mildew smell

[Bigpat]

Hey everyone, I picked up my first non friend customer and hes looking for 3 cars done this weekend nothing crazy but one of them has a mildew smell to it and i was wondering if anyone had any tricks for interior mildew funk??? My plan of attack is a good vacuuming then a scrub down with a 4ish to 1 APC+ then hit it with auto care LGM, wipe down with a 10:1 apc+ then dress with CG natural shine ... i love the smell and it blends well with apc+... any tips???? All input appreciated... even if its to let me know im on right track... ive never been so excited to clean something.... wth is wrong me lol

[slickooz]

I have read good things about this. Give Carpro So2pure a try.
CarPro So2Pure Air Purifying Coating 120 ml.

[Bigpat]

Thanks, im trying to do his cars this weekend so i dont have time for an order, and its the first time im working with him so i dont want to delay the project

[Setec Astronomy]

Sometimes cars get that smell just from age or from a one-time water exposure (leaving a window open in the rain). Or the car could have a leak, which means you will never be able to solve the problem until the leak is fixed...which means you get blamed for doing an odor removal that didn't work.

This is one of those times that an ozone machine sounds like a good idea, but the plan you have outlined seems like a good start. I used to use the liquid Lysol (do they still make that?) when I had a car that would get mold inside.

[Black Car]

obvious answer maybe but for a somewhat temp fix be sure to recirculate the air while using an air freshener. Also try to hide some Downy fabric softener sheets somewhere...like up underneath the seats

[Harleyguy]

As mentioned if the Mildew smell is very strong more then likely the car has some form of water leak . What you can do is lift up on the side sill moldings that run along the opening of the front door and reach under the carpet with your hand and see if the backing material is wet or the floor boards are wet. Repeat on the other three doors . If any carpets are wet you know the car has some kind of leak .

Interior carpets that are on a newer model cars have the foam backing attached by glue and it's like a big sponge they can absorb a ton of water you have to remove the carpets and dry them out while the carpets are out of the car I use a garden hose and wet down each section of the car while someone is inside with a light looking for any water enter .

One of cause of water leaks in cars is the AC drain a lot of time the AC drains gets clogged causing the water to back up into the evaporator causing the water to enter from the case instead of draining outside the car

[Flash Gordon]

All of the above ^

Plus a few more things

1) If you can remove your cowl, dig out all the dead leafs and clean that area real good

2) Replace your cabin filter

3) Run an ozone machine running on the rear floorboard for a few hours. Its good to leave the car running for 30 minutes or so with the heater on so it will circulate through the system

[opie_7afe]

what i would recommend is spray all interior surfaces with a enzyme cleaner, as enzyme cleaners will attack the organic odors and stains and remove them.i dont have a brand of enzyme cleaners to give you a name but do some searching im sure you can find one locally. ozone machine would be best bet but they can be hard to find to rent. check the cars owner manual to make sure it has a cabin filter some do some dont depends on the car. and also check for leaks if the car is still leaking in water the smell will just come back....so i would get the enzyme cleaner, spray it on all soft surfaces and let dwell for the recommended time, then use wet/dry vac or extractor to suck up the liquid then i would go back over it with something like meguiars all purpose cleaner plus and use wet/dry vac/extractor again.good luck with it.

[Harleyguy]

All of the above ^

Plus a few more things

1) If you can remove your cowl, dig out all the dead leafs and clean that area real good

2) Replace your cabin filter

3) Run an ozone machine running on the rear floorboard for a few hours. Its good to leave the car running for 30 minutes or so with the heater on so it will circulate through the system

All good ideas but needs to find the cause of the water to begin with .

what i would recommend is spray all interior surfaces with a enzyme cleaner, as enzyme cleaners will attack the organic odors and stains and remove them.i dont have a brand of enzyme cleaners to give you a name but do some searching im sure you can find one locally. ozone machine would be best bet but they can be hard to find to rent. check the cars owner manual to make sure it has a cabin filter some do some dont depends on the car. and also check for leaks if the car is still leaking in water the smell will just come back....so i would get the enzyme cleaner, spray it on all soft surfaces and let dwell for the recommended time, then use wet/dry vac or extractor to suck up the liquid then i would go back over it with something like meguiars all purpose cleaner plus and use wet/dry vac/extractor again.good luck with it.

With out removing the carpets to remove the foam under layment or if the carpets have the foam attached no vacuum in the world will get it dry .Here is South Florida it is very common for people to think there cars are also submarine's I get at least a dozen cars during the rainy season that get wet inside I've tried every method to get rid of the water and smell the thing that always works is removing the carpets all over fixes are just a patch .