r/Cartalk • u/luciousfibula • Feb 27 '25
I need help fixing something Excessive growth on leather upholstery... How to proceed?
The warm and moist weather has been enabling these colorful colonities to take over the interiors of our stationary car... Somehow these fungi have managed to get into ALL OF LEATHER UPHOLSTERY, honestly I have never in my life seen nor smelled anything like it.
I'm quite familiar with mold, and how disgusting it is. Is the interior salvageable? How would one even start the process of clean up..? I'd toss the whole car into the ocean. OR hire professionals to clean up and change all of the upholstery. After some professional forensic level disinfecting, bleaching and poisoning. But that's probably expensive.
Just thinking about the smell makes my lungs hurt.
All and any DIY tips, instructions, to-do's and not-to-do's are welcome. Also, equipment needed??
Many TIA!
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u/Mnemonic-bomb Feb 27 '25
2 gallons of kerosene, mix well with 12lbs styrofoam. Use this as a sort of spread to coat the interior of the vehicle.
Step well back, and throw in a lit road flare. Problem solved.
Also, be better if you drove to a shady side of town first. Light it there. More believable to the insurance folks.
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u/fuelvolts Feb 27 '25
At first I was like...isn't that napalm? NGL, you had me at first.
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u/Unrelevant_Opinion8r Feb 27 '25
This is a traditional mould removal recipe- no one makes napalm you’re not allowed to!
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u/shattercrest Feb 27 '25
Hmmmm starts to buy stuff because it "happens" to come with Styrofoam and dumpster dive lol. Whatcha doing... Me oooohhhh nothing 🤔😁😁😁😁😁🗯️💥🗯️🤯🫣🤫😳😅😅😅😆😆😆😆😆
Makes me think of the news story of they "suspected" guy they for arson for blowing up garbage cans napalm... Described by the news as having burns on his hands and face and not having singed off eyebrows 😂 rocket surgery on why he was suspected and picked up in the area of the blast lol
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u/uncletaterofficial Feb 27 '25
DRIVE?
Hire a sketchy tow truck to drop it off and throw him $100 to not remember this car.
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u/Mnemonic-bomb Feb 27 '25
Yeah. I guess you’d have to have a) a tyvek suit on with mask (big deal these days), or b) a fresh pair of clothes. Either way something is getting torched. Call an Uber back maybe
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u/FanLevel4115 Feb 27 '25 edited Feb 27 '25
Best answer. Kill it with fire.
Second best is to drive 1/4 the way up a nearby mountain pass and accidentally pin prick a fuel hose rubber fitting until it sprays. Then slam the hood and floor it up the hill, possibly with the parking brake partially applied. A 30 second full throttle pull will cause the exhaust manifolds glow red hot.
Tell the nice officer that you thought you smelled gas so you pulled over at the bottom of the hill and popped the hood but didn't see anything. Then it just burst into flames. Cars burn up on mountain passes every single week. Sometimes every day in summer. I once counted 3 separate cars on fire on a 3 hour drive through the bc mountains in summer.
Do not do this in forest fire season, or at least pull into the median away from any combustibles.
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u/iamgeewiz Feb 27 '25
Fucking napalm. Although not explicitly ban the use of napalm against civilian targets is prohibited under Protocol III of the United Nations Convention.
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u/FormallyKnownAsKabr Feb 27 '25
This will never be truly clean.
There are mold spores in nearly every nook, cranny and fiber of that interior.
A shop would replace most if not all of the interior.
That's not even including the electronic modules that are not sealed from moisture.
This is pretty bad and even removing the entire interior and cleaning every surface will help but you will still have mold throughout the HVAC ducts and places you just can't reach
Source: I am a mechanic and have done mold remediation in vehicles
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u/SzeBen7016 Feb 27 '25
This is Just not true. Also happened me as well because i didnt use the car. There are products what kills mold etc. Cleaned both my car with this problem, and since then nothing like that. Happened more than 10yrs ago.
