Lots of mould on seatbelts, steering wheel and headrests

[Holst]

I dont think it will do you any harm as long as you dont eat it.

After I left my car for a year it has some similar sounding green bits inside.
It all cleaned off pretty easily with some foam cleaner.

[skip_1]

Had this in the past with damp cars. Soapy water removed the mould. Had stained the seatbelts, but wasn't noticeable except under close scrutiny.

[OnlyMX5ives]

Damp cloth removes it.

But unless you dry it it will return.

Milton removes it better (and longer) and oil of cloves covers the smell and again delays re growth.

[MiniMan64]

If you've got a dehumidifier leaving that running in the car for a few hours can really do some good for getting the damp out of a car.

I do it occasionally in my Mini when I start getting a lot of condensation building up in the windows. The joys of living on the coast I guess!

[Trooper2]

Wear a dust mask as some mold spores can be very harmful or deadly if inhaled.

[Emubiker]

to keep the mould away (short term measure) put some cat litter in a couple of socks and place near where you think it is stemming from. It'll soak up the moisture in the air and stop the mould, will need to put the socks on a radiator every couple of days though to dry them out again, so just have to sets.

[deviant]

I have read that a tray of bicarb sat on the floor of the car does wonders for 'soaking up' odours and also helps to reduce moisture in the car.

[chris1roll]

Trooper2 said:

Wear a dust mask as some mold spores can be very harmful or deadly if inhaled.

Agreed. You would probably be ok, but just to be on the safe side.

[CommanderJameson]

Trooper2 said:

Wear a dust mask as some mold spores can be very harmful or deadly if inhaled.

I hear about peoples' houses becoming uninhabitable because of mould, but it only ever seems to be in the US. Is there some variety of mould that's peculiar to the States?

[Roop]

Emubiker said:

to keep the mould away (short term measure) put some cat litter in a couple of socks and place near where you think it is stemming from. It'll soak up the moisture in the air and stop the mould, will need to put the socks on a radiator every couple of days though to dry them out again, so just have to sets.

Use the 'Crystal' style cat litter, not the normal clay type. The crystal ones are big chunks of silica crystals and work great. Better still, you can dry them out inside on a radiator and re-use ad-infinitum.

[HereBeMonsters]

Dettol's anti-mould and mildew spray is brilliant. Destroys everything in its path, mould rarely comes back.
Stick some little trays of cat litter in the car to absorb the water. That's what I'm doing with the 306 until I can find the time to get the engine out.

[skip_1]

HereBeMonsters said:

Dettol's anti-mould and mildew spray is brilliant. Destroys everything in its path, mould rarely comes back.

This, it is the greatest substance known to man.
The mould just dissolves in front of your eyes.

[agxster]

Here's a good thread you should read on mould removal, hopefully your car isn't as bad as this Merc SL!

http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-details-before-af...

[HereBeMonsters]

agxster said:

Here's a good thread you should read on mould removal, hopefully your car isn't as bad as this Merc SL!

http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-details-before-af...

My old 205 was way, way worse than that. Used the Dettol stuff on it, mould never came back.

Interesting to see such a detailed clean of the car though. Do people offering these sorts of services exist in the UK?

[OnlyMX5ives]

Be careful with home cleaning chemicals many bleach fabrics.

[agxster]

HereBeMonsters said:

My old 205 was way, way worse than that. Used the Dettol stuff on it, mould never came back.

Interesting to see such a detailed clean of the car though. Do people offering these sorts of services exist in the UK?

Yes they do exist, for example:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/detailing-...

[Trooper2]

CommanderJameson said:

Trooper2 said:

Wear a dust mask as some mold spores can be very harmful or deadly if inhaled.

I hear about peoples' houses becoming uninhabitable because of mould, but it only ever seems to be in the US. Is there some variety of mould that's peculiar to the States?

IIRC molds really like high heat and moisture, so anywere these occur naturally or otherwise you can get major problems. When I lived in an apartment in Florida the management was very strict about reporting any mold or water leaks. As far as dangerous strains and where they occur/ how to identify them, I'm clueless, hence my warning about wearing a mask, "better safe than sorry".

[john01]

hora said:

Re the Dettol- its fine. Black seats as well.

hi is it ok on cloth seats

[M3DEV]

john01 said:

hi is it ok on cloth seats

Also I have the same question.
Can you use this on black fabric seats without bleaching them?