Chasing mold out of my '67 Mustang took 4 months longer than I planned

I stored my 1967 Mustang in a damp garage last winter and got terrible mold on the seats and carpet. I thought a weekend with a cleaner and some fans would fix it, but the smell kept coming back. It took me four months and three different treatments before I finally got it under control. I ended up having to pull the seats out completely and use a steam cleaner twice. The whole time I was worried I'd have to replace the upholstery, which would have cost over a grand. Has anyone else dealt with mold in long-term storage and found a trick that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea12d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back a little here. Four months sounds like you way overcomplicated it. I get that mold is stubborn, but pulling seats and steam cleaning twice feels like overkill when a simple dehumidifier and a cheap UV light would have done the job in two weeks tops. I had a similar issue with a truck I stored, and a $20 UV bulb from the hardware store aimed at the seats for a few days killed the mold spores dead. Then a quick wipe with white vinegar and it never came back. You might have been fighting the moisture source instead of the mold itself. Just saying, sometimes the simplest fix is the one we overlook.

stone.lisa12d ago

Funny you mention that @the_thea, because a buddy of mine had almost the same thing happen with his old sedan. He spent months trying every cleaner and scrubber he could find, and the mold kept coming back like clockwork. Eventually he just parked the car in his driveway on a sunny week, cracked the windows, and left a cheap UV lamp on the seats for three days straight. Worked like a charm, no more musty smell or visible spots. Makes me wonder if we all overthink this stuff when sunlight and a little patience is all it takes.

murray.jana10d ago

Oh man, the UV lamp trick is genius. I had a similar nightmare with my hatchback after leaving a wet gym bag in it for way too long. Musty smell that just would not quit. I tried those expensive enzyme sprays and even left a box of baking soda in there for like a month. Nothing worked until a friend of mine who's a mechanic told me to just let the car bake in the sun with the windows cracked for a whole afternoon. It dried out the fabric so well that the smell just disappeared. Sometimes the old school methods really are the best.