Mold Car - Restored by Visual Pro Detailing

[VP Mark]

So I took on another really tough interior project a couple of months ago. A prospective customer called and said that she had a Ford Contour that had some really bad interior issues and needed professional help.

Naturally, I took it on! I love challenges and this was was on of the worst I have ever taken on.

I went and picked up the car and immediately put a respirator on. The amount of bacteria and spores inside the vehicle had to be insanely high. I knew there was going to have to be very aggressive treatment just to make the vehicle safe again.

First, I applied a DrivePur Antibacterial treatment to the vehicle before I even started the detailing process. I was respirator and masked up but knew that there was still a dangerous level of bacteria that needed to be at the very least minimized before starting on the cleaning aspect.

The DrivePur system fogs the interior of the vehicle and uses the active ingredient of titanium dioxide, which is excellent at killing bacteria, spores, and allergens.

My entire process was as follows:

DrivePur antibacterial treatment
Vacuum thoroughly
Pre-treat all surfaces with Meguiar's All Purpose cleaner
Steam clean all interior surfaces with my McCullogh 1375. Who says a cheap steamer can not do great work!
Spray and brush agitate all interior hard surfaces with Meguiar's APC
Vacuum thoroughly
Dress interior surfaces with 303 Aerospace protectant
DrivePur antibacterial treatment
Windows cleaned 2x

On to the pictures..

Interesting...

Yep, mold on the steering wheel

More than just dirty

Cup holders have been sitting for a while...

Seats are covered too!

Doors

This was in the middle of the rear seats. I don't even really have words. :xyxthumbs:

50/50 on one of the doors. I didn't take too many "during the action" shots because there was so much bacterial exposure that I didn't want to contaminate my shop or equipment more than needed just to document.

After around 7 hours...

Door

Dash

Cup holders look slightly better

Center console

Seats. Notice a lot of the staining still remains? When mold/dirt/staining remains for years, it permanently discolors the fabrics. The staining will never be removed, but the surface can be clean, sanitary, and protected(where possible).

Rear seats

Steering wheel area

Still stained, but a lot better. Floor mats were a total loss and were thrown in the trash.

Beauty shot!

Thanks for looking!

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Yummy! Was this person driving around in this vehicle, or was it sitting?

 

[VP Mark]

Yummy! Was this person driving around in this vehicle, or was it sitting?

It was sitting. It had a head gasket repaired and sat for a loooong time before that repair was done. I advised my customer NOT to drive in it until I had worked on it after she explained the situation.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Great job, years ago I had a car I didn't drive much that developed a leak, I had it under a cover, and I had to drive it, opened it up and it was covered with green mold all over the inside--so I feel for you.

 

[7.3powerstroke]

They brought that car to the right detailer. Hats off

 

[mcleod52]

Great job on cleaning this unit up.

I have to wonder about taking the door panels off and even the dash to clean on the other side of what you can see.

Everything should be dead since you did the anti-bacterial treatment twice ...

 

[VP Mark]

Great job on cleaning this unit up.

I have to wonder about taking the door panels off and even the dash to clean on the other side of what you can see.

Everything should be dead since you did the anti-bacterial treatment twice ...

I get what you are saying but it was not in the clients budget nor my realm of expertise.

 

[Busy mind]

Excellent results. Such a huge improvement. Thanks for sharing the process. A little surprised a customer would pay for all that work on a Ford Countour.

 

[Jbirk]

I have to wonder how much mold (fungus not bacteria) is still in that vehicle. I personally would NOT drive it without wearing a respirator. You can really clean only the non-porous surfaces.

I would recommend tearing down the dash and all the door panels to clean behind them, inspecting if it is a cloth or vinyl headliner. Replace ALL the carpet and the seats.

Honestly, I think that car is a loss. The only thing you achieved is to make it look clean, so it will be sold to someone unexpected who will probably never have disclosure and constantly be sick/ill.

 

[dcjredline]

Great work. I too would be very concerned about the future of that car. I do know I would have thrown it away! I wouldnt drive that car even after someone spent 7 hours cleaning the surfaces.

 

[BillE]

First off...SUPER SAVE!

Second: How in world did the car get that bad? I've seen vhicles that have sat for a time, but that sucker is somethin' else.

Bill

 

[HUMP DIESEL]

I have to wonder how much mold (fungus not bacteria) is still in that vehicle. I personally would NOT drive it without wearing a respirator. You can really clean only the non-porous surfaces.

