Moldy Interior - need your advice

[VIPTransport]

Hey everyone,


I see this a lot in Boats.

But the Technique I use for boats would be the same for cars.


Prep for removing mold

For starters, do not put any kind of fan on or around the affected area (As this may spread the spores 1000 Fold).

I would remove any contents that have mold on them, floor mats, etc. it would be ideal to remove the seat, that way you are not further contaminating the rest of the car while performing the cleaning.

(I understand the steering wheel is not easily removable)



Personal Safety

I would recommend using nitrile gloves, 3M mold respirator with the pink cartridge along with eye protection.



Technique

Using a small plastic bondo spreader that is disposable, remove all textured mold from the hard surface & leather seat and put the contaminants into a zip-lock style bag that can be disposed of.

Once texture is removed, I would then Spray Benefect Decon 30 on steering wheel and leather seat.

Allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Spray generous amounts on Benefect Decon 30 over contaminated surfaces again. Then use a steamer over the affected area that you sprayed.

Lightly extract, then wipe with a clean microfiber towel.

Repeat that process 2-3 times or until the green/grey color is gone.

Wipe Dry with a new microfiber towel.

Let dry 1-2 hours.

Lightly spray with Benefect Decon 30 again, allow to dry.

I would still wipe down all hard surfaces in the car with the Benefect Decon 30 as well spray into carpet and headliner.


Price wise, I agree with the earlier post , minimum $1000.00

I have extremely good results using this technique on 80+ boats this year alone.


Hope this helps, any other questions, please let me know.

Best,

Parker Richards
VIP TRANSPORTATION

 

[chefwong]

Having been hit by irene/sandy, all I can say is Yuck....

From a surface level, I can see how one can clean up the mould.
But what about all that foam inside those seat...

Or let's assume the mold if from a water leakage issue.
Depending on the source of water, the foam on the underbody is thick and holds a boatload of water....I can only imagine what's growing in there.

 

[VIPTransport]

@ Chefwong I completely agree, difficult to track down the source of the mold. could be a number of things. If they are only working on the car, mechanically a hard surface clean will at least give them the opportunity to do that. Cheers!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hey everyone,


I see this a lot in Boats.

But the Technique I use for boats would be the same for cars.


Parker Richards
VIP TRANSPORTATION

Hi Parker,

Thanks for chiming in with your expertise on the topic and process for removing mold and mildew.


Thank you also for sharing your experinece at our boat detailing class.


The Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class is a Must!!!



Looking forward to working with you at MTE in 2017!



:dblthumb2:

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I have owned 2 cars with this problem. A first gen neon and my current DD kia spectra. After chasing leaks for 3-6 months on both vechiles I found the root cause. On the neon it was the gaskets around the taillights and on the kia seam sealer had failed and was leaking in at the body seams near the tail lights.

I have had/seen this on 2 cars also with the taillight gaskets...on one of them I had to take the bumper cover off because there was a screw under there holding the taillight in! I was SO tempted to not put that screw back in.

I have never seen such a thing, in the old days when the lenses weren't glued together, the gasket was between the lens and the reflector, and if it leaked you just got water in the light, not in the car, on mine I had the lagoon in the spare tire well as pictured.

 

[Detail]

Speaking of mold, I've got a mysterious reoccurring flood that happens inside the tire compartment in my trunk everytime we get heavy rain, like we had 2 days ago...

I vacuum the water out, clean it with APC, then blow it dry. Mold prevention.

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Check your drains on your sun roof. Typically there is one in each corner. If you don't have a sunroof then checkout the drains in your trunk. Occasionally they become disconnected and drain into the trunk. All else fails. Get in there with a light. Have a buddy spray water on the car until you figure out where it is coming from. Good luck!

D

 

[Eldorado2k]

Check your drains on your sun roof. Typically there is one in each corner. If you don't have a sunroof then checkout the drains in your trunk. Occasionally they become disconnected and drain into the trunk. All else fails. Get in there with a light. Have a buddy spray water on the car until you figure out where it is coming from. Good luck!

D

I've never been aware a trunk had drains.. At least not my trunk? I've seen a YT vid of where some dude filmed the mysterious process happening just like you suggested, from the inside of the car [by folding down the backseat] And it was determined that the tailights, or somewhere around the taillights is where the cause is...

Funny thing that happened with my situation: Just recently my electronic trunk pulldown decided to take a dump and quit working in the "up" position. [meaning I could still manually open and close the trunk, but it would appear halfways closed to anyone looking at it]
But after a couple of weeks of it being like that it suddenly decided to close itself... However I'm now afraid to open my trunk because if it's not working again it'll be in the down position and that means I won't be able to shut my trunk. Smh. I did a mobile detail today and had to pack everything inside my car, such a PITA! It's a good thing it's a Cadillac, because there's no way in hell all my stuff would've fit inside a Prius. Lol.

....Anyways, the crazy thing is that while my trunk was in it's couple of weeks of being "halfways closed" we had a whole lot of rain come down.. I thought my whole trunk would be flooded, but surprisingly not a drop of water went into the trunk, not even in the tire compartment. Bone dry! What daf?! Lol.


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