Mold and mildew inside the car

[440 4 speed]

100% agree. I hade a 67 sport fury that got infested over the winter, All windows were up and they actually ate a hole through the vent window rubber. They also hung out on the visors which were up and ate a hole in the headliner. So beware and store your car over the winter with the visors vertical.

(Meece??) solution. WORKS!
Get a bucket.
Punch two holes through the side directly across from each other.
Punch holes in the ends of an empty soda pop can, same size as the rod going across the diameter of the pail.
Start on one side of the pail, install can.
Put the rest of the rod through the other side of the pail.
Slather the pop can with peanut butter.
Put about 4 inches of good old antifreeze in the pail. 50/50 works fine here, but our temperatures get quite cold. You might need less.
Put a board or something else against the pail that the mice can climb, and reach the rod.
They climb up go to the can with peanut butter it rolls over end of problem.
My father was using a metal pail back in the 50’s, if not earlier. Usually used wheat kernels. Mice would die because of lack of water. Sometimes I would take the live mice and feed them to the cats.
FORGOT!! DO NOT PUT THE PAIL anywhere a family pet can get at the antifreeze, it will KILL the pet!!!

 

[sam dupont]

be careful when dealing with mold. It can mess up lungs and nerves. Use a respirator when inside the cabin for sure.

 

[sam dupont]

FORGOT!! DO NOT PUT THE PAIL anywhere a family pet can get at the antifreeze, it will KILL the pet!!!

Not worth the risk, your Dad had it right. I cheer if I hear a trap snap shut, but when I catch them live, I take them to a field with the dog.

I let one loose in a big pile of leaves next to a creek, and my young pup went after it. I thought to myself "good luck", and 10 seconds later there she was running around with a mouse in her mouth. The mouse got loose and ran with the dog chasing, it did a 180 and so did the dog, then 180 and so did the dog. After a half dozen ten foot runs with switchbacks, I was starting to wonder how far a mouse can run when it ran back into the leaves and my dog didn't find it that time.

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

Hi everyone, I opened the door on the 68 Roadrunner and there was mold or mildew on the bottom area of the seats. The material is vinyl covers from Legendary. I’ve never put anything on them like Armor all. Has anyone else had this problem?

Yes we have, and thats with factory original interior… NOT legendary. It depends on the humidity and darkness.

Spray with Lysol, let sit a few minutes and wipe clean.

Bingo

 

[sam dupont]

House we lived in when I was a kid was so humid in the basement. My mom hung desiccant in a sock over a bucket. It would drip water

 

[Davefinan]

(Meece??) solution. WORKS!
Get a bucket.
Punch two holes through the side directly across from each other.
Punch holes in the ends of an empty soda pop can, same size as the rod going across the diameter of the pail.
Start on one side of the pail, install can.
Put the rest of the rod through the other side of the pail.
Slather the pop can with peanut butter.
Put about 4 inches of good old antifreeze in the pail. 50/50 works fine here, but our temperatures get quite cold. You might need less.
Put a board or something else against the pail that the mice can climb, and reach the rod.
They climb up go to the can with peanut butter it rolls over end of problem.
My father was using a metal pail back in the 50’s, if not earlier. Usually used wheat kernels. Mice would die because of lack of water. Sometimes I would take the live mice and feed them to the cats.
FORGOT!! DO NOT PUT THE PAIL anywhere a family pet can get at the antifreeze, it will KILL the pet!!!

In addition to the peppermint spray inside the car , I set out 3 plastic jars with corn meal and baking soda. Fifty fifty mix. I drill a one inch hole in the lid so they can eat it. The baking soda makes them get bloated and mice can’t fart (some jokes are sure to come) and it kills them. I just hope they go somewhere else to explode.

 

[440 4 speed]

(Meece??) solution. WORKS!
Get a bucket.
Punch two holes through the side directly across from each other.
Punch holes in the ends of an empty soda pop can, same size as the rod going across the diameter of the pail.
Start on one side of the pail, install can.
Put the rest of the rod through the other side of the pail.
Slather the pop can with peanut butter.
Put about 4 inches of good old antifreeze in the pail. 50/50 works fine here, but our temperatures get quite cold. You might need less.
Put a board or something else against the pail that the mice can climb, and reach the rod.
They climb up go to the can with peanut butter it rolls over end of problem.
My father was using a metal pail back in the 50’s, if not earlier. Usually used wheat kernels. Mice would die because of lack of water. Sometimes I would take the live mice and feed them to the cats.
FORGOT!! DO NOT PUT THE PAIL anywhere a family pet can get at the antifreeze, it will KILL the pet!!!

