Eliminating Mold in Unused Car: Tackling Fabric Upholstery & Leather Steering Wheel Issues

Question

The car was last driven 4 months ago. And it started to mold, only from the driver's door side, must have dripped rain when I had it open for a while the last time I charged the battery. I rubbed my hand a little. mold mainly sits on the fabric upholstery and leather steering wheel.

What to do for it? Pulling up the current in order to heat with a thermowell is not a problem.

OPservator · Answer

Basically like with leather shoes - vinegar, vinegar and again vinegar. But it is from home remedies that the car-spa specialists have normal preparations that do not smell like xD vinegar

kokapetyl · Answer

And surely good warming and ventilation should help.

andrzej20001 · Answer

And where will it connect?

kokapetyl · Answer

Are you asking me? Then read the author's post.

nomudrek · Answer

You need to heat up the interior of the car and use appropriate preparations for cleaning upholstery and leather, as well as fungus the air conditioning. For the future, it is always worth starting the car from time to time, and ventilating it to replace the air inside.

kortyleski · Answer

Mold is a fungus. You will never completely remove the moisture in the car, so it will continue to develop.
Ozone and a nice few hours from a good generator. Dry anything that goes away, remove it with a vacuum cleaner.

sanfran · Answer

I have my own socket for the Leaf's hold, and there will also be something for the farelka. It's already warming up.

anchilos · Answer

May you not bask too much in this way.

andrzej20001 · Answer

I won't buy a leaf anymore

sanfran · Answer

Leaf is on the move every now and then and it's OK, the Civic is moldy for me.

Megawe · Answer

In Denmark, you lock the car and after a month your seats are moldy. Cars and construction equipment from seaside regions are not bought.

Millaka · Answer

I use something like that in my cars to get rid of the moisture. It costs nothing, works 100% and you just have to remember to empty the water that collects there from time to time. Sample photo:

sanfran · Answer

I have 10 km to the sea and my car has become moldy for the first time. Okay, maybe not for the first time, but the UAZ is waterproof (but not waterproof) and there the mold came off the tarpaulin with a pressure washer. For today, after three hours of heating, a lot of water has settled on the windows, I collected it with paper handkerchiefs. There is no bad smell in the car, so I guess I did it early on. I will repeat the heating every few days, and on a dry day I will start washing with vinegar. In turn, in the spring, I will want to wash the upholstery with a washing vacuum cleaner. I would like to thank my colleagues for valuable comments, I will keep this topic open for a while.

Phaeton · Answer

When you heat up, you need to ventilate, somehow this moisture must come out. Collecting with handkerchiefs from the glass is not enough.

sanfran · Answer

I know. But the weather is not conducive to ventilation. If it is not pouring, the humidity is very high. As it was said, Sorry, this is our vibe.

andrzej20001 · Answer

These are containers for moisture that a friend threw in would be ok.

sunrise84 · Answer

Before you buy too many preparations, check if there is any water leaking inside the car.
I had that with my Leon.
The gasket on the shaft under the pollen filter basket mounting turned out to be defective.
The gasket just became hard over time and stuck out from the car body on the shaft + the car was standing under the trees, so some debris always gets there under the windshield, despite the plastic that is installed under the windshield wipers.

And a common problem is the obstructed water drainage from the pit, covered with leaves and other biological matters.

viayner · Answer

Hello.
Unfortunately, the problem cannot be solved but only healed.
If there are "outbreaks" of fungi, the whole car is in spores (not especially it is healthy for humans), it is practically impossible to remove them completely, even ozonation would have to be very long and in hard to reach places - difficult to implement. Soon there are voices that "I ozonated and removed everything" - the fact that you can't see doesn't mean that the problem is gone.
You have a problem with humidity and ventilation, the growth of mold is favored by high humidity and heat. You need to check your car for both sources.
Regards

sunrise84 · Answer

Exactly. That's why I ended up taking the car to the BIG metal inside, dismantling the seats into the prime factors, the headlining of the door panels. Everything for washing, new headliner, new door panels (the old ones were already hung), cleaning the air vents, ahh a lot of work, but I know that my car is clean and without fungus spores.

sanfran · Answer

I checked it, the car is tight. Drains are unobstructed and moisture traps are ordered.

sunrise84 · Answer

So in order for such a mold to appear in this water, it had to be really a lot, it was impossible to open the door for a few moments and then close the car for 4 months to cause such an effect.
You would have to pour a bucket of water there.

If you are sure that the car is tight, first get rid of the moisture and watch for water inside.
For me, there was such a makeshift mistake as water leaking through the loudspeakers in the door ... and from under the metal sheet to which the entire control and the motor for lowering and lifting the window are attached.

The phrase: "Seat Leon water on the carpets" and you will be surprised where the water gets into the car ...

viayner · Answer

Hello, I would correct it, not only that there had to be a lot of water, but there was constant access to water / moisture, you have a water source somewhere to bring it to the car. Regards.

sanfran · Answer

Mold is only in one place - around the driver's door. The floor mat is dirty but not moldy. The car is dry, I know the smell in a damp car.

viayner · Answer

Hello.
And you know that there are many types of mold and those that you know / recognize do not have to be present in your car, secondly, as you have noticed, there is not much of it, so it looks like the beginning of the problem, if it "stinks" then the problem is serious.
Regards.

nomudrek · Answer

You can use cat litter to collect moisture, in my car I have two moisture absorber bags, I take them home from time to time and weigh them before drying. The scale shows that one can draw about 5 mg of moisture.

anchilos · Answer

Cool. The weight is also great.

Megawe · Answer

There are also electric dehumidifiers, the cheapest about PLN 200. Electricity can be borrowed e.g. from the municipality or from a construction company. A large company will dry the car in one day.

ewoo · Answer

Lock the cat inside for the night, in the morning you will know if the car is tight.

sanfran · Answer

Yeah. A few years ago, I was picking a car and had it wide open. I finished the job, locked it, and in an hour my neighbor is knocking if I can let his cat out of my car, which is lying in the sun on the back shelf.

Fortunately, he did not pour or arrange a larger matter.

Scenic 1 (ph2) passed the cat leak test

[Solved] Eliminating Mold in Unused Car: Tackling Fabric Upholstery & Leather Steering Wheel Issues

Post #1

Post #2

Post #3

Post #4

Post #5

Post #6

Post #7

Post #8

Post #9

Post #10

Post #11

Post #12

Post #13

Post #14

Post #15

Post #16

Post #17

Post #18

Post #19

Post #20

Post #21

Post #22

Post #23

Post #24

Post #25

Post #26

Post #27

Post #28

Post #29

Post #30

Topic summary