Mouldy seats

[Ex-User (19928)]

There's been a few threads on this in the past which suggest various products techniques.

I've got one of those George wet/dry vacuum cleaners, will the normal carpet cleaning solution be fine on car seats?

It's fabric seats in Fiesta that's been left under a cover for 4 months and must have had some moisture in the car as the seats have grown things if that makes any difference. How do you dry the seats afterward? I've only ever used the wet vac on carpets before and you just vac them a few times afterward and then leave them to dry.

 

[stonejedi]

There's been a few threads on this in the past which suggest various products techniques.

I've got one of those George wet/dry vacuum cleaners, will the normal carpet cleaning solution be fine on car seats?

It's fabric seats in Fiesta that's been left under a cover for 4 months and must have had some moisture in the car as the seats have grown things if that makes any difference. How do you dry the seats afterward? I've only ever used the wet vac on carpets before and you just vac them a few times afterward and then leave them to dry.

If you just use a wet vac the mould will grow straight back,i am in the exact position as you as my Clio has been covered up for months now and I just took the cover off and believe me when I say I could of cried.So I will be doing the mould extermination on Sunday,I have done it numerous times now on different cars and the mould has struggled to ever come back.The weather is supposed to be dry from Sunday onwards for three to four days so it will be a perfect time to do the job...I purchased myself a bissell pro spot clean extractor as I have three cars to sort out.The procedure that I use is to pre clean the mould with a APC/Borax mix that I invented afterwards I will use the Bissell to fully extract it "Just Water" then apply a enzyme deodoriser to the washed areas that if their is still traces of mould they will have nothing to feed on, i will then pat dry with a couple of microfibre cloths then just leave the majority of the fabrics to air dry naturally.Once you understand fully what mould needs to survive and grow you can prevent it from coming back.SJ.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

If you just use a wet vac the mould will grow straight back,i am in the exact position as you as my Clio has been covered up for months now and I just took the cover off and believe me when I say I could of cried.So I will be doing the mould extermination on Sunday,I have done it numerous times now on different cars and the mould has struggled to ever come back.The weather is supposed to be dry from Sunday onwards for three to four days so it will be a perfect time to do the job...I purchased myself a bissell pro spot clean extractor as I have three cars to sort out.The procedure that I use is to pre clean the mould with a APC/Borax mix that I invented afterwards I will use the Bissell to fully extract it "Just Water" then apply a enzyme deodoriser to the washed areas that if their is still traces of mould they will have nothing to feed on, i will then pat dry with a couple of microfibre cloths then just leave the majority of the fabrics to air dry naturally.Once you understand fully what mould needs to survive and grow you can prevent it from coming back.SJ.

Is that much different to my wet vac that I linked? Both look like carpet cleaners to me.

Thanks so much for the post!

 

[Krarl]

Best to take the seats out and then stick em against the radiator mate

My Clio was hella moldy after leaving it sitting for 3 months and I had to steam clean everything with 1:1 Dettol and give everything a good wipe and dry down

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Yeah that's a good shout too, my initial hunch was wet vac them and then leave a bucket of rice in the car to make sure it dries properly

 

[Krarl]

Nah rice doesn't do anything. If you want then get a Kilrock dehumidifier from Home Bargains mate. These seem to work exceptionally well in taking moisture out of the air when the car 'warms' up during the middle of the day in the sun

I've used them in my Meg and Clio when they were parked up and it's stopped any moisture festering

 

[stonejedi]

Is that much different to my wet vac that I linked? Both look like carpet cleaners to me.

Thanks so much for the post!

A George can vacuum dry dirt as well as cleaning stains as a carpet wet cleaner, the Bissell is strictly a machine,that its only purpose is for wet use cleaning.You will be fine with the George.SJ.

 

[botfch]

Amm NYC guy on youtube has some good video's on dealing with mouldy cars.

 

[BaileyWolves]

Take em down the local pub I am sure covid 19 will sort the mould out!!! As mentioned above it’s not a matter of cleaning it off it’s removing the source to stop it returning a specialist cleaner or disinfectant should sort it for you good luck 👍