Detailers face unexpected costs when cleaning mold from vehicles
14 posts across 2 communities in the last 60 days; 86% from r/AutoDetailing.
“Not likely to get mold out of heating ducts that’s the issue with mold surfaces are not a problem inside ducts and inside dash is not easy to clean and mold growers if you can’t clean it dose not stop growing”
“Hello Everyone, I left my car in an outside, air conditioned 2 car garage for about 8 months while I was out of the country. I returned today to find out that it's super humid in the garage and there is spots of mold on many items, including the inside of my car. While this car…”
“Hi all, I'm at a loss of what to do. I've never auto-detailed before and I don't have the kind of money to be able to pay someone to clean my SUV. I bought my car back in February, and since around May I've noticed that when it rains, sometimes water makes its way under the…”
Several detailers are encountering significant, unanticipated expenses (over $1000) due to extensive mold growth in vehicle interiors. One customer's Buick sat for three to four years with windows down, leading to severe mold infestation requiring complete interior removal and specialized cleaning techniques. Detailers express concern about the health risks involved and the difficulty of proper remediation.
SOURCES (43)
“Hi all, I'm at a loss of what to do. I've never auto-detailed before and I don't have the kind of money to be able to pay someone to clean my SUV. I bought my car back in February, and since around May I've noticed…”
“Car sat for a long time, mold/mildew grew. It’s been cleaned with bleach, plenty of elbow grease but this imprint remains. What would you suggest? submitted by /u/Jus10Crummie [link] [comments]”
“Start with dehumidifying the car with whatever method you choose. Then kill the mold with ozone (a generator can be bought for 40€). Then clean the plastics with APC, and steam vacuum the textiles. (You can use a self-service one - check if there's any in self-service car washes in your area), then dehumidify again and use the ozone generator. Then clean the mold from A/C evaporator with TUNAP foam. Then change the cabin air filter. Since you'll have the generator, just use it regularly.”
“Hello. I was recently gifted a car by my lovely father, a 2013 Buick Verano, and unfortunately it has become very moldy. For context, he is a smoker and would often smoke in the car with the windows down, so ashes have blown all around the car for years and are embedded in everything. The car recently sat for quite some time I would say a few months, through the summer. It has in that time grown quite a substantial amount of mold mostly on the passenger seatbelt and the passenger flooring/side d”
“I have a 1984 volvo 240 turbo that keeps getting white mold spores on the interior. I live in florida where recently it’s been nothing but rain 24/7. The car didn’t usually live in a covered area but i’ve had to move it to my car port recently. I know this car has water leaks. I’ve fixed a few but some just aren’t doable at the moment. The rear quarter windows are the worst. I’ve steam cleaned both seats, steering wheel, and carpet and it’s still growing. i keep a damp-rid thing in it recently t”
Could be mold. Any musty smells in the car ever? Even sometimes?
“Mold like buildup on seating and door panels. What is the best approach to cleaning? submitted by /u/Dr_Martin_Ssempa [link] [comments]”
“I removed the rear seat of my Impala for a deep cleaning and have encountered mold. I've given it a clean already by vacuuming loose debris, followed by a scrubbing with a castille soap/ water mix. I still have stained/lightened areas on my plastics from where the mold growth occurred. Can I clean these further to get rid of the dry/moldy looking spots or will i need to do a sanding and plastic spray paint sort of treatment? submitted by /u/applejuzearndhardt [link] [commen”
“Hey guys, first time using Reddit in probably years so please be nice lol. I pulled the door card off my car and found mold on the inside, how would I go about cleaning this? You see the panel is made of a particle type material so I need help cleaning in a way that won’t damage it, Thanks for any help! Also if the is isn’t the place to ask please refer me. submitted by /u/Diemondoe [link] [comments]”
“I have an older family member who has a hatchback trunked car in central Florida. It rains an out in summer and their trunk has had moisture issues from water getting in. The car sits in an open apt parking lot , with bushes, grass, trees, and near a dumpster and pond/lake (not sure what it’s called)? My family member drives it about once a week. She placed an old tan deflated air mattress on the bottom to protect the cloth material of the trunk and then stored some stuff on it for a year. I was”
“Replace all seats, clean thoroughly with rubbing alcohol (kills spores and evaporates fast without leaving moisture) and run ozone generator in there. Former detailer. Ive dealt with worse mold but we replaced the seats as they were too far gone”
“Not likely to get mold out of heating ducts that’s the issue with mold surfaces are not a problem inside ducts and inside dash is not easy to clean and mold growers if you can’t clean it dose not stop growing”
“You don't drive it in the rain, but that's not going to stop the humidity from getting in. If I'm not driving for a few days during the hot humid summer, I get a faint musty smell. Air it out and the smell is gone. 20 year old car, maybe it's time to do a deep carpet cleaning and degrease all the leather. I almost bought an S2000 back in the day, but decided on a new 2000 Civic Si. I had a long commute so the S2000 was a no go.”
