How To Remove Mold From Your Car
First things first: you should never tackle mold without wearing the proper protective gear. Be sure to suit up in overalls, rubber boots, rubber gloves, a face mask, and some goggles before beginning.
Now that youre ready prepare your vehicle by taking out any possible sources of mold. Were talking wet swimming trunks, gym bags, seat covers, and floor mats. Leave them aside to be dealt with later.
Youll also want to place your car in an open, sunny area. Roll down the windows and air out the interiors for a while. This will lower your chances of inhaling mold spores.
Finally, youre ready to annihilate the mold. To do this, pick any one of the following methods:
How To Prevent Mold Regrowth
Mold isnt a welcome sight anywhere, whether its your home or your car. Ask anyone whos lived through a mold outbreak, and theyll tell you how daunting the remediation process is.
As you may have realized by now, cleaning the mold out of a vehicle is no easy feat. One wrong move and your entire car can fill up with mold spores, making it impossible for you to get behind the wheel.
Once youve handled a mold infestation, you wont want it to return. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to discourage mold growth inside your vehicle. This includes learning to:
Prepare By Getting Safety Equipment
Some molds are completely harmless, while others, like black mold, can be dangerous and should be carefully and safely removed. Thats why its important to wear protective equipment when removing mold. Wear gloves to protect your hands, a mask to cover your nose and mouth so you dont inhale mold spores, and eye and face protection.
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Preparing Your Car For Mold And Mildew Removal
The minute you open the door of a mold or mildew infested car, you will instantly smell the foul sour milk odor and sense the dampness in the cars interior. Mold and mildew growths have a characteristic smell which is neither pleasant nor safe to inhale. Before you head straight into the main mold and mildew removal methods for cars, here are some preparation tips you need to follow:
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Can A Steam Cleaner Remove Mold From Your Car
Mold is quite a thing to concern as it requires lots of effort to clean it. But did you know, mold removal process becomes much easier with steam cleaning? It happens because the steam machine produces a high-level heat which helps to kill the mold. Mold tends to die at a temperature between 150 degrees and 364 degrees Fahrenheit. Steam cleaning can effectively kill the mold spores from a surface, but steam should not be used on a non-porous surface as the steam can absorb the qualities of porous materials.
But there is one thing you should understand that somehow mold spores have an omnipresence. Even after steam cleaning the interior car detailing, it can again germinate on the surface. It requires oxygen, a nutrient source, and moistures to germinate, which is why if you leave your car in a closed, damp place for a long time, mold grows every day and therefore covers the inside surface of your vehicle.
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Keep Your Car Smelling Fresh And Refreshing
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Unless youre intentionally fostering a mobile ecosystem, theres almost nothing worse than finding mold in your car. It looks and feels disgusting, but theres also a great chance that it smells disgusting and could lead to health issues.
Vehicles can mold inside for a variety of reasons, but the most common by far is a moisture leak. You dont, however, have to kill it with fire or spend thousands of dollars to have someone clean it for you. With a little bit of elbow grease and time, you can remove the mold, scrub the area, and have it smelling like new.
The Drive doesnt expect you to be an expert on mold removal and air purification, so weve put together a guide to help you get started on your bio-friendly journey. Well cover the basics to help you remove the mold and freshen the air inside your car. Stick with us and well have you rolling clean in no time.
Mold on the outside isnt all that great, either.
How To Remove Mould Algae And Mildew From Your Car
The yucky presence of mould, algae, or mildew in your cars interior demands immediate attention. While some species of mould are relatively harmless, the really bad ones can mess up your health, particularly black mould or Stachybotrys chartarum.
As if having the name black mould is not terrifying enough, it is a toxic species of mould and causes dangerous allergic reactions.
In the worst cases, black mould can kill a person. The symptoms of toxicity include abdominal pain or bloating, shortness of breath, headaches, fuzzy memory, or weakness and fatigue.
While its true were all exposed to mould spores every single day, these abhorring fungi have no place in the interior of your car. If you see white, orange, purple, green, or even black mould in your vehicle, you need to remove it as soon as possible to prevent further infestation.
In this helpful article, I will show you the various ways to safely remove and decontaminate your vehicles interior from nasty moulds, mildew, or algae.
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Take The Car Out In The Sunlight
Mold and Mildew hates sunlight and fresh air. Wear your personal protection gear, cover your face and take your infested vehicle out in bright sunlight. Carefully roll down all the windows and open the doors the allow the spore inflicted air move out of the cars interior. Let the car soak in direct sunlight, with open doors and windows, for about 15 minutes.
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Remove Foul Odors From A Car Headliner
Combine water, vinegar, and baking soda in a spray container. Stir it well. This solution will help to remove cigarette odor from the car headliner. Dab it on the headliner along with a soft cloth.
