Interior Mold!!!

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

Has anyone dealt with this before? I bought 95 GT about a month ago for a pretty good price. I'm now discovering that this might be more work than I thought. I had the seats out to fix the power seat and to vacuum it out, and I discovered mold spores under the seat. I know it originated in the trunk, but now I'm worried it's in the passenger compartment.

Anyone have any tips on how to get rid of mold? I want to switch over to full black interior (it currently is the tan leather interior), so I think I might just rip all of the interior out and clean it really well, then replace it with new carpet and whatever else I find.

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

Forgot to add that the car came from a pretty moist climate (50 miles from the coast) and was brought over to a dry climate (where I live). I'm hoping that will help not make it any worse.

cantbuytime · Apr 5, 2010

I can help you out, i detail cars for a living and have seen some nasty sh**..

Honestly the cheapest and best way to clean it is, find a dollar store that sells some cleaner called Awesome(Totally Awesome).. its very strong, works as a degreaser, fabric or carpet cleaner, etc etc.. You can dilute it some for the carpet..

What i do is 50% cleaner, 30% water and 20% febreeze spray mixed up and walla. It will clean almost any stain and smell good when it dries.. u can use less water for tougher stains..

When you scrub it, use a brush, then a damp rag, then dry it with a towel in a wiping motion.

The stain or mold will not comeout unless you use the damp rag and cleaner to soak it up as you scrub.. the brush just breaks it lose.

leave the windows down and let it dry during the day when its warm.

Chythar · Apr 5, 2010

I had some bad mold that got into the padding under the carpet, behind the passenger seat. Someone spilled some soda a couple of years before, and suddenly mold sprung up. I had to tear out the padding and then I was able to save the carpet itself.

desertcox05 · Apr 5, 2010

sounds like you have a seal leaking somewhere.. If I were to guess I'd look at the door window where it seals to the rear quater window.
It rains a lot in Seattle and people there don't have problems with mold inside there cars.

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

Thanks for the idea about the carpet cleaner. I have already used some cleaner called Tuff Stuff. I did it the same way. Vacuumed it out first, sprayed the stuff on and let it settle, then scrubbed it and wiped it up with a damp cloth. Then wiped again with a clean dry cloth. My thinking is that i'm going to have to go through the entire passenger compartment since mold can migrate.

I think the problem goes beyond mold. Most of the bolts on the interior and engine bay have rust on them. Not rusted through, just some surface rust. When I had the seats out I soaked the seat bolts in C.L.R. to get the rust off those. Plus in the engine bay, over most of the motor components (alternator, water pump, heads), there is some white oxidization. Probably from the moist, salty air.

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

desertcox05 said:
sounds like you have a seal leaking somewhere.. If I were to guess I'd look at the door window where it seals to the rear quater window.
It rains a lot in Seattle and people there don't have problems with mold inside there cars.

I haven't noticed any leaks. When I went to look at it, the guy said a tree branch fell straight down on the windshield. Of course they replaced it, but I'm thinking that it sat a while with it broken. That's where I'm thinking it started, then got worse from there.

toyman · Apr 5, 2010

95.red.gt said:
I haven't noticed any leaks. When I went to look at it, the guy said a tree branch fell straight down on the windshield. Of course they replaced it, but I'm thinking that it sat a while with it broken. That's where I'm thinking it started, then got worse from there.

Or flood damaged. Did you run a Carfax against the VIN?

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

toyman said:
Or flood damaged. Did you run a Carfax against the VIN?

I did. Nothing came up.

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

Here are some pics of what I was talking about in the engine compartment.

Chythar · Apr 5, 2010

That's definitely salt buildup. It's just sea salt in the air that builds up on everything. It won't hurt the aluminum, but as you can see it will eventually eat up metal. I used to get salt buildup on my battery terminals too. As stated, it can happen living close to the coast.

95_red_gt · Apr 5, 2010

Chythar said:
That's definitely salt buildup. It's just sea salt in the air that builds up on everything. It won't hurt the aluminum, but as you can see it will eventually eat up metal. I used to get salt buildup on my battery terminals too. As stated, it can happen living close to the coast.

That's what I was thinking on the aluminum parts, but I didn't know it could do that to the metal.

Chythar · Apr 5, 2010

Salt corrodes metal, it's why cars rust out in the snow states that salt their roads.

toyman · Apr 5, 2010

95.red.gt said:
That's what I was thinking on the aluminum parts, but I didn't know it could do that to the metal.

That white stuff is more likely aluminum oxide. I've lived on the coast for over 50 years and I've never seen that much build up on any car I've ever owned. I have seen it on cars at auto wreckers/junkyards where the parts are in constant exposure to the elements though. The other rust is likely to have occurred if the car sat unused for a few years in a moist/humid environment.

95_red_gt · Apr 6, 2010

The guy I bought it from said it sat for a long time. He said it was under cover, but not in a garage. I guess that's why it was a good price. That's why it's a project, I plan on pretty much replacing everything that's stock anyways.

ProKiller · Apr 6, 2010

if it was just sitting on the ground outside then yeah i can see that much oxidation on the accessory brackets.

onestripevert · Apr 8, 2010

sporcidin

it will kill any and all mold

got mine from ServPro

cantbuytime · Apr 9, 2010

The constant heat from driving your car, keeps the corrosion down.

My car sat in a garage for 1.5yrs and its just as bad as urs.

Interior Mold!!!

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