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u/FormallyKnownAsKabr Feb 27 '25
Have you ever taken a dash assembly out of a vehicle?
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u/clockwork_blue Feb 28 '25
I did, once. Still have nightmares about it. Would rather gift the car to someone than deal with this shit again.
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u/SzeBen7016 Feb 27 '25
Yes, and as i stated there are products which is kills mold. Like ozone generator, not even spray...
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u/FormallyKnownAsKabr Feb 27 '25
So that's a no then...
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u/SzeBen7016 Feb 27 '25
Looks like you never met this kind of problem. Im a mechanic and car electric, and my main field is vw group. Did a ton b5s and c5s if you finally belive it. A spray, ozone generator, and air flow. But you have to take care of the plastic after that as the ozone degradates it. Because you never did such a job, or never succed, it Doesnt means thats it not true.
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u/iAmTheFreshPrince Feb 27 '25
Yep I work on salvage cars , but everyone else is an expert huh? Write off on everything ! Im with you bro i believe you
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u/SzeBen7016 Feb 28 '25
Then we are lucky. You not a professional, and not sending away customers with "bigger" problems, making then belive its not savable.
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u/Xytonn Feb 28 '25
Bro is out here disagreeing with a professional who has experience with this exact situation 😑
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u/luciousfibula Feb 27 '25
(Audi S6 2000 4.2l V8 with original leather upholstery)
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u/Dazed_Op Feb 27 '25
Take the V8 out. Throw the rest of the car away
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Feb 28 '25 edited Mar 06 '25
glorious chief snow march squeeze library handle deer pause numerous
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/zoltan99 Feb 27 '25
My phaeton did this to
Every vw product leaks and belongs in the trash
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u/TheHud85 Feb 27 '25
Funny, I’ve had at least a dozen 2000s era VWs and Audis, and the only one that ever had a water leak was because I left it parked under a tree and the drains got clogged up with pine needles.
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u/SzeBen7016 Feb 27 '25
After clean ing as Other suggested, its a good idea to take it for a ride át least once a month. So it can ventilate the air out from the cabin.
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u/Beloved4sure Feb 27 '25
After cleaning it, use an ozone generator.
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u/GuineaPigsAreNotFood Feb 27 '25
Doesn't ozone degrade organic materials?
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u/SMF67 Feb 27 '25
Yes, that's why you use it
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u/MagicTriton Feb 27 '25
For the love of god do not breath anywhere near that thing
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u/luciousfibula Mar 01 '25
I opened the door and took a breath in before I noticed... the smell was PUNGENT and even the thought of it makes my lungs cramp 🤣
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u/Upper_Television3352 Feb 27 '25
That whole car need to be stripped and scrubbed, it’s totaled.
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u/75CaveTrolls Feb 27 '25
Why is it every time I see a car that looks like a prop from "The Last of Us" it is always an Audi?
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Feb 27 '25
This sub gets the most unhinged posts, daily. Almost nobody wants to talk about their car, they are just lazy people who have no critical thinking skills and can't Google.
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u/luciousfibula Mar 01 '25
Sure, it's so lame to put our heads together to solve a problem!! Fuck human connection, only getting your knowledge from (verified) sources is the way! /s
Honestly I just wanted to show this, it's pretty extreme. I am quite educated in microbiology, not cars tho, so I knew the whole interior is a goner...
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u/JRNels0n Feb 27 '25
Warm water and vinegar. Then deep steam clean everything. Then you will need to remove moisture. I would put car in heated garage with the car doors open and dehumidifier running.
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u/de_das_dude Feb 27 '25
Don't forget a gooooood mask.
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u/SuicidalNapkin09 Feb 28 '25
Yes this job will fuck your lungs up for years to life if you arent serious about protective gear
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u/IvanGoBike Feb 27 '25
This much is all true. But might not be worth it vs. replacing the interior and in the process, figuring out why it all went to mold.
