Mold inside your vehicle is not only foul-smelling and unpleasant to look at it, but it can also be very harmful to your health. In many cases, mold will grow inside your car when moisture gets inside and your vehicle sits for a while without being driven. However, there are other cases where you may drive your car every day and not notice mold growing until it takes over your entire back floorboard. Regardless of when you discover the growth of mold, the following methods will help you get mold out of car interior and carpet and prevent future growth.
It’s important to understand that not all molds are created equal. Some are completely harmless, while others (e.g. black mold) are extremely harmful.
The challenge is that you can’t necessarily tell the difference between the harmless and the harmful molds just by looking at it.
That’s why you need to take the appropriate steps to prepare your car and protect yourself before attempting to get rid of the mold.
If your vehicle has a serious mold problem, you’re going to need some serious protection. That means you need to invest in a good respirator mask, eye protection, and gloves.
In extreme cases, you may even need to purchase boots and coveralls for total body protection. When it comes to protecting yourself from mold, overkill is a good thing!
Now that you’re all suited up, you may be tempted to start scrubbing away at your vehicle, but hold off.
You need to air your vehicle out by pulling it into some direct sunlight and opening up all the doors and windows.
This will help get rid of any loose spores that might be floating around. It will also help cut down on any unpleasant odors.
Try to give your car at least a half an hour or so to air out. Then, when you have your personal protection gear on, it’s time to start the cleaning process.
Here are 5 methods for removing mold from your vehicle. Depending on how bad your problem is, you might only need to try a couple of these methods to take care of the issue.
However, in extreme cases, you might need to try them all.
Mold forms because of moisture, so it’s important to remove all items from inside your car that might be wet.
Throw out any trash or clothing, especially those that might have disappeared under your seats months ago!
Don’t forget to check between your seats and under floor mats, too.
Using a small brush, start scrubbing away at the larger clusters of mold. The key here is to keep your movements small.
Large strokes with the brush can actually do more harm than good as it will only spread the mold spores around.
You won’t likely be able to knock all of the spores loose, so don’t drive yourself crazy trying. You’ll get to the stubborn spores in a bit.
When you’ve broken up all of the larger clusters, use a shop vac to suck up all the loose spores. Just remember to toss out your filter when you’re done!
You may not think of salt as a reliable cleaning product, but it can be incredibly effective at removing mold spores from your car.
Start by purchasing a container or two of non-iodized salt. Dump a container into a bucket and fill the rest with water.
When you’ve got your bucket of saltwater mixed up, brush it onto the moldy surfaces in your car. You can also use a spray bottle to squirt the mixture on your carpet.
The key with this method is to clean a larger area than you might initially think. Some mold spores can be so small you can’t see them with the naked eye.
That means you’ll need to use your salt solution on an area wider than the visible clusters.
When you’ve thoroughly soaked the affected areas, leave it to dry in the sunlight for 15 minutes.
At this point, the salt should have crusted over. Then, all you need to do is use your shop vac to vacuum up all the crust.
White vinegar might just be the greatest “DIY” cleaning tool ever created. It seems that almost any challenge life may throw at you can be solved with a little white vinegar.
Moldy carpet in your car is no exception. Vinegar is a great remedy for mold because its acidic makeup helps to actually “burn” the mold away.
Plus, you don’t have to have a background in chemistry to effectively use it.
Stock up on a jug or two of distilled white vinegar. You can use the non-distilled variety, but you’ll find that you need more of it to get the job done.
Mix up a vinegar and water solution in a spray bottle—shoot for a 4 to 1 ratio of vinegar to water. If you’ve got a serious mold problem, you can go at it with straight vinegar, if need be.
Spray the vinegar directly onto the moldy spots, and remember to soak the area around the spores, as well.
After letting the vinegar soak for 15 minutes, vacuum the area once more with your shop vac.
For more severe infestations, make up a mixture of 4 quarts of hot water and half a cup of white vinegar.
To this, add a tablespoon of baking soda and dump everything into a spray bottle. Soak the mold in your vehicle and let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Then, wipe away or vacuum up the dead spores.
You may find that your car smells like vinegar after using these methods. Don’t worry—a dusting of baking powder, another vacuum job, and a day airing out in the sun should take care of the smell.
Clove oil is nowhere near as common of a home remedy as vinegar, but that doesn’t make it any less effective on mold.
You will likely find clove oil harder to get your hands on than common white vinegar. If your local grocery or vitamin store doesn’t carry it, be prepared to put in an Amazon order.
It may cost a bit more than vinegar, too, but the good news is that you won’t need to use nearly as much.
Once you’ve got your bottle of clove oil, there are a couple of ways to use it. It really depends on how bad your mold problem is.
If the issue is fairly minor, you can simply mix a quarter teaspoon of clove oil with a quart of water in a spray bottle. Then, spray the affected areas, let it dry for a couple of minutes, and dab it up with a clean cloth. Dispose of the cloth when you’re finished.
If your infestation is more severe, or if the mold is growing in some hard-to-reach places, you might need some additional supplies.
Make up a paste by using a few drops of the clove oil along with some baking soda and white vinegar.
Then, use an old toothbrush to scrub the paste into the affected areas. After letting it dry for a couple of minutes, wipe the paste away with a clean cloth.
Hopefully, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve managed to kill the active mold in your vehicle. But you’re not quite finished.
There’s a good chance that you’ll still have a lingering smell inside your vehicle and you’ll need to treat your car so that future mold outbreaks don’t occur. Here’s how to do it.
If you want to keep with the DIY-theme, then baking soda is your best friend for neutralizing odors.
Simply sprinkle some on your car’s carpet, focusing on the trouble areas. Let it sit for a day, then vacuum up the powder and the absorbed odors!
If you’re looking for a quick-fix, an air freshener spray like Febreze will take care of the smell and leave your car’s interior smelling like a field of fresh flowers.
As you’ve seen, getting rid of mold inside your car requires quite a bit of legwork. The last thing you want is for all that work to have been in vain. So, you’ll want to prevent the mold from coming back.
Start by examining how you got the mold in the first place. Mold grows in moist environments, so you need to find the source of that moisture.
Check your car for leaks. Most leaks occur around the seals of your windows. Water can also get in through cracks in the glass.
If you have cracked windows or damaged seals, you should have them replaced or you’re likely going to have a mold issue again.
There aren’t any easy DIY-methods for fixing a cracked windshield or replacing seals, so you’ll probably need to take your vehicle into a repair shop if this is the case.
If you’re giving your car’s interior a deep cleaning and you’ve used a steam cleaner, make sure to thoroughly dry everything out.
This also applies if you’re getting in and out of your car on an extremely rainy or snowy day.
Your floor mats are going to soak up a lot of water, so it wouldn’t hurt to pull them out and dry them thoroughly when you get the chance.
We also suggest that you invest in a car dehumidifier. Our favorite is the PINGI reusable car-dehumidifier. Toss one in your car and you’ll soon discover just how many benefits it has.
First and foremost, it’ll soak up the moisture that causes molds and keep unpleasant odors at bay.
Another great benefit is that without any moisture inside your car, you don’t have to worry about those annoying, foggy windows when you start your morning commute.
The best part about the PINGI product is that it’s completely reusable. When the product’s indicator turns pink, simply toss it in the microwave for a few minutes and it’s ready to use again.
Mold growth inside your vehicle can be unsightly, stinky, and downright dangerous. But with a little work and our recommended methods, you can get mold out of your car interior or carpet easily.
However, if the problem is severe and you have any suspicion that you weren’t able to neutralize all the spores, you should take your vehicle to a specialist for a professional cleaning.
