De-moulding car interiors

[Guest]

The Stanza has been laid up outside for a bit whilst I get round to tidying it up, unfortunately it has a boot leak, which has let water get into the carpets.Had a look in it the other day and the steering wheel has gone a tad mouldy, didn't have the keys on me so I couldn't inspect it further, the seats still look fine though I imagine it whiffs a bit in there now.I intend to fix the boot leak properly this weekend to prevent further leaks, but after that what's the best method of sorting out the aftermath? I'm pondering taking the carpet out, giving it a thorough coating of carpet shampoo or something, hosing it off and leaving it to dry inside.Is that a bit overkill? Is there an easier way? Sounds like a bit of a ballache.

[mouseflakes]

Canesten for the steering wheel perhaps?

[Guest]

Hosing the carpet down might work if like the Fiesta it's a one-piece job with some sort of thin moulded plastic backing, I've done this before + it worked a treat.What you really have to worry about is any underlay-type insulation material, this stuff once wet can stay damp ad inifnitum and is gr8 for rotting ur floorpan from the inside out. Either remove from car and thoroughly air in a dry room for a good couple of weeks, or bin.

[Guest]

Agree with you on the underlay stuff, the Mazda wagon had/has a leak into the front footwell and though the carpet was only a bit moist, the underlay was absolutely soaking wet and fell to bits, I just took it out and launched it in the bin.

[AXrescuer]

Any APC (all purpose cleaner) will do it. My wife swears by Tesco's own called Daisy APC. It's around 75p for a litre.

[CortinaDave]

I bought a '76 cortina ghia that had sat off the road since 1988 and there was mould aplenty. Was a ballache to get rid of the whiff but the best plan I found was to steam clean the whole damn thing, which seemed to do the job

[MrDuke]

There is underlay in the Stanza, front and back afaik. Weird multi-coloured stuff that weighs an absolute ton when it gets wet. I had a spillage in the back (oo-err ) and had to dry out one side - the underlay just disintegrated when I tried to take it out. All the bits of carpet seem to be joined together too, which doesn't exactly help.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

the interior of my landcrab is very mouldy, in fact its fuggin rancid. I intend to remedy it by removing the carpets and burning them.

[Guest]

There is underlay in the Stanza, front and back afaik. Weird multi-coloured stuff that weighs an absolute ton when it gets wet. I had a spillage in the back (oo-err ) and had to dry out one side - the underlay just disintegrated when I tried to take it out. All the bits of carpet seem to be joined together too, which doesn't exactly help.

Sounds like the same stuff as the Mazda, essentially looks like the sort of crap you'd find in a vacuum bag (less the dust). Good info, reckon it'll be a seat-out job then? If I can stop all water leaks from getting in, I'll probably treat it to some fancy new modern soundproofing. I need to get some for the Galant anyway.

[retrogeezer]

burning them

That should sort it!

[scrappylad]

Might be good to strip the interior out so you can water test the car properly to make sure all ingress has been cured. I'd recommend steam cleaning what you can to get rid of all the spores.

[KruJoe]

Hirst, do you or yours have a dehumidifier? Can you run an extension out to the car? Shut it in (windows closed), plug inside and leave it for a week. Remember to go and empty the tank every couple days. It might need longer than a week if you have that thick felty sound-deadening underlay stuff. That'll sort it. But if the carpet has that water-proof rubberised backing, it'll likely need to be pulled out I agree with Scrappy, it might be an idea to pull it anyway, for peace of mind etc, but try the dehumidifier if you've better things to be doing this week.

[Guest]

Regrettably, I didn't get time this weekend but I had a look and it's not that bad to be honest, I'll sort it next week. Promise.Leaving it hooked up to anything isn't quite feasible as it isn't at home at present, though if I have a bit of a fleet reshuffle soon I could get it indoors for a bit whilst I sort it properly.That's a thought actually - I've got access to some portable lights which kick out a lot of heat as a side effect, lovely to work under in the winter. Bit like patio lights, they're designed for use in industrial environments etc. If I parked the Stanza up, opened the doors and surrounded it with half a dozen of them for a few hours, I wonder if that'd dry it out?Alternatively it might just look like I'm losing my marbles and need to be put in a home.

[Volksy]

When Leeds's streetlights flicker and dim, I will say.. 'it's ok, Hirst is just drying his Stanza out...'

[j-j]

I know your pain - the Cx had a mildly debonded rear window and started letting in water just before the big freeze result: interior frozen!

 

Frozen

 

It dried out after a bit after the freeze stopped (for a while) and the rear seat was damp. Within a few weeks the inside was all black and green spots

 

You can tell the steering wheel has the most bacteria because it was the most mouldy. Everything wiped off ok but the off - white 70s vinyl headlining is still badly marked - any idea how to sort that?

[Guest]

That's exactly what happened with the Stanza, the ice was so thick in one of the rear footwells I had to smash it in with a hammer - I was pulling out sheets of ice that were nearly an inch thick.Still fired up and ran lovely though!

[andrew e]

Silica gel and Cif are your friends Hirst.

[Mr Average]

Surely this would do it.

 

[mk1_4dr]

Hirst, the scRot has leaked for the 3yrs ive owned it. I ditched the carpets after a few months of them sitting damp and giving off a rather dank snuff. The place is certainly fresher since then (although it still smells of oil, petrol, stale fags and 'old ford', which is a smell all of its own).I have found the best way of keeping the interior dry now is the holes in the footwell, let the place drain out nicely. Also, the exhaust running so close to the floor along the passenger side, and it generating so much heat, helps keep the place dry and quite pleasent.However, Iam growing a little sick of getting a wet arm everytime i bosh it through a carwash, or a wet foot (right between where my shoe ends and my trousers start!) whenever i use the wipers.....Old fords, gotta love 'em.

[Ratdat]

I've found that Japanese cars rarely leak but when they do it's usually down to leaks around the rear lights or if the front footwells get wet it's often because of rust in the scuttle. That's a pain in the arse to repair unfortunately. Have a good look up behind the dash with a torch and see if you can see any rust there. Occasionally they rust behind the bonded glass and that can let water in. If it's no repaired pronto it can get really bad very quickly and lead to a major welding reconstruction job so it's worth getting the screen out and dealing with it. Door appeture seals don't seem to leak much if ever but if the plastic panel is missing behind the door cards water can get in that way.As for drying out interiors, in my experience you're better off taking it all out of the car. Drying in situ takes forever. You can run the car with the heater on full blast if it's a good one, and leave the windows open but like I say..it'll take a long time.

[pompei]

My CRX leaked from the front screen and scuttle, and the rear washer nozzle. And from worn seals on the door window seals. Apart from that it was dry as a bone.

[Guest]

It's largely down to the rear boot seal being a bit holey and letting water in. Luckily the scuttle panel (which does have some holes in but doesn't seem to be letting water through) can be unbolted and removed from the car for repair, it's a really neat design.

[Ratdat]

It's largely down to the rear boot seal being a bit holey and letting water in. Luckily the scuttle panel (which does have some holes in but doesn't seem to be letting water through) can be unbolted and removed from the car for repair, it's a really neat design.

It's not the outer scuttle panel that's the problem if it leaks, it's the inner structure. When you get leaves and crap going into the scuttle it holds water in there which eventually rots though to the inside of the car. The only way you can usually see this rust is by looking right up behind the dash.

[Ratdat]

Leaking interiors seems to be a pretty prominent feature of British cars. I think every old BMC and BL car I've ever had has leaked either into the foot wells or boot, or more often then not both. I think my SD1 was just beginning to leak when I sold it.