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u/Hylourgos Feb 27 '25
This is the right way, and don’t worry about homophobic thoughts. If you’re (OP) concerned, wear gloves, a Tyvek suit, and maybe a respirator. You’ll be fine. You should really do this in two steps, cleaning, then restoring. Consider adding to JRNels0n’s advice a safe-bleach (color-fast) type of chemical cleaner. The second step needs to be a leather restorer. Lots of good ones on the market. The whole process is not that hard and shouldn’t take too long. Best of luck!
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Feb 27 '25
Looks like a Petri dish on wheels. Usually incineration is used to neutralize living organisms.
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u/First-County-4667 Feb 27 '25
Wow. Try good leather cleaner like saddle soap or Lexol and steam clean interior
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u/morphleorphlan Feb 27 '25
I don’t know if introducing more moisture to this interior via steam cleaning would be a good idea.
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u/stinkyt0fu Feb 27 '25
Other than many suggesting to burn the vehicles really depends on the budget. It’s going to be expensive to clean that up by the professionals. However, if the pros can kill all the mold in a bubble then it might be possible to save the vehicle. Worth the cost? That I do not know and would be for you to decide.
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u/shattercrest Feb 27 '25
Don't know about cleaning but if you keep your car outside throw a heater for under your desk in it and put the plug either out the top of a window or ouy the bottom of the door. Since they habe the tip switch it's safe and you run it on lower temp so no moisture, ice and it's awesome not to have the car fog up constantly or iced windshield! Also it's so cheap compared to the 80. 00 floor heater meant for cars 😁😁😁😁
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Feb 27 '25
[deleted]
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u/propargyl Feb 28 '25
Silver microparticles or nanoparticles are also antibacterial and antifungal. They are used in burn dressings etc.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10302428/
https://www.oldmillsaddlery.com/en/au/Lincoln-Silver-Wound-Cream/m-49598.aspx
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u/Blom-w1-o Feb 27 '25
I had this in my Mustang (not as bad at that though holy hell). We didn't take everything apart the way we likely should have, but after using a bleach solution and wiping everything like we were mad at it, we did a few Ozone treatments. The car still has a.. smell.. to it, but it's been 2 years now and it hasn't grown back.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 Feb 27 '25
Yeah you got issues and it’s not an easy fix. Now see that moisture is in harnesses and electronics. Especially airbag modules, it loves airbag modules.
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u/Freak_Engineer Feb 27 '25
You have serious humidity problems in there. That goes well beyond just damp weather.
Whatever you do, wear full PPE in there. Disposable onesie, full face mask, gloves, rubber boots. All sealed off with tape. Not only is growth like that absolutely disgusting, it also can really mess up your health.
Honestly, if this was my car, I would probably pay a professional to clean it.
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u/Impossible-Sleep-658 Feb 27 '25
Hazmat suit, mask… a really good shampoo vacuum(or large wet vac w good suction… and mild dawn soapy spray bottle w 10% bleach (soap optional) … after u figure out how it got that way. And oil the leather to prevent reoccurrence.
I’ll bet it was detailed and covered/closed before it dried.
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u/Organic_Flounder5872 Feb 27 '25
I would just do white vinegar spray in a bottle it kills mold. Clean with paper towels and wear mask and gloves.
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u/Infamous-Inflation62 Feb 27 '25
yo sin vehiculo para mobilizarme y personas que lo tienen lo dejan destruir de este modo pobre idiota
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u/Realty_for_You Feb 28 '25
Set up a dehumidifier and try this car out. Get a bottles of hydrogen provide and start spraying and cleaning. It will not effect the finish nor bleach the material. Just cleaned a couch that was doing the same thing.
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u/airfryerfuntime Feb 28 '25
Take it to a professional. It'll be expensive, but that's about the only option, otherwise it will just come back.
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u/FoxxBoiii Feb 28 '25
Dang, we had an audi sit for a few years at our shop and it looked identical inside.
