Mold removal from complete interior

[FireFox31]

Water got into my car, evaporated into extreme humidity by day, then condensed onto and into everything by night for up to a month. The interior smells like mold though I don't see any. My plan is to sterilize and shampoo the surface and interior of all carpets, seats, trim, ducts, headliner, and bare metal to remove this mold. Can you think of anything which would prevent success, requiring the car to be scrapped? Have you done anything which worked in a similar situation?

I fear that the condensed humidity could have corroded metal, especially inside sensitive electronics, motors, power connections, etc. Some white scaling is showing on trunk metal and on the back of the radio. What metal components could be harmed by condensed water?

I'm researching cleaning materials and methods. This MVS thread on removing mold from carpets makes the job sound hopeful. Bleach sounds mediocre for killing mold, vinegar may be better, and commercial products like Concrobium are apparently the best. Have you used any products to kill and remove mold and its smell?

I'd like to remove each carpets and trim piece to sterilize and clean them in my bath tub. I'd work the cleaner into the fabric using detailing brushes and soak it into all foam. Then rinse with water, dry with ShopVac squeegee or an air tool like Tornador, and leave outside in the sun for final drying. I would wipe down plastic trim and gently sanitize the headliner with with the same solution.

Cleaning the sheet metal would be next. I've read that bleach corrodes aluminum and copper but maybe it won't if I rinse it off quickly. Perhaps vinegar or Concrobium would be safer. What do you think is best to sterilize metal?

Hopefully cleaning the carpets and trim will remove the smell. If I must go deeper, I might disassemble the seats to clean the skins and foam, then remove the dash pad to clean it and the HVAC ducts. But what areas could I not easily clean which might harbor mold?

Or perhaps I could do a complete interior swap at a junkyard. That still requires sterilizing the bare metal, dash, headliner, and more. Or maybe I strip out all of my work from the engine bay and scrap the car, accepting a loss of time and money that I put in. And even if I fix the mold, I still have a bad misfire, transmission, rack, and more. I just need to determine when it's no longer worth it, especially considering how much I've put in.

[scot850]

Most mold killers use bleach to kill the mold. We used that to kill mold in walls in houses or damp spots in ancient home in the UK.

Speak to professional detailers. One thing I have seen them use is a steam unit to help kill the spores. There is no reason to have to scrap the car. You see YouTube guys repairing flood damaged cars all the time. Fortunately there are very few if any low lying electrical connectors in the P80's. I think you will be surprised by how resilient the harnessed and connectors are. I think the pro cleaners also have an ionizing machine that will kill smells and possible mold.

Pull the seats which will allow the rear carpet to be removed. The carpets are rubber backed so pressure washing them is an option. Front carpet is harder as is fits behind the center stack. It can be removed after taking the center console out but it is fiddly. I think folding it back on each side will give ample space to get in there. The floors are usually fairly well protected, so a good clean with bleach and then steam them they will be good.

Neil.

[chrafael]

Was the car in deep water, or just the interior? How deep?

[FireFox31]

Thanks, I haven't looked in to steam units yet. I assumed that thoroughly washing with bleach then shampoo in my bathtub would provide the deepest cleaning possible.

The car was not in deep water. Some amount of water came in a window, let's say two cups. It evaporated by day creating an intense humidity in the car, then condensed by night coating everything with water. Perhaps worse than being in deep water, the car had a tiny amount of water on the surface and interior of everything. I'm assuming that worst case so I ensure to clean it very well.

[abscate]

That’s a one time event, not a deep mold event. It will clean up with soap and water and some fan air flow in some dry weather. When mushrooms are growing in the car, that’s mold!

[CIK7]

I would not take the chance. Personally, I would empty out and trash all the cloth-type stuff, even the leather seats (has foam), and rebuild the headliner. Then I would run the heat system on high for 2hr to scorch the air ducts and the remaining surfaces. I question if throwing out carpeted floor of the trunk is necessary. It just needs a good scrub in scorching water and soap.

[454cid]

I think you're way over thinking this. Just clean the interior like normal, maybe use a mold killer if it's non-bleaching, and air it out in the sun.

[FireFox31]

Thanks for your input. Do you see any problem with bleach on metal? If I get it on aluminum, will that be ok if I rinse it off right away? Could I use medium-temp heat gun to dry the cleaned metal and fabric surfaces?

For foam, I'm planning to soak it in mold killer, squeezing it in to work through the entire matrix, then rinse, cold-air blow dry, and leave in the sun. I'll start with some small foam trim parts and check the before and after.

For ducts, I'm planning to use long flexible pipe cleaners to apply mold killer to their entire internal surface area, then rinse and dry. Deep duct cleaning seems like a good idea on a 25 year old car even without mold.

The trunk was the most affected area since that's where the broken window is. I'm a little worried that mold spores might have grown into the wood floor supports. These parts seem easy to replace from a junkyard, worst case.

[scot850]

Based on the quantity of moisture you are talking about, I would be surprised if it got below the material surface. Floor carpets are rubber backed so just a good clean. As with everything be careful with bleach and make sure it is well ventilated where you are working. A mild mixture with bleach in it should not be an issue. Sure a wipe down with soapy water and a sponge is fine. Sun-light and fresh air is good if the weather is holding up as well.

Neil.

[abscate]

Bleach on metal with a rinse off will be fine. It doesn’t have to be strong, a capful added to a gallon of water will move mold off things