“Since you already removed the belt it shouldn't be too hard to get this off. (Wear a protective mask and gloves) and spray it with mould killer spray (oxygen based is better since this is fabric). Leave it on for 30 minutes and rinse off. Then apply again, but aggitate it with a brush, rinse it off again. Finally, wash with soap and water (dish soap works best) and rinse thoroughly. You can also use pressure washer to phisically wash off and remove as much mould as posibble.”
“It's not that serious. It's trim pieces, seats and the center console. Takes like 2 hours to disassemble a car down to the metal pan”
“If I’m tearing down a car and totally removing a mold overgrowth that looks like the flood from Halo we’re turning your vehicle into a protogravemind I’m charging a thousand or two because it’s going to take hours upon hours to take things apart, remove the mold, then clean normally, then disinfect and put sealers / restoration on everything. Not to mention the liability of damaging something while doing a tear down.”
“I'd refuse this job. You'd need full hazmat on this one and to do a VERY deep clean. It's perforated everything. You'd need to remove seats, get inside the dash, pull the carpet. All just to clean it. It'd be a several day clean all on its own and a huge risk to your health. This is coming from a guy who has no qualms with remediation on moldy books to make them safe again. Decline that project. Too big of a health risk and too extensive.”
“If you were to take this, you'll have to take everything out down to the carpet, clean, disinfect, and replace. Its a huge job and would also require PPE as you don't want to breathe ANY of that in. I probably wouldnt do it mobile, you'll need a space very airy, yet covered/protected from the elements while you work and pull everything. Its definitely not an average detail job, this is a big one. If all you do/have done is basic details I'd probably walk away from it. If youre co”
“It really depends how thorough you are. If a certain stage of mold is in a car the only option you have to remove it completely is remove everything and treat it, get the headliner off and treat it, take the dashboard apart and treat it and then re build everything.”
“I think that may need to be disassembled, cleaned, and reupholstered - I am not a professional, but that’s my uneducated take.”
“No shot that’s not a simple detail unless by simple detail you mean redo the entire interior and treat the spores that have likely anchored into the metal…. This is the kinda thing I doubt the owner even ends up wanting anyway they prob complain try getting a discount also bring it back on 2 months when mold is back lol nah i’m good”
“You call the insurance company and have the car totaled out. That’s all there is to do. It is unsafe to so that job without the proper gear and equipment. The car would require a full tear down, including removing the dash and door panels.”
“You have to gut that interior if you actually want to get it clean. Even then… take apart the dash. Clean every last nook and cranny. No way.”
“> ...how would you approach it... With an 4 figure invoice, full face respirator and a hazmat suit.”
“Hello Everyone, I left my car in an outside, air conditioned 2 car garage for about 8 months while I was out of the country. I returned today to find out that it's super humid in the garage and there is spots of mold on many items, including the inside of my car. While this car has extensive mold, I can't find any mold in the car which was parked next to it. I get that this level of mold is something I am not capable of handling, and to be honest I am very overwhelmed about where to even”
“So mold actually gets below the surface and grow into the fabric, headliner, seat cushions, probably in the air vents too. Chief I’d be worried about that mold coming back in a few days or weeks. Also that’s just a hazard to be breathing in that vehicle with the ac running. Mold spores straight into your lungs.”
“And change the cabin air filter after the engine bay clean up. Would not hurt as a last step to set off a Bio-Bomb with the AC running either to get any lingering odor out of the venting.”
“Take the money you saved and throw some at a professional detailer to do the last 25% like vents, deep steam of the carpets and headliner, they make a big impact”
“Buy a cheap endoscope from Amazon to look down the vents and into the heater core to look for mold. Works great! https://a.co/d/05WvdKMG”
“So I'm curious. If you use an ozone machine and put it inside the car, turn the car on and have the HVAC on recirculate mode would that clean out the HVAC system pretty well?”
“Ducts and seat cushions will hold the mold - how do you deal with those reservoirs?”
“Did you remove the dashboard? There's a whole lotta mold in those vents. The headliner? There a whole lotta mold in there. This is a hazard, no matter how good it looks.”
“Hi! This xterra was parked by the beach for a year and subsequently had mold growing in it. From the pics, how bad would you say it is? can it be saved you think? Thanks! submitted by /u/DisgruntledMax [link] [comments]”
“Noted. And yeah, I’m not touching it without the white suit, gloves, baby face and respirator. He left the windows down one time then let the car sit for 3-4 years. My plan is to remove everything to properly clean. Replacing the cabin air filter as well.”