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u/salviahit Feb 28 '25
Clean it well and then do several hour long o3 or ozone generator treatments with doors shut a o3 gennie is abt 90 bucks on amazon
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u/TURBOJUGGED Feb 28 '25
Ya put isopropyl alcohol in a bottle, spray the interior thoroughly and then pull out a lighter and set that shit ablaze.
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u/Causualgaymr Feb 28 '25
Put a dehumidifier in the car until everything dies then wipe down with bleach
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u/Bobdog_1981 Feb 28 '25
Use a product called Monterey CONSAN. It will kill it and prevent regrowth.
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u/Rough_Community_1439 Feb 28 '25
Gallon of gas and a match. Plus a new interior with the insurance money.
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u/Handy_Dude Feb 28 '25
Yeah… that’s nuclear territory. This isn’t just a little bit of mold on touchpoints—this is a full-on fungal takeover. The fact that it’s growing in thick colonies and forming spore clusters means the entire car has been a humid, closed environment for a while, allowing deep mold penetration.
What You’re Dealing With
The steering wheel fuzz and seat blotches suggest multiple types of mold, likely including Cladosporium, Aspergillus, and possibly Stachybotrys (black mold).
The orange, powdery mold is likely Neurospora or Trichoderma, which thrive in moisture and feed on organic residues like sweat, oils, and dust.
Mold this advanced is not just sitting on the surface—it’s in the foam, seams, and possibly even the HVAC system, meaning it could blow spores at you every time you turn on the fan.
How to Proceed
Step 1: Safety First
Wear an N95 mask (or better) and gloves.
Work outdoors, with all doors open, on a dry day.
Get a spray bottle of white vinegar (kills most mold) or a mold-specific cleaner (Concrobium, RMR-86, or Lysol Mold Remover).
DO NOT dry brush/scrape—you don’t want spores floating into your lungs.
Step 2: Heavy-Duty Cleaning
Spray everything down first—drench the moldy areas before wiping to prevent spore release.
Remove seats if possible—The mold is likely deep in the foam. If they smell musty even after cleaning, they need to go.
Steering wheel & trim—If the mold has degraded the material, you might need a replacement steering wheel cover or new wheel.
Carpet & headliner—If you can’t remove all stains/smell, you may need to rip out the carpet and replace it.
Step 3: Air Out & Dehumidify
Use a dehumidifier or moisture absorber (DampRid).
Keep the car open in the sun for a full day after cleaning.
Replace the cabin air filter.
Run the heater on max with windows open for 15-20 minutes to dry out air vents.
Final Verdict
Can the car be saved? Yes, but it’ll take serious cleaning, and you may need to replace foam-based materials (seats, carpet).
Will it ever be the same? Maybe. If the smell lingers after deep cleaning, mold has likely penetrated too deeply into the materials.
Is it worth the effort? If it’s a beater or winter car, it might not be worth the hassle. But if it's valuable, go full biohazard cleanup mode and you might salvage it.
TL;DR: You’re at DEFCON 1. This is full mold remediation, not just a wipe-down.
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u/Narsiliel Feb 28 '25
I had to deal with a similar amount of mold last year. This is what I did and it's been fine since.
Run an ozone generator to kill off the mold.
Wear protective gear.
Wipe down everything with 50/50 water vinegar to get the worst off.
Get the seats out
Clean carpet and tissues (don't forget the headliner) with a wet vacuum cleaner and a disinfectant solution
Clean the leather thoroughly with the vinegar solution, then clean it with soapy water. Then use whatever leather cleaning/protection product you want. Don't steam clean leather.
Replace the pollen filter
Get an aerosol of HVAC cleaner and clean out the vents.
Put it all back together
Run the ozone again to be sure all the mold is killed off.
Whilst cleaning keep changing cloths to not be cleaning with dirty cloths and just be spreading the mold around. Keep all your cleaning tools, gloves,etc. clean.