 

[jimbosride]

I use 2 of these per vehicle for the last 8 years. Works for me.

DO NOT use and heat or light inside. I did one winter on a classic jeep and it was a disaster.

 

[DeltaV]

I have an assortment of snakes on my property that will eat rodents and each other for that matter.

Stop on by Mike @Charles Cook

 

[Charles Cook]

I have an assortment of snakes on my property that will eat rodents and each other for that matter.

Stop on by Mike @Charles Cook

No thanks. lol

 

[DeltaV]

No thanks. lol

 

[Charles Cook]

Nope still gotta go

 

[RR Fan Dan]

View attachment 1925579

What kind of snake is that? Is it venomous?

 

[gkent]

Mold will form from humidity, heat and lack of air movement. I had a real problem with my interior - the car sat for the better part of 25 years - always indoors. To give an idea of how bad it was, the black interior was almost white with the mold. But in seems to only form on the exposed surfaces. Also, it forms on any surface - vinyl, plastic or metal. I took everything out, cleaned it and bagged it up and then stored it for another ten plus years with no issues. Installed it all over the past winter and its fine but it has taken the past few months to get rid of some odor. All's good now.

I washed everything really well with an amonia/water mix - I didn't want to use bleach because it would take the color out of stuff like the stitching on the seats, etc.. . Get in all the nooks and crannies. The undersides of the seats I hit with compressed air. I let things dry in the hot sun for a while. Oh, and I did this on a very dry day. I then bagged everything up as best I could - I even vacuumed as much air out of the bags as I could before sealing them up. For big stuff like the seats I bought mattress bags. Like I said, this stuff then got stored for close to another ten years.

Now that the car is back in use and gets cleaned more often mold won't be a problem.

I also bought a product to remove mold and mildew. I don't recall if I used it. I'll post a photo when I'm out in the shop.

 

[Hey-O]

As long as the air moves or turns over, that shouldn't happen. I never had a place with more than one building that was closed and just for car storage. I've had a four car attached garage which was opened and closed constantly.

 

[Davefinan]

I have an assortment of snakes on my property that will eat rodents and each other for that matter.

Stop on by Mike @Charles Cook

If you’re going to have snakes, they might as well be useful. We have what they call the “Tennessee rat snake” , ( non poisonous). unfortunately they aren’t quite getting the job done.
Cats would help for sure , but I dont like them much.
I have seen several times a hawk swoop down and fly away with a mouse , but it’s not helping much either. I had a mouse run right in front of me as I was loading the car to go to the music city mopar sho last Saturday…….so , tis the season

 

[XS22J8R]

I have a well insulated but not heated 3 car garage with a cantilevered roof. I've had issues with finding some light amounts of mold in the interior of the car that parks in the middle of the garage but never in either of the two that park adjacent to walls. The west wall has a window that typically is kept open a few inches, during the fair weather months, and closed the rest of the year.
The car in the middle doesn't get out much, the other 2 are driven near weekly during the fair weather months than hibernate the rest of the year.
I had a different car parked in the center for 5 years or so until the one currently there came back from restoration, that I don't recall ever seeing any mold in the interior which is interesting. It did get out and about regularly in the summertime and sat under a cover the other 7 months of the year.
I've had issues with sometimes seeing condensation on the east and west walls of the garage, but never on the back (north) wall. The upper part of the east wall, the one with no window, even gets a little black mold growth I have to climb a ladder and scrub off once or twice a year.
For a time I kept a small old box fan running over near the east wall but I didn't see a difference in the condensation issue. That fan eventually quit working and I didn't replace it after that. I do have a ceiling fan out there, but don't want to run it 24/7/365.
When I built the garage I thought I'd be able to keep it heated to mid 40s-50° over winter with an 220V electric heater, but that didn't work out well unfortunately. If I knew then what I know now I'd have configured things for gas heat. But I don't know for sure what time or year or what conditions I get the condensation. I just see evidence on the walls there was some moisture there that dried, and the mold on the east wall.

 

[Davefinan]

Has anybody tried a large amount of baