I had to wipe down the whole interior as mildew grew inside and left doors open in new garage months ago and everything looks great. I used a spray bottle with distilled vinegar. But still have a faint smell of mildew and don’t want to spend tons of money replacing seats, carpet, door panels. I bought a stinky cherry can of car deodorant stuff and kept the car closed up for weeks and helped but not 100%.

Any ideas?

 

Carpet and upholstery cleaner, fresh air and a lot of elbow grease. Has it sat for many years without being started too? If so don't fire it up and run the motor until you've removed the plugs, squirted some oil into the cylinders and turned it over by hand. Be sure to prime the oil pump before starting the engine.

 

I'll also add in don't start it until you drain the tank and lines or you're in for trouble. Bad fuel is not good for engines.

For the mildew smell you need to get a steam cleaner and do everything "soft". The smell will be in the seat foam, carpet batting and even the headliner. It might seem to go away but as soon as you disturb one of those areas it'll come back.

 

No engine sold that years ago. Headliner is falling down so have to replace that. Okay sounds like I have to steam clean everything then and also heard putting baking soda everywhere and letting it sit then vacuuming it up helps. But sounds like steam cleaning is the ticket. Thanks.

 

Simple green for the mold
For the smell, put a cup vinegar in the car for 24 hours,

 

When I used the vinegar sprayed and used a brush and a rag on the seats and some of the other interior it came right off no problem and the interior looks brand new again. it’s just the smell I will try the vinegar in a cup as well since I have a gallon sitting around. If that doesn’t work then I will have to Use a scrubber like what was said above. Thanks.

 

Did you want to work smarter or harder?

Buy a ozone machine for $200 on amazon. Ozone kills all life, nothing removes unpleasant aromatics better.

This is a secret in the detailing world.

 

The ozone machine is a good idea i use them in the restorarion business however like he said they will kill all life keep it sealed up in your car or garage and dont let pets or kids into the room until you have turned it off and let the area air out for awhile treat it like a running car in a closed garage

 

Try hydrogen peroxide it kills microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores. It might be a little more work especially if u have to pull up any carpet to spray the underside; but it should fix ur problem. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, Smell is more less gone now. From using a combination of chems like others posted. Then leaving doors open for days in garage and it being so hot now.

Off topic though but.. I never got a response from anyone in another forum but the black plastic molding that is part of the mirror that the window slides against on the outside is stained and pitted. Any way to fix this or is it a part I have to buy or find a faded one in the junkyard I could polish back to life...