I was looking for a few things in the local salvage yard. I planned on getting some doo dads for the interior. I found a driver's seat in almost perfect condition even the color was right!

However it had some yellow mold on it... is it worth buying and cleaning? How would I go about doing it? Also the floor mat had the same mold... can I clean the carpet the same way? I just don't want to get it nice and clean then infest my car with that mold


Thanks in advance

 

You can easily remove the seat covers and throw it in the washing machine. Just use a good carpet cleaner on the floor mat.

 

makes sense, will the carpet cleaner kill the mold then? Or should I use a bleach solution?

 

I wouldn't use bleach.

 

I'll get it cleaned and stick them in the sun for a while. Hopefully it will get rid of any mold spores. I just don't want to pack it up for the winter only to get it out and have mold all over the place.

 

First, how nice is your car? And how nice do you want it to be?

Mold spreads to other places. You can clean it and sun dry it, but the smell might still fester. If you can pick it up for cheap <$25-30 then it might be worth it. Otherwise, better pass this one on by. Look on our forum for a decent seat or have yours reupholstered. If it's a cloth seat then assume that the mold has gotten into the foam....

 

Well the guy at the JY said he wanted 20 for the seat and I could have the nasty floor mats if I really wanted it.

I'm also going to look into steam cleaning see how much it would be for someone to run the carpets and seat foam real quick.

 

See if there's some sort of natural mold killer in the cleaner section of Walmart. I forgot the brand name, but there's probably more than one company making cleaner for bathrooms and such that kills mold but doesn't contain harsh chemicals like bleach. Might be worth the $20 experiment... or just completely ruin the seat.

 

Lemon juice and white vinegar mixed kill and clean mold. Just make sure the mixture doesnt cause a color change in an inconspicious area.

If it doesnt... mix, and clean. Throw the seat covers in the wash with a cup of white vinegar and a small bottle (about 99 cents) of lemon juice. Then re-wash wish regular detergent to get a better smell.

For the carpet, make sure it doesnt change the color... then mix up, and use in an attachment for a garden hose or some other type of "pressure" application. Scrub, rinse, repeat. Then go with a better smelling cleaner.