Washing the interior of a moldy car?

[mazda323turbo]

Ok so here's the situation, I have a mazda 323 turbo that's been sitting outside for a couple years, the ventilation ducts are a bit messed up so after a couple hundred rainy days or so, a lot of mold has accumulated (steering wheel, seats, shifter, floor, windows, vinyl, etc,...).

I don't want to go to a detail shop because the car barely drives and I don't want to hire someone to do it because people have poor work ethics here.

So I'm asking all you detailing enthusiasts if you could lend me your knowledge on what would be the most economical way of cleaning my car. Mind you, I have all the time in the world to do this so I don't want to buy a 600 dollar machine to pull this off.

[CieraSL]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Any pics? Read through these threads:

How to Resize Your Photos

How to Place your Images in a Message

or if you use iPhoto, read this thread (specifically post #4) and then read How To Place Your Images in a Message

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32904

Hope this helps! By the way, to MOL!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Maybe start by wiping down all the smooth surfaces with those Clorox Wipes? Convenient because you can simply throw them away as they become used up.

After the mold is removed then you can match the correct maintenance product to the surface you're treating.

Are the carpets wet?

If so you might consider removing the seats and then removing the carpets, this way you can more easily clean them up.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

I would suggest that you might want to consider wearing a mask while you work.

[Alex C.]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

For your carpet you can pull it out, find something to drape it over and spray it down with APC. Agitate after 30 seconds or so and then pressure wash it. Work from the top down. Then let it dry.

I don't have any pics, but i did this to my truck and it came out great. Only took about a day and a half to dry out too.

[Tuck91]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

once you remove al the mold and get to the cleaning part you may wanna consider purchasing some Meguiars APC or APC Plus and possibly a degreaser safer for interiors.

You also may want something powerful enough to tackle the carpets.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

The first 1959 Cadillac I bought sat outside for 4 years in the valley of Oregon with no windshield. The inside was full of black mold and fungus growing off the sides of the seats like you would see in an old-growth forest.

I pulled out the carpets, pushed the rubber plugs in the floor out and the washed the entire inside including the headliner with Comet and a Horse Brush.

It actually came out really nice, nice enough to let dry and then put the car back on the road. You probably can't get that extreme with this car but this worked for me on this car. Certainly wasn't going to hurt it anymore than 4 years of sitting outside in the rain.

[Tuck91]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

The first 1959 Cadillac I bought sat outside for 4 years in the valley of Oregon with no windshield. The inside was full of black mold and fungus growing off the sides of the seats like you would see in an old-growth forest.

I pulled out the carpets, pushed the rubber plugs in the floor out and the washed the entire inside including the headliner with Comet and a Horse Brush.

It actually came out really nice, nice enough to let dry and then put the car back on the road. You probably can't get that extreme with this car but this worked for me on this car. Certainly wasn't going to hurt it anymore than 4 years of sitting outside in the rain.

Would this be the one situation where dish soap would be acceptable?

or even something like Meguiars Super Degreaser?

I cant imagine just an ordinary APC cleaning all that up.

[mazda323turbo]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Here are some pics:





BTW I don't have a pressure washer, but I was thinking of using the Bissell Little green machine, since I don't know any place that would rent out shampoo machines.

[Joe's detailing]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Re -Upholstery good luck getting that vehicle mold free.

[CieraSL]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Ewwwwww! That's nasty! Looks like the mold (or rust, whatever it is) ate right through the bottom of the door there.

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

Your going to have to us an ozone machine.
Not much else you can do.
They made ozone machines for that very reason.

[MyFirstES300]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

I think most importantly to ask is how did this car get so moldy? Was there a window open/broken?

I can't imagine a car getting that mold ridden from the vents? If windows are in tact and closed, then there's a leak somewhere and unless it's fixed, that problem is only going to come back.

[mujjuman]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

wow that looks really bad! good luck cleaning it! i'm sure it is a fun car to drive, especialyl manual!

[Sandstone]

Re: Washing the interior of a moldy car?

• first fix the source of the leak(s)
• vacuum thoroughly with a shop vac and disinfect the vacuum afterwards
• Use Clorox wipes as Mike suggested but also get some commercial disinfectant like Spartan Sani-T-10. This is an extra strength version of Lysol liquid cleaner.
• Get a bunch of old terry cloth rags and go to town wiping with the disinfectant (follow the label instructions), throwing all the rags away
• use a carpet extractor to shampoo and rise the disinfectant out. Rent one from Home depot or your local supermarket. I would not use my own.
• follow the previous post regarding carpet removal/cleaning
• Air dry with a coulple of fans and/or stick a dehumidifier in there for a few days
• after you think all is dry, stick a few tubs of DampRid in there for as long as they last (labels say 45 days).
• final cleaning with some 39 and/or 40 for the plastic and Odor Eliminator for the fabric and carpet.
• Don't forget to clean the glass, trunk and vents