Keep in mind that too many solutions may lead to mold development.
Then, vacuum the headliner to eliminate odors from the surface. If it still stinks, dilute the vinegar with a few drops of essential oil before adding the cleaning solution.
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Use Lemon Juice As Vinegar Substitute
If youre not a fan of that vinegar smell, the next best thing available is a vinegar substitute like lemon juice. Not only does lemon juice smell great, but the citric acid in the ingredient is also a great way to eliminate mold. For particularly tricky patches, you may want to try a lemony paste made with salt to scrub the mold away.
Lemon and Salt Mold Remover
- ½ cup of lemon juice
Using the scrub, smear a little bit of it over the moldy area. Whenever scrubbing or dealing with mold directly, its always best to keep a face mask over your mouth and nose to prevent breathing any of the spores, especially when in confined spaces. Blot up the moisture left behind by the juice, then vacuum up whatever solid particles remain.
Surface Clean Your Car Headliner
If the stains/dirt on your headliner is spread over a larger area, you should consider surface cleaning.
A. Spray upholstery cleaner evenly across the entire headliner, being careful not to soak it. You should give specific attention to the regions, corners, and crevices around the lights, overhead console, and sunroof that are extremely grubby.
B. Let the cleaner sit for a while to work its magic on the stains. If youre not happy with the result, you can reapply and repeat the process.
C. With a soft-bristled brush, gently scrub the entire headliner. To ensure an even clean, make sure you work on each area of the headliner. If you dont brush little nook and cranny, the stains may show up once it dries.
D. Let the headliner dry completely by blotting any moisture using a microfiber towel. After that, let it air dry. This could take an hour or two, depending on how wet it is.
E. If the stains persist, repeat steps one through four. Tough stains may require a second cleaning. However, if the second surface cleaning does not yield results, you will need to deep clean your cars headliner.
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Remove Water Stains From A Car Headliner
If youve ever had the mishap of leaving your car windows open right before a rainstorm, you probably know all about water stains in your car. The following method will show you how to remove water stains from a car headliner. This cleaning solution is also useful as a fabric cleaner for cleaning upholstery and for spot cleaning the interior of your car.
- Microfiber towel
Mix the water, white vinegar, and dish soap in a spray bottle and shake. Spray the solution onto a soft bristle brush and gently scrub the water-stained areas in circular motions.
Do not use too much cleaning solution or too much pressure, or youll risk damaging the fabric adhesive. Use a dry towel to apply pressure to the area to absorb any liquid.
You can also use this solution for cleaning car upholstery with stains or for those on the carpeting, as well. You can use a little more of the cleaner on these areas, as there is no adhesive to worry about.
Commercial Or Homemade Fabric/upholstery Cleaner Spray
The type of cleaner you require depends on the type of stain on your headliner. Were fine with using commercial upholstery cleaners for water-based stains like soda and coffee. Alternatively, you can whip up your own DIY upholstery cleaning solution with warm water, white vinegar, and liquid soap, etc. Fill up a spray bottle with the cleaner of your choice.
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Analyze The Extent Of Mold Growth To Start Planning
Evaluating, planning and strategizing are the key elements needed to eliminate the mold and mildews from any car. Get back in the car and inspect the nooks and crannies of the car including the areas under the seats, center console, doors and handles, dashboard, vents, seatbelts and ay damp or hidden spots. Identify the mold growth through general indicators and analyze how far it has spread so you can plan the removal methods accordingly.
Clean The Surface Of A Car Headliner
If you have never cleaned the headliner in your car, then this is a good time to do a surface cleaning of the entire headliner. Doing this with a DIY interior car cleaner will not only clean it but remove the build-up of smoke and dust that can accumulate on its surface.
First, make sure your cars headliner is secure and damage-free. If there is any loosening of the headliner fabric or other damage, skip this method and have it examined by a professional at a repair shop. Start by cleaning any dust and debris from the headliner using a car vacuum cleaner.
Use the upholstery cleaner tool of the vacuum to focus on the outer edges, crevices, and dome lights of the ceiling. Dampen a cloth with water. Mix the water and vinegar in a spray bottle and spray the solution onto the damp cloth.
Use moderate pressure to dab the cloth onto the liner, gently working one section at a time until it is dirt-free. Make sure not to soak the headliner with too much water. Use a fresh, dry towel to dab excess moisture from the liner.
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Common Spots For Mold
Mold is most likely to form on or under upholstery, seatbelts, carpets, dashboards, gloveboxes, consoles, door panels, rear window package shelves and truck liners, as well as around any trash or old cloths. Also, check the trunk, and pull back the carpeting or liner. If the seal to your trunk is not good and moisture gets in, the damp and dark interior is ideal for mold to grow. Any area that gets little or no fresh air or sunshine is more likely to be an ideal area for mold to grow.
