Car interiors are the areas we all seem to be most concerned about because these are the surfaces we actually touch or come in close contact with as we operate or travel in our vehicles. Interior detailing also is something that there doesn’t seem to be a feasible automated solution for profession interior car cleaning and the options at the local full service car wash may not measure up to the standards desired. Leaving the options of either doing it yourself with a few tools and cleaners or setting up a regular car detailing schedule with a professional mobile car detailing service like Tallahassee Auto Detailing.
Tallahassee Auto Detailing specializes in full service detailing and vehicle reconditioning for your car, truck, suv, van, boat or airplane. We are able to turn dealership trade in vehicles into cars and trucks ready to be advertised to the public as decent preowned vehicles. We have helped a few clients cleanup and recondition vehicles that they have had in storage for many years.
In addition to restoring damaged or oxidized paint from the extended use of mechanical car washes we also specialize in thorough interior detailing. One common request for vehicles that have been in storage for an extended period of time is mold and mildew removal. Mold and mildew grows in damp areas and naturally seems to form quite quickly if there is any moisture left in your interior and the vehicle is left to sit for an extended period of time with no new or different air circulating around. This mold and mildew can be very toxic so it’s recommended that you don’t take any chances if you attempt to clean up your interior yourself. Tallahassee Auto Detailing recommends that you use a full face respirator with the appropriate filters along with some gloves.
To clean mold and mildew out of your vehicles interior you will not only want to remove the existing signs. You will also want to kill the mold without damaging the fabrics and other materials in your vehicles interior. Automotive detailers have specialized cleaners, but a good alternative is regular pure white vinegar which quite literally feeds the mold to death.
The first step you want to do after you have all your safety gear in place is to also gather together your tools, an assortment of brushes and towels, pure white vinegar, disinfectant, vacuum, a new cabin air filter and some small screw drivers. Optional items that Tallahassee Auto Detailing brings along for any professional interior mold/mildew removal cleaning jobs is a carpet extractor, power-brush scrubber and steam cleaner.
To start you will want to put on your safety gear and open up the vehicle to let air flow, vacuum out all of the loose debris and possibly address any other stains you might want to remove with either a protein cleaner or general car interior cleaner. Once you have all of the loose debris removed it may be a good idea to remove anything easily removed like the floor mats or easy to collapsible second and third row seating.
Now you will want to apply your mold/mildew cleaner/killer which a common household product to use is pure white vinegar which has a smell that should go away within a couple of days. Apply the cleaner and then grab a decent brush to use work the cleaner into the fibers of the material. Then use a cloth to wipe away. Once this is done you may want to apply a disinfectant such as a Lysol spray or similar. This may be the extent of what individuals may do to clean up the interior of their cars with a need for mold and mildew removal as a do it yourself project, but a professional auto detailer should take it a couple steps further with specialized interior automotive detailing equipment.
If Tallahassee Auto Detailing were performing the job we would use a power brush to try and get the cleaner or mold killer to go further down into the the fibers of the fabrics in carpets, floor/heel mats and cloth seats. We would also follow up this step with a full carpet shampoo and chemical extraction. This will help to also remove many other stains and other general grime that may have accumulated after many years of use. The carpet extractor tool is what auto detailers and car dealerships will use to get those lines in the carpets. After the interior has been thoroughly decontaminated and all the carpets have been professionally cleaned and extracted we would then proceed on to steam cleaning all carpets and fibers which will kill better then 99% of all germs and bacteria.
The final step would be to replace the cabin air filter and remove any wet leaves from the cowl air conditioning systems air intake and address any other problems that may be allowing moisture into the cabin/interior of your vehicle.
We also stock a full line of interior vehicle fabric refreshers and scents if you like and can dress all plastics and other harder surfaces with protectants if you do choose. Our mold/mildew removal service also comes with a complimentary exterior wash.
If you are in need of a professional mobile car detailing service in the Tallahassee FL area to remove mold or mildew from the interior of your vehicle or need other automotive detailing/reconditioning services please don’t hesitate to give Tallahassee Auto Detailing a call or request an appointment online.
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