Encountering mold in or on any property you own is never a fun or enjoyable experience. The process of assessing and then cleaning mold can be frustrating and sometimes even expensive. One of the two worst places to discover mold is in your car.
Cleaning the outside of your car is no big deal. A quick run through a car wash, or even better, a hand wash, and you're good to go. Cleaning the inside of your car is another story. It can be cramped. Maneuvering around is difficult. You sometimes have to take the seats out. It is an arduous affair without dealing with mold. Mold adds an entirely new level of complications to the process. If you want to know how to clean mold out of a car, you will find multiple causes and how to handle each.
What Causes Mold in a Car?
Three things are catalysts for fungal growth and work in conjunction with one another. To create mold, you need moisture, spores, and an organic food source. The organic food source can be as simple as dust in the vehicle.
Add in moisture, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Mold can be caused by burst pipes or a leaky roof in your home. Those are not problems you typically encounter with your car. Here's a quick example: leaving cracks in your windows overnight, even if in a garage.
There are millions of mold spores in the air we breathe; open windows allow humidity and mold spores to settle all over the surface of the interior surfaces. For mold to grow in a car an accident is typically the catalyst. Here are the most common scenarios that can cause mold in your car:
Rain Water
No driver is perfect. Sometimes, the weather outside feels so great that you cannot help but roll the window down. There's nothing wrong with that…unless you forget to roll your window up after driving. When you fail to roll up your window, you invite all sorts of outside elements into your car, particularly rain.
If rainwater gets into your car, it can soak into the upholstery of your seats, get into your carpet and padding, and it can even get into your air conditioning vents. All that needs to happen for mold to grow is already present.
Flooding
Flood waters are bad news. This is a week-long process for professionals. Everything that can be removed has to be removed so that areas affected can be cleaned and you have a lot of extraction cycles to do on the carpet and padding if they can even be saved in the first place. We have a section below concerning insurance.
Drink Spills
One of the greatest contributions to car design is the cup holder. Unfortunately, with more people drinking in cars there are more people spilling drinks in cars.
Since water, soda, and creamer are organic substances, they may provide the moisture needed for mold to grow. This is especially true if you don't at least attempt to clean them immediately. Plus, carpeting holds loads of organic matter with normal use.
Bad Ventilation
A major cause of mold in a car can be bad ventilation. Sometimes a car's air conditioning doesn't work. That makes it easy for a car to trap humidity. Humidity leads to condensation. Leave a humid car on its own overnight in the dark and get the right mold growth conditions.
Other Causes
Anytime the interior of your car comes into contact with moisture it is a recipe for mold if you do not deal with it quickly. Here are the other major causes of mold in a car:
- Flooding
- Contact with wet clothing or towels
- A faulty seal on the doors and hatch
- Mechanical issues
Any of these problems can start small, but ultimately lead to a major mold infestation if you do not take them seriously.
Is It Safe to Drive a Moldy Car?
Upon first seeing mold in your vehicle, you may think it is no immediate problem. You may attempt to roll down the windows, let it air out while you drive, and push it to the back of your mind. You can deal with it later because it should still be safe to drive, right?
Wrong.
When you drive around in a moldy car, several things happen simultaneously. First of all, you are inhaling mold spores as you drive. When you breathe in the mold you are susceptible to numerous forms of respiratory illnesses that can be difficult to treat.
Mold spores will also attach themselves to your clothes, meaning that after you leave your car you are still spreading mold to other areas, including your home. Once the mold is in your home it can spread to your walls, the structure of your home, your furniture, and even your loved ones.
How Much Will Cleaning Mold From a Car Cost?
If you want to clean the mold from your car with the help of a professional, you need to be willing to spend in the ballpark of $1,200. The model, age, value, and overall condition of your car could affect how much you pay, but $1,200 is a typical average. Professional auto detailers would likely do this.
What Do I Need to Clean the Mold Out of My Car?
If you decide you want to take the DIY route to clean your car yourself then you need to be sure to have the right tools. Getting mold out of a car can be labor intensive, so having the right tools from the start will make all the difference.
You will need:
- Ozone generator – Ozone will kill mold spores circulating in your vehicle. A generator will also get rid of the nasty smell.
- Steam cleaner – Not as effective as an Ozone generator, but it can help clean up what the Ozone generator cannot.
