Best way to clean mold/smell from carpet!?

L

land234

New member
Hi all, I have an 03 Jetta that had an awful water leak, that I fixed, but not before water became stagnant on the driver's side carpet. I was sick for a number of months with out the energy to deal with it, and now that I'm feeling up to it I would like to clean it. It is dry, but smells VERY musky/moldy and the smell will even stick to my clothes if i'm in the car for more than 20 minutes.



anyway, what would be your recommendation to remove the smell/mold from the carpet? its black on black carpet/seats/floormats etc, so I cant really see where any mold really is (just smell it). I have vacumed it, but the smell is still there.



Thanks!!:xyxthumbs
 
Odor bombs are useless if you don't address the problem.



Since we don't know the extent of the damage it's hard to judge what the appropriate remediation steps would be. Is the mold in the carpet and padding? I'm not the professionall trained carpet expert here, but I would, at minimum, shampoo the carpet, followed by an all fiber rinse, extract and then look into one of Microban's disenfecting products designed for use on fabrics.



I would think that you would want to address this sooner than later. Breathing mold spores for extended periods couldn't be good for your health.
 
you can't get rid of a smell unless the source is completly gone! there are so many great cover up machines out there, car bombs, ozone machines, but there all a cover. what you need to do is remove the carpet and clean the whole area that ws affected and the metal floor pan beneath it. now if not going to that extent suits you shampoo the carpet and let the car sit outside for a day with all doors open and use nature toclear the smell!
 
OrdoBan "Walmart" or the concentrate of OdorBan from Sams Club.



My wife spilt about 1/2gallon of water in the PT Cruiser before going to the Cementary. She carries the water to water her mothers site. The wife tells me several days later. I did not want to take up the carpet so I just kept soaking with ordoBan. Now I use this stuff on all carpet cleaning in the home. For the house I mix it with Woolite carpet cleaner.



It took a few weeks and several times I left the window down because the smell was strong but it sure works.
 
If it were my car, I would use an enzyme based cleaner, then a full shampooing with a heated carpet extractor. I would also use my ozone machine in the car. What's your location? There may be someone local that would be willing to do the job for you.
 
Thanks for the responces, I'm in Atlanta BTW...



I'm leary of removing the carpet, I think something has to be done with the airbags when removing the seats...not sure though. but I'm sure that's probably the best course of action...
 
There shouldn't be anything but a clip under the seat that needs unclipped to remove them. You absouly NEED to remove all the carpeting. If the mold is in the Jute it won't matter what you do with all the chemicals in the world you'll never get rid of it. You need to remove the carpeting replace the jute thuroughly clean all the floorpans lay down the enzymes to completly eradicate the mold. The carpet at the very very least should be thuroughly extracted when out. I would personally take a heated power washer and give it a real solid cleaning then extract it and hang it up to dry for several days before re-installing it.



Once mold start unless properly removed will ALWAYS come back. it's a nasty substance that just thrives in carpeting and jute. you can kill it off and clean it all you want on the surface but those little buggers will just breed and multiply and come back over and over and over again. And it's a 1000 X's worse with humidty
 
You need to address the problem as stated previously before but for a simple way to fix the problem is use baking soda in the box with the filters you can find them in any grocery store and there only about 89 cents each just place one under a seat and it will have about any odor gone within a day or two. But this is only for the time being.
 
Cleaning your carpet and upholstery doesn't just have to be to avoid wear and age. It can also be due to accidents. If you are going to have a party, or if you have just had a party and there are stains all over it from food and drinks then you can call a professional cleaner to come and get it out. For more information just visit our website at AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. West Jordan
 
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