wwian

I just took the cover off my MIL's SC430. Been covered and locked for about 3 months. And this is what I found!!! ALL the leather is completely moldy. I have no idea how this happened nor what to do about it.

Any suggestions you can offer?

bacardi11

iTrader: (1)

looks like the top was down and something leaking in the car.

JohnnyCake

First, my condolences. You must have felt horrible on discovering that. Really nasty looking!

Actually, my guess is the opposite of bacardi's. I think this was cause by the car being sealed up tight and covered.

Since you just uncovered it, it seems that the car was covered and sealed during the hot summer months. Add in cool summer nights, and you are going to get condensation since the car is sealed up tight.

When it is super humid, the temperature/dew point might be 80/75 during the day, that air is in the car. Now during the night the temperature cools off. The same air is in the car, but now the temperature falls to 65, so the excess moisture in the air condenses. That means moisture all over the place which turns to mold.

In the future, you would want air circulation so that the inside temperature of the car is above the dew point of the atmosphere in the car, then there would be no condensation.

As for fixing the damage, its not really a SC issue but rather a mold on leather issue. Check out this link:
http://bit.ly/1xpelso

DarthSid

Wow that looks really bad and unhealthy! Have you thought about filing a claim with your insurance company? For now you have line of sight visible damage. What concerns me is there is probably more damage you can't see. I would like to hear how you resolve this. Best of luck.

bb430

iTrader: (1)

I would ask your MIL if she liked to sell you the car cheap first Then you can rent a de humidifier and run it for a day in the car. The spots will come off with leather cleaner or simple green(which I preferred).
You can flip up the back seat bottom to check for any moisture in the foam afterwards.

reelbb

OUCH....you might want to run something through the vents as well.

430keeper

What about the carpeting ? I say a whole new interior is in order.
Who wants to get a respiratory condition from driving a "sick" car.
This could total the car....were talking a whole new interior, headliner,
carpeting, and a thorough cleaning of the ductwork. How does the
trunk look inside ? That carpeting may have mold under it too.
I agree with Johnnycake...if something dripped on it from above,
there would be spots all over the wood grain center area too.

Taysdad

Speaking of unhealthy........."Simple Green"...........one of the greatest scams in the cleaning product industry. It contains 2-Butoxyethanol and NPE's (Nonylphenol Ethoxylates). The first is a carcinogen (on the EPA's list of substances known to cause cancer) and the second in an endocrine disruptor. It's probably the least "green" product on the market. The only reason its called "green" is due to color. Believe me, I am not a granola (in fact, I formulate cleaning products for a living), but this stuff is bad news and if you care even the slightest about your health, you should not use it.

OK - I am off my soap box (pun intended).

Taysdad

Agree with others here. Likely cause is the lack of air circulation. Most fungi are anaerobic so the low O2 levels helped spur growth. If this is Aspergillus Niger or other similar varieties, it could pose a big health threat when disturbed. Remember, molds are "spore formers" meaning that they regress between two states: spores and vegetative. When disturbed, you can spread spores in the air rapidly (and they get in your lungs and penetrate via mucosal membranes. If you do this yourself, make sure to wear a mask over your nose and mouth and googles over your eyes. Also, cover your skin head to toe and be sure not to touch your clothes when you remove them with your bare hands. Also, only do this outside (top down, of course) to increase ventilation and reduce the chance of contaminating your house/garage.

To effectively kill fungi, you'll need to use an disinfecting active (quat, bleach, accelerated peroxide, etc.). Also, remember disinfectants have a dwell time they must remain in contact with the bug in order to kill them. Said differently, you can't just "spray and wipe". Most disinfectants require a 10 minute dwell time for fungi. Read the package. The retail product I would recommend that you use (not one of mine) is "Lysol Power and Free". It's an activated H2O2 product that doesn't have a solvent so it is less likely to damage the leather. It can also be used on the carpet areas, but will require you to use a hot water extraction afterwards to remove it from the carpet.

Good luck, and remember, go slow and think safety first.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I have about 70 published articles (two this month on Ebola and Enterovirus) on how to clean and disinfect surfaces (mostly hospitals, nursing homes, schools, restaurants) so I can offer a bit of insight here.

tromly

definitely a lack of air circulation, this is a job for a professional restoration expert.