Can't get rid of mold smell.

[Silver]

I had a vehicle sit outside over ground for a year+. It had some mold start to grow in it. I've cleaned it well, carpet, seats, roof, etc and can not get that musty moldy smell out of it. I used Tuff Stuff spray to clean it, and left a bowl of baking soda in it for weeks with a fan running and it doesn't seem to have touched it at all. I also had the headliner out and there's no mold up there.

Suggestions?

 

[SZR48207]

Get an ozone generator machine and run it inside the vehicle with HVAC on recirculate for 15 minutes. Should kill any organic odors.

 

[JohnnyG]

They also make those odor bombs that you can buy. My brother uses them in over the road trucks (sometime before anyone will work on the interior ). If you can't get one at a nearby auto supply, try the truck stops, or online.
The most effective one I've used produces a chloride vapor that attacks the smell at the source. You have to cover some hard shiny surfaces with a towel or cloth, wet a pad inside the package, then close the doors and windows for a few hours while the vapors permeate the interior.
I've found them pretty effective with one treatment, but it might take more than one.
I think you can turn the blower motor on recirculate for like 20 minutes to treat that system. If your car has a cabin air filter, remove that first, do the treatment, then install a new filter. Should be good to go.
Don't breath the vapors.

 

[Donald]

Get an ozone generator machine and run it inside the vehicle with HVAC on recirculate for 15 minutes. Should kill any organic odors.

+1

 

[gofast182]

As others have said an ozone generator would be a top choice. How did you do your cleaning? With a vacuum or extractor? What type of cleaner? Can you feel any moisture on the carpet?

 

[Silver]

As others have said an ozone generator would be a top choice. How did you do your cleaning? With a vacuum or extractor? What type of cleaner? Can you feel any moisture on the carpet?

Well I just scrubbed. I cleaned mold from the carpets and some hard surfaces with Tuff Stuff. It's a great cleaner and if I put my nose up to where I cleaned, where I knew mold was, I can't smell any mold. I can't pinpoint any particular place.

 

[Jetronic]

did you look at the cabin filter?

 

[twouvakind]

http://www.starbrite.com/

Should you mold return, Tuff Stuff simply being a cleaner.

 

[chemman]

I've had great luck with GM Odor Eliminator (Part Number 88861431), available from Amazon.com or your local GM dealer's parts department. JUst spray it all over the place and let it work. Doesn't take very long for the odors to disappear.

 

[ripcord]

Make sure to change the cabin filter if it has one. Also get a can of AC duct cleaner and use that. Shampoo the carpets and scrub out the interior to remove all organic matter (sounds like you've made a good start on that) or the mildew will come back quickly. Lastly, saturate all surfaces with hydrogen peroxide to kill remaining mold spores. Six or 10% solution works better than the OTC medical stuff. Lastly, you've got to get the interior dried out completely.

If nothing works to your satisfaction, you may need to pull the seats and carpet and put them in the sun for several days which will kill mold.

 

[gofast182]

Make sure to change the cabin filter if it has one. Also get a can of AC duct cleaner and use that. Shampoo the carpets and scrub out the interior to remove all organic matter (sounds like you've made a good start on that) or the mildew will come back quickly. Lastly, saturate all surfaces with hydrogen peroxide to kill remaining mold spores. Six or 10% solution works better than the OTC medical stuff. Lastly, you've got to get the interior dried out completely.

If nothing works to your satisfaction, you may need to pull the seats and carpet and put them in the sun for several days which will kill mold.

Yeah I was just going to say if some of the other things don't work, seat removal, and possibly even carpet removal might be in the cards. (btw no better way to clean seats than out of the car, just be careful if there are airbags)

 

[PimTac]

Once mold sets in it will be very difficult to get it all out. Concentrate on all the obvious materials like carpet, seats, headliner, etc. This means both sides.

As long as the car interior is exposed to moisture the mold will continue to grow. The cabin filter is another spot to check and the HVAC ducts as well.

I wonder if a UV light might help?

 

[joemo]

Once mold sets in it will be very difficult to get it all out. Concentrate on all the obvious materials like carpet, seats, headliner, etc. This means both sides.

As long as the car interior is exposed to moisture the mold will continue to grow. The cabin filter is another spot to check and the HVAC ducts as well.

I wonder if a UV light might help?

Run UV sterilization light 1 hour odor will be gone

 

[vavavroom]

The smell of mold is hard to get rid of. I have books that were in storage for years and that got at some point wet and became moldy. Airing them out with the pages fanned out for a week helped. Placing them in a crate filled with baking soda helped. Febreeze helped. Despite all my efforts they still stink and they reside in the garage.

 

[Gillsy]

Get an ozone generator machine and run it inside the vehicle with HVAC on recirculate for 15 minutes. Should kill any organic odors.

And associated bacteria. I think I paid around $70 for mine. I like it.

 

[JC1]

You could have mold spores inside the HVAC ducts. What vehicle is this?