The war on mildew

[Trilapis]

Dear All,


First of all let me tell you that i am no professional detailer, but i am closely working with the best in my city to solve my problem.


So i own a 1997 Jaguar xk8 that had a strong mildew smell when bought this february. So i started a project of trying to get rid of that horrendous smell.


Let me tell you from the beginning that the interior of the car looks perfect. So no visible traces of mold or mildew.


Long story short, i've went into dismantling the dashboard, seats, leather and foam from the seats skeletons, door panels, rear seats, flooring. The only part i haven't touched (yet) is the roof.


So i found a lot of mildew under the rear seat, in the hvac system filters and the "spongy" material that covers the ventilation fans. Those were replaced. The detailer used Leatherique for cleaning the seats and for the rest of the parts we used Vital Oxide, a strong but mild mold killer.


So the smell is 80 percent gone...but not 100 percent. Trusting my nose i would say that the carpets still smell. So do the seats (after a hour long drive for example, the back of the tshirt smells like mildew.


So my questions are: are there any chances to save the carpet flooring - cleaned several times, treated with vital oxide and other detailing odor eliminator but still smells. How about the seats? Should we use something different than leatherique? I would do anything to save that leather, it is in amazing state and they don't make leather like that anymore...


Thank you so much

[precisionmobile85]

If the smell is indeed in the carpet its probably in the pad under the carpet..was the car a flood car and they didn't tell you? I've seen it happen

[Trilapis]

If the smell is indeed in the carpet its probably in the pad under the carpet..was the car a flood car and they didn't tell you? I've seen it happen

We've taken down the carpets. the metal flooring is impeccable, except for a point of rust, there was a punctual leakage of water coming from somewhere inside the dashboard, probably between the hood/wipers/windshield. anyway everything is dry now. the pad under the carpet has that "glass fibre" type of material, there is no visible mold or mildew but it smells...

[Crispy]

There are ozone machines for this.
You put the machine in the car and let it run for along time and it kills the mildew spores.
A good drying after will help also.
To find a company locally look under apartment reconditioning or mold removale.