Product to Clean Mildew Smell from Carpet

Joined
Apr 30, 2013
Messages
2,151
Location
Tinton Falls NJ
A coworker has a Nissan Frontier that has had a water leak from one of the doors for a few months which he believes is fixed now. He said the carpet in the rear of the extended cab has taken on a mildew smell. He thinks he might remove the carpet and clean it outside the vehicle which I said was a good idea. What product should he use on the carpet to tackle this?
 
If he can take it out the best thing is just let a good carpet cleaner actually sit on it they usually say 15 in the directions, scrub it well with stiff bristle brush and then hose the whole thing til the water is clear. The best thing for mildew smell is going to be letting it dry completely IN THE SUN. I have done several of these jobs from dumb water leaks that were not attended to and included having to rip off the rear backing material in some case because it was so far gone. That actually made it easier to wash the carpet and then it was replaced before installing back into the car with just the generic type of foam insulation material they sell at big box stores. Dont forget that a bunch of the mold will remain back inside the car on the floorpan etc. That needs to be sprayed with something like a bleach cleaner and again scrubbed and allowed plenty of time to air dry. This probably isnt the best time of year to do this but you may catch a decently sunny day yet.
 
Very good suggestions but I want to drive home the fact there is no solution whatsoever unless he removes the carpet from the vehicle and addresses the woven padding that is glued to the carpet on the backside. Because I am an asthmatic since birth I go to the extreme of peeling the padding off and soaking it in vinegar and borax solution with water combine all three in equal amounts. Or bleach solution mixed sparingly so you don't overdue it. Another product that is hard to find in my area is moldex.

Then shampoo both sides of the carpet with Vinegar / Borax / Hot water, and rinse. Here is the secret: Allow it to dry in the sun and shampoo again with warm water and a commericial carpet extractor fluid if available or wool lite. Do not add much to the water. Over doing is way worse as the left over detergents will attract more grime and odors.

Reglue the dried backing to the carpet and let the glue offgas until you cannot smell the fumes.

Clean the floor boards with a bleach solution and allow to dry without rinsing. You can also use microban non scented.

As a really nice finishing touch, crack a window 1/4" and and place and ozone machine in the interior blast it for 24 hrs. and the final 2 hrs you should run the max AC setting with a battery charger connected to get any mold spores out of the A/C coil. **Do not** breath the funny ozone smell. Let it offgas with plenty of ventilation. In one week the interior will smell normal again and the mold smell will never return.
 

Not sure which year frontier it is, but the rear carpet is only around $250. If he is capable of removing the carpet, I would just replace it.
 
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