- White Vinegar – Hey, did you know that white vinegar could be your best ally in the fight against mold? Forget about bleach – it's harsh and can cause more damage than you'd think. Instead, remember this simple equation: vinegar + baking soda = goodbye mold. As a homeowner, this is a non-toxic strategy!
- Vinegar alternatives – In addition to vinegar, you can use diluted hydrogen peroxide, salt water (do not use this to clean leather seats), and even diluted clove oil can be used.
- Mold-Specific Cleaners – There are formulated cleaners on the market designed specifically for cleaning mold and mildew. It needs to be said that you should spot-test them on inconspicuous areas before trying them on leather materials.
How to Clean Mold Out of a Car
Before You Start…
Before you start cleaning, you must ensure you have the proper protection. At a minimum, you need a respirator, a pair of safety goggles, and a pair of rubber gloves. There are multiple types of respirators, and each handles specific problems. Make sure you understand what you're buying before you buy. To maximize your protection, you should buy a painter's suit.
A Little Ozone Goes a Long Way
First, you must clean your car from any trash, clothing, cups, or other items that should not be there. Once you have done that, you will place the ozone generator in your car. Leave the ozone generator in the car for roughly an hour. The ozone generator will effectively kill the mold spores in the air and off-gas the chemical changes in your vehicle's dead, decaying mold, preventing further spread. It will also destroy the odor from the mold, making it much more tolerable to work in the car. What it will not work on is wet mold. If you have a home or portable pet cleaner, you must extract any water or spill in the carpet.
Give Yourself Room To Work
You now want to remove any removable seats in your vehicle. This will make cleaning them less difficult while enabling you to clean the area in the car they are normally in. Ensure you read your vehicle's manual before performing any seat-removing operation; you could end up deploying the airbags. Trust me, no good could come from that. Know the rules of engagement before starting the battle.
Vacuum
You now want to vacuum out your car. Not only are you vacuuming for the little bits of crumbs and trash in your car, but you are also vacuuming for the mold too. You would be amazed at how much of your car's mold the vacuum will take up. The vacuum will suck up all of the dead mold spores, the leftovers of the spores that lingered in the air, and all of the looser surface mold.
Let Off Some Steam
You now want to start cleaning the surface of your car's interior. First, do a cursory spraying of each surface in your car that needs to be cleaned. The cleaning agent will seep into any porous areas. After letting the cleaning agent sit for a few minutes, you can give it a good scrubbing with a rag and scrub brush. Once you have done that you can wipe the surface dry.
You then want to hit the surface with the steam cleaner. The steam cleaner will bombard the surface with hot steam to sterilize the surface and loosen up any other residue that may have been stuck in the surface. Wipe the surface down thoroughly again.
Handling Seats and Upholstery
You want to apply a process similar to your seats and upholstery. You want to spray your seats down heavily with your mold-cleaning solution. You want to use a scrub brush to rigorously scrub down the seats and upholstery. Then, hit the seats and upholstery with the steam cleaner.
If you have an upholstery shampooer, this is the perfect time to use it. This will help eliminate any lingering smells and replace them with good ones.
Why Does My Air Conditioner Still Smell Like Mold?
If you find that there is still a musty odor coming from your air conditioner, then you need to clean your AC system. Fortunately, numerous cleaners are designed to clean mold out of your A/C.
- Klima Cleaner Pro – This cleaner removes mold and can also clean your A/C of pollen, dust, and even nicotine.
- Meguiar's Whole Air Refresher Odor Eliminator – If your car's A/C is clean but still smells unpleasant, this product will eliminate the smell.
- Oxi-Clean Total Interior Cabin & Air Vent Cleaner – Oxi-Clean is a trusted brand that will clean out the particulates from mold and dust, pollen, and other contaminants.
- A/C Pro Vent & Duct Cleaner – Possibly the easiest cleaner to use on this list.
Remember that each cleaning product has its directions, so follow them closely and thoroughly to get the best possible results.
When Should I Call a Professional?
It would help if you looked into your car insurance policy to see whether or not the insurance provider will cover the services needed for what caused it. Different providers have different policies, and any cost alleviation would be helpful. If you're insured, make sure you go this route first.
If you're not a serious DIY, this process is very involved and time-consuming. Some YouTube videos show the extent of work involved to do it in a top-level detail. Then, you throw mold in the mix.
Otherwise, your local car detail company may take on the job. The national average is about $1,200 for any independent professional detailer or detailing company to take on this type of job.
