Now that's a funky smell!

snowman23 · Nov 19, 2010

My father stores his 98 convertible in my garage for the winter months. Apparently his top began leaking this summer and on a rainy day he got a decent amount of water behind the rear seat and where the top folds down. He also apparently did not vacuum it out but instead let it evaporate.

Well now it (and in my garage as a result) smells like a moldy mess. Anyone know anything to get rid of that kind of smell. I don't want to just hang / spray air freshener b/c my fear is that it will then smell like mold / air freshener.

Thanks in advance.

N8Dogg98 · Nov 19, 2010

ouch, that really sucks. Mold is a mother f**ker to clean up. Do a search over on Autopia.org for some ideas. Some of the professional detailers have cleaned up moldy cars and posted how-to threads including products used and techniques. It won't be easy to clean up that mess... good luck

Shiroelex · Nov 23, 2010

One of the best things I've ever used for something like that is a 50/50 mix of water and wintergreen scented isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. This actually kills the odors, as opposed to masking them. I've seen the bottles of alcohol in a few different scents, if wintergreen isn't your thing.

Sonic04GT · Nov 23, 2010

snowman23 said:
My father stores his 98 convertible in my garage for the winter months. Apparently his top began leaking this summer and on a rainy day he got a decent amount of water behind the rear seat and where the top folds down. He also apparently did not vacuum it out but instead let it evaporate.

Well now it (and in my garage as a result) smells like a moldy mess. Anyone know anything to get rid of that kind of smell. I don't want to just hang / spray air freshener b/c my fear is that it will then smell like mold / air freshener.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like my old '95 gt vert. Water would leak in and puddle up behind the rear seats as well, or drip from the top of the driver side window and would smell like mildew in the morning. Would never buy another vert again. But anyway, I just drove with the windows down to air it out and it eventually went away. Maybe a light air freshener.

N8Dogg98 · Nov 23, 2010

Not sure how bad the mold issue is, but here's a thread from Autopia involving a 1979 Mercedes 450SL that had serious mold problems. Might give you an idea of what products should be used along with a process for cleaning it up. The thing with mold is you need to be sure you kill the spores and remove as many as possible, otherwise it will take over again when moisture is present.

As I said earlier, you really need to get on a detailing forum such as Autopia, do some research and contact members on there that have dealt with mold before. Its one of those things that's a real PITA to take care of and needs to be done properly.

1979 Mercedes 450SL - Complete Interior & Mold Abatement

snowman23 · Nov 23, 2010

thanks guys.

I have been going with the "air it out" method and it seems to be getting less noticable.

This happened once over a 2 day period. Normally the car is not driven in rain. I don't have the time to go too crazy with it and coupled with the fact that my father thinks he is selling come spring, makes me want to just get it aired out and stored for the winter. (Will check out that site though N8Dogg--thanks)

Thanks again.

N8Dogg98 · Nov 23, 2010

snowman23 said:
thanks guys.

I have been going with the "air it out" method and it seems to be getting less noticable.

This happened once over a 2 day period. Normally the car is not driven in rain. I don't have the time to go too crazy with it and coupled with the fact that my father thinks he is selling come spring, makes me want to just get it aired out and stored for the winter. (Will check out that site though N8Dogg--thanks)

Thanks again.

moisture is going to be your enemy if mold has already started to form. If you don't have the time or resources to properly clean it, I suggest making sure it is as dry as possible in that interior over the winter. I agree you should let it air out, but also suggest buying a couple cans of Damp Rid and leaving them in the car all winter until you have a chance to do a proper cleaning

snowman23 · Nov 23, 2010

That's not a bad idea. I will look into that.

THANKS

XxMustang281xX · Nov 23, 2010

same thing happened to me in my jetta. sunroof drains clogged, and the whole interior molded. i sprayed it with armor all, wiped it down, sprayed febreeze and it never came back and theres no smell or anything...

N8Dogg98 · Nov 23, 2010

Another thing I should mention is the foam mat that sits under the carpet will never fully dry and may require that you replace it as well. Good news is they are really cheap. If you were to remove the seats and the carpet you could replace the foam backing, and scrub, hang and powerwash the carpet to really take care of the mess and the smell. It would probably look brand new when you're finished too and you wouldn't be out more than $50

Now that's a funky smell!

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