I would recommend tearing down the dash and all the door panels to clean behind them, inspecting if it is a cloth or vinyl headliner. Replace ALL the carpet and the seats.

Honestly, I think that car is a loss. The only thing you achieved is to make it look clean, so it will be sold to someone unexpected who will probably never have disclosure and constantly be sick/ill.

I have to agree with this. A car that covered in mold would need the full interior pulled, carpets and all to get to the underlying areas that you cannot see. You did a tremendous job with the areas you cleaned, but that mold is still there and will come back.

HUMP

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Wow, you guys are a tough crowd. Aren't mold spores everywhere, all the time, looking for the right conditions to grow (nutrient, moisture, no UV)?

Scrapping the car or the entire interior is a little extreme, IMO.

I can leave a new loaf of bread in a bag on my counter in my kitchen, and it will get all moldy without me even opening it...does that mean the supermarket sold me a loaf of bread that had been moldy already and they cleaned it but the mold came back?

 

[VP Mark]

Wow, you guys are a tough crowd. Aren't mold spores everywhere, all the time, looking for the right conditions to grow (nutrient, moisture, no UV)?

Scrapping the car or the entire interior is a little extreme, IMO.

I can leave a new loaf of bread in a bag on my counter in my kitchen, and it will get all moldy without me even opening it...does that mean the supermarket sold me a loaf of bread that had been moldy already and they cleaned it but the mold came back?

Yeah, by that logic every car on the road should be scrapped. If any one of took a luminometer to our vehicle we would find anything from moderate to severely dangerous bacteria levels lying within.

The DrivePur system fogs the entire vehicle and gets into every crevice. The second stage of the treatment is the Prevent chemical, which bonds to every surface and with a titanium dioxide based coating that continues to kill bacteria for many months after the treatment and is UV activated.

So no, the mold is not coming back, not for a long time at least. You could leave a brand new Lamborghini in a bacteria positive growth environment and it would have mold and dangerously high bacteria levels in time.

 

[DragonHawk]

Titanium dioxide is amazing stuff, it can kill anthrax yet completely safe. UV light is converted into hydrogen peroxide by the TIO2 and actually works for years after application. I love the stuff and use it for all kinds of things I want to stay clean. It is used a lot on building structures because they literally clean themselves.

 

[Jbirk]

Nobody is doubting the products you used are great and the work you did is phenomenal. The question is whether someone who is sensitive to mold could become ill from it. Personally, I believe very strongly that only non-porous surfaces are salvageable.

Obviously, without doubt, hard plastics, glass, etc. is not a problem to clean, but carpet and upholstery... no. It is just like if you have a pipe leak in a wall at home. The ONLY way you fix that besides turning off the water and fixing the pipe is immediately extracting the carpet an putting a fan in before it molds. From there, you tear out and discard ALL wet drywall leaving only the wall studs (not replaceable and less permeable than drywall). Next, you treat the studs with some antimicrobial (i.e. bleach) and ultimately let everything dry out completely. Finally, you use something like Kilz oil-based paint and paint over the studs to seal off any remaining mold spores and only then do you hang new drywall, tape/mud seams, paint/finish and put the carpet back down.

I would expect the same in a car the difference being plastic is much less porous than wood; hence, no need to seal it as well, but you DO need to clean and dry it. Then anything that is permeable and molded similar to a home's drywall and carpet must be discarded. This means you should likely replace the seats and carpet.

 

[VP Mark]

That is not going to happen. The customer was on a budget and doing all of that was not even close to on the menu. You have to respect the needs and desires of your customer, even if there is a better and more expensive option that they do not want to pursue.

 

[DeansDetailing]

Mark, great job! You sure earned your money and then some on that one.

Can you give some details on the DrivePur stuff? There are no prices on their website. I also don't see the antibacterial listed.

How did you decide on DrivePur vs competitors products?

 

[GenesisCoupe]

That is not going to happen. The customer was on a budget and doing all of that was not even close to on the menu. You have to respect the needs and desires of your customer, even if there is a better and more expensive option that they do not want to pursue.

Awesome work Mark! I am not sure if i would be "up" for the job, unless it paid REALLY good. Longest I've ever spent on an interior was 4.5 hours, nothing like your 7 hours.

Impressive work and a great save!

 

[dcjredline]

Yeah I never meant any disrespect, full respect for you even before this post! I just wouldn't drive it and would hope to not be on the unknowingly buying it after they are done with it.