Fix any leaks to stop water getting in.
Clean your car regularly even if it looks clean. The mold grows from all the human grime, dead skin, etc. which is everywhere but you can't really see.
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u/Specialist_Square896 Feb 28 '25
Looks like a monster energy exploded in there and the year was 2010 when that happened.
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u/V5489 Feb 28 '25
Pull everything, all the interior and wear a N95 while you do it with goggles. That looks nasty.. poor Audi.
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u/Necessary-Purple-741 Feb 28 '25
Get an oven big enough to park a car inside and hot enough to melt a car to liquid
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u/Deep-Juggernaut4405 Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
Buy a small ozone machine and run it in the car for a day or two before you start cleaning. Then run it again when your done. Looks more like mildew than mold but the only way to be sure is to have the spores tested.
I take that back, there is definitely mold there. Still good to have it tested. If you are allergic or have allergies let someone else handle it or chalk it up as a loss.
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u/Itchy-Background8982 Feb 28 '25
Wow! I think “throw it in the ocean” may be the right choice, but then I’d be worried about the ocean. So sorry you had this happen, pretty overwhelming. So glad I live in the dry Southwest of the US. Good luck!
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u/Maulz123 Feb 28 '25
Wash it down and see how it looks, sterilise it and deep clean the seats and carpets, leather clean and feed and dry the whole thing out. The world is covered with mold and fungal spores it's just more concentrated in that car. Its fed off the dirt left from people touching it like finger prints in a petri dish. You'll be lucky if its not permanently stained but leather can be restained with dye. Worst scenario is a new interior from a wreck donor car. I'd remove everything you can to clean it outside the car horrible job.
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u/VoroVelius Feb 28 '25
Im very sorry but this car is in fact done. Maybe as a rally car where everything is gutted and new seats are put in it could continue, but for commuting or transferring children or the elderly or anyone who likes to breathe, it would cost so much more than it is worth. Thousands upon thousands. Only for it to come back next summer because a few spores were missed. That’s a big factor you have to remember. It can come back.
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Mar 01 '25
Man, fuck all these guys. Listen, get you some bleach tablets from a pool cleaning store and the strongest isopropyl alcohol you can find. Throw that shit in a bucket, and close the days. It will kill everything, including yourself, let the fumes cook a day then park it under somewhere dry and leave everything open for three days.
Wipe and vacuum everything. No mold will survive. Shouldn't. I actually just want a report of its efficiency but I do not have a disgustingly molded vehicle at hand. Please
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u/PaducahBazooka Mar 03 '25
Don’t listen to these people. You can fix this using chlorine dioxide. It’s a gas and will permeate everything. Release using a sachet. DO NOT DEPLOY IT IN SUNLIGHT. Try a product called Gard’N Clean. This is the same gas used to disinfect entire post offices of anthrax back in the 2000’s. Good luck.
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u/Straight-Tank-4782 Feb 27 '25
I am always completely taken back by the number of stupid comments that aren't helpful in any Reddit, cleaning upholstery seems to be the worst.
There are several cleaning type materials to remove mold from leather, steam will also help, then you'll need to treat and recondition the leather, also I would recommend an ozone cleaner leaving plugged in the car as much as possible overnight.
All of that said why is there growth inside the car? That may be the most important question that you need to ask, was something left inside the car for months on end without any attendance, was the car sealed up and left somewhere was a window left down what is the root cause. If you're not going to address the root cause, you're cleaning may not be worth anything.
Also wearing PPE is important and I'm not discounting that, but some of you sound like Derek Zoolander talking about black lung after hrs coal mining...
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u/RedFaceFree Mar 03 '25
Take off the gas cap, drive a new car underneath.
Probably then also throw that gas cap away with the moldy car
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u/LargeMerican Feb 27 '25
Remove seats, carpet, dash. I'd pull the ductwork too for good measure. While you're there look for leaks. Plugged drains, etc.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? This might be too far gone