The Car Headliner And Its Purpose
The construction of the cars ceiling, or headliner, is generally in three parts. The part you see is fabric or sometimes vinyl or leather that creates a finished look inside the vehicle. The fabric is glued to a thin layer of foam.
The final layer is fiberglass or sturdy cardboard that is molded to fit the inside of the cars roof. The fabric and foam are glued to the sturdy backing. Because these components are glued together, you should take care when cleaning the headliner so that you dont dissolve the adhesive.
The headliner provides several purposes in the construction of the car. Of course, it makes the inside of the cabin look nicer. Next, it provides sound and vibration insulation which reduces road noise. Finally, it is an anchor point for dome lights and speakers that are installed in the ceiling.
If the headliner becomes damaged, it has to be replaced all in one piece, so it is important to take care of the ceiling to avoid costly repairs.
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Combat Mold Growth With Sunlight
Similar to airing out your car, finding a nice sunny spot to clean your car is a great way to prepare it for washing. Allowing your car to dry out in the heat for about 15 minutes before cleaning deodorizes it, and exposes the mold to ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Because mold spores are unable to photosynthesize the UV rays from the sun, placing them out in direct sunlight is an excellent way to reduce their potency.
When cleaning your car with whatever solution you prefer, allowing it to dry out in the sun also increases its effectiveness at eradicating mold for good. This method works best when used with other techniques and shouldnt be relied on as the only mold removal remedy, however.
How To Remove Moulds Using Special Cleaners
One of the best products for removing moulds is Bio Brisk by AutoSmart. It is a special biological cleaner that contains live enzymes. This product will literally starve the moulds and algae to prevent them from spreading. The enzymes in the cleaner will then eat the starving moulds to eradicate all traces of visible contamination and ugly smells.
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Getting Rid Of Mold With White Vinegar
If youre more of a DIY type of guy, then we have three easy yet effective solutions for you. The first is using white vinegar, an acid, which can kill mold and stop it from growing back by burning it. Dont worry about your car having a strong, vinegary smell after all this. Its nothing a little fresh air and baking soda cant handle. Whats also great is that this method works with all kinds of seats from leather, to vinyl, and even cloth-type seats.
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For this, youll need distilled white vinegar, a spray bottle or some clean cloth, and some tap water. Mix eight parts vinegar with two parts water. Afterwards, put it in the spray bottle or keep it in a clean container where you can soak the cloth scraps in. You can use non-distilled white vinegar, but you may have to add in more of it. You could even use undiluted vinegar if youre dealing with a more severe infestation.
If only a few spores were left after you vacuumed, you could make do with spot cleaning. Simply spray or dab the solution directly on the mold as well as on one or two feet of the surrounding area. For more extreme cases, spray the entire area from top to bottom. Once youve applied the vinegar solution, let it soak in for around 15 minutes. This would be enough time to kill all of those pesky spores.
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How To Deep Clean A Car Headliner
Deep cleaning should be the last resort when it comes to cleaning your cars headliner. This process uses the combination of heat and moisture as a stain remover but may also loosen the adhesive from the liner, so take special care.
Youll be using a steam cleaner with an upholstery attachment for this process. To find the proper ratio of hot water and stain remover solution, follow the instructions of your cleaning machines instruction manual.
Use the upholstery attachment to begin cleaning at the corner of the headliner. Press the spray trigger as you move along the liner, making sure that you do not remain in one area for too long to prevent over-saturation. Use the same pace and technique across the entire liner.
Allow the headliner a day to dry. Speed up drying time by rolling down the windows or running fans. Once the liner is dry, you may notice dried lines in the material. Run your hands along the grain of the fabric to smooth out the surface.
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Removing Bad Odors From A Car Headliner
While giving your vehicle a good car cleaning, you may have discovered the overhead liner has some bad odors. Remove these bad smells from your cars headliner in a few simple steps using a homemade fabric deodorizer.
- Microfiber cloth
For removing cigarette smell from car headliner or other areas of the interior, mix the water, household vinegar, and baking soda in a spray bottle and shake well. Spray the solution onto a soft cloth and gently dab the solution onto the liner, making sure not to saturate the headliner. Never spray the headliner directly as it will get too wet and could lead to mildew later.
Make your way over the entire headliner by working one section at a time. Once dry, use a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment to vacuum the whole surface of the liner to remove any remnants of baking soda and bad odors.
If youre not a fan of the smell of vinegar, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to this solution and put it in a spray bottle. Now you have an essential oil car air freshener spray you can keep in the console to deodorize the car whenever it starts to smell funky.
Its not often that you look up to the interior roof of a car while driving. Little did you know that having a clean car meant more than just vacuuming out debris from the seats and carpeting. Completing regular headliner cleaning while you perform other car care needs keeps your vehicle looking and smelling fresh.
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