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Getting rid of mold & stink

natep1

natep1

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Rochester, MI
Any tricks on getting rid of mold on seats & carpeting?
I picked up an impound XJ and the interior looks like my fridge back in college.

I was thinking of using a mild bleach solution w/pressure washer to clean the carpet (if the bleach discolors it I will dye the carpet, no big deal) but I am stuck on what to do for the seats.

Any help is appreciated.
TIA
Nathan
 
mold.jpg
 
Bleach will mess up the colors of your interior.

I used 2 parts luandry detergeant 2 parts simple green and 1 part COLOR SAFE bleach and sprayed it on the carpet, scrubbed with a brush and rinsed with the hose until the water ran clear. This is with the carpets out and on the driveway.

Seats I pulled the covers off and put them in the washing machine.

My interior was musty smelling and extremely dirty, but not moldy, it may take more than what I did, but simple green pretty good at cleaning and sanitizing.

Pine Oil is a 2nd thing to try if the simple green won't do the trick, it kills germs well, but will leave behind that Pine Oil smell for a long time. Some people don't mind it, but its pretty strong scent.
 
Thats nasty looking, sure it's not from a body ? :D You really need to pull the seats and carpet out, get em in the sun and clean em as recommended then clean the metal underneath where the carpet was.
 
RichP said:
Thats nasty looking, sure it's not from a body ?
Click to expand...
Are you sure it wasn't a BODY. Remember it was from an Impound.

That brings to mind the Myth Busters episode where they sealed up a dead pig in a Corvette. To test the Myth of the guy who bought a Corvette at a Police Impound Auction, but someone had been murdered in the vehicle and the body decomposed, the new owner had to scrap the Corvette because it was impossible to remove the smell.

IIRC, the Myth Busters confirmed the Myth, let a dead pig rot away in a vehicle, the most thorough cleaning in the world won't get rid of the smell.
 
I'm with edmaude - start hitting the wrecking yards and see if you can find another seat. They usually go pretty cheap - enough so that you won't be able to justify the time to clean that mess up. It's been a few years, but I got front buckets, rear seat and both carpet sections for $125 in excellent condition. I suspect that they could be had for less in some parts of the country.
 
They have a point, even if you get the seat cover cleaned and the stains out, you'll probably never get out whats in the foam, underneath the cover. The fungus could continue to grow in the foam and the stench will continue to permeate the interior.
 
Thanks everyone for all the great ideas.
I am definately keeping my eyes open for some new seats but, right now that is not a "needed" expense if I can help it.
I hadn't even planned on driving this beast but once I got it going, it ran/runs strong and only has 73k on it (and the girlfriend murdered her car).
Now I have a reason to get WJ seats for my XJ.
 
you can buy a new carpet set and I think Isaw new seats on ebay for a few hundred bucks. Heck go ahead and put in the grand cherokee leather seats...might as well upgrade.
 
Dude, seriously, pull the seats out, take the overs off and throw them in the washing machine with OXYClean. I've done it to several cars int he past. Works WONDERS!
 
Rick Anderson said:
Are you sure it wasn't a BODY. Remember it was from an Impound.

That brings to mind the Myth Busters episode where they sealed up a dead pig in a Corvette. To test the Myth of the guy who bought a Corvette at a Police Impound Auction, but someone had been murdered in the vehicle and the body decomposed, the new owner had to scrap the Corvette because it was impossible to remove the smell.

IIRC, the Myth Busters confirmed the Myth, let a dead pig rot away in a vehicle, the most thorough cleaning in the world won't get rid of the smell.
Click to expand...

Don't need myth busters to confirm that, we had a shipmate commit suicide in his 65 Oldsmobile rocket, he piped in exhaust. Parked out near the satellite tracking station on the north shore of oahau and it was 5 days of baking till he was discovered. Three of us got called down to ID him black and bloated with some pretty nasty oozing and I got a whiff of his car, within a week it was part of the 'grow a reef' program and under a 100ft of water.
 
The Myth Busters actually tried to clean out the interior and get rid of the smell though. They had completely stripped it and was pressure blasting the bare fiberglass and metal in the interior and still couldn't get rid of the smell.

I think they gave the pig a couple of weeks to decompose, it was mostly liquid when they took it out. The windows were covered with black ooze, looked like the pig exploded. I guess that is possible, the decomposing body builds up gases inside, and as the flesh weakens from decomposition, it can actually burst.
 
I remember that episode.
Somebody got a heck of a deal on that vette.
 
With an interior like that I would be skeptical as to how solid the floor pans are. I would personally pull the seats, remove the carpet and tend to any rust down there as a first step. You can get replacement carpeting online and finding a new rear seat shoulden't be too difficult. As to the smell, you can stick some baking soda in there for a few days/weeks. See if that doesn't help you out.
 
There is a lot of mold & mildew in Oregon. TSP (trisodium phosphate) is a good mold removing cleaner. It may not be legal to buy and use in all areas because high phosphate levels aren't well tolerated by aging sewer systems, but try it if you can get it. Scrub with an upholstery brush and extract well with a good strong wet vac, then repeat wash with something nice and sudsy like simple green, then rinse to get as much soap out as you can. Then pray for a long stretch of warm sunny weather so you can get it all nice and dry. That seat will probably have a bit of stain but a horse blanket will cover it.
 
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