into your car. Plus it will not make your car smell like a grand parent's house. I am glad that your car was not badly damaged. I am sorry that the person did not tell you of the problem with the water. IMHO, you need another garage.

Mike

 

[IH2LOSE]

IMHO, you need another garage.

You are correct sir.I have learned that Good alway comes from something bad.well the bad was the mold,the good is that I have been planning to exstend my garage since last year.And I have been dragging my feet for no good reason

Today I met with the arcutect to make some changes to the prints I had drawn up on sept 19th 2002 ,I have the prints on my kitchen table made some more changes and will meet with him tomorow and summit the building permit applecation on monday
so I can get my caddy back home with me I also feel if its in my own garage my wife will use it more often

 

[Montana]

Ozone kills mold

You can rent an Ozone generator or maybe even borrow one from a used car dealer. They use them to get smoke and other oders out of cars before they sell them. They are about the size of a boombox getto blaster and run on 110V. Put one in the car and plug it in, set the run timer for about 30 min, crack a couple of windows and shut the doors. Don't open them for an hour or so. When you do open the doors, leave them open for 15 to 20 minutes before entering the vehicle. The ozone will kill mold and bacteria but will also dry out the interior so put a leather moisturizer on afterward.

Montana

 

[IH2LOSE]

Ozone kills mold

I knew that,
But I newer thought about it.I own a home duct cleaning service and have a freindley competitour of mine who does fire restorations and has some major ozone generators that I may be able to borrow.Thank You why didnt I think of this

 

[Montana]

OZONE KILLS MOLD

It's always hard to think when one of your "babies" is in trouble. I have a buddy who distributes ozone generators and he loaned me one. Great product! I'm glad to have jogged your memory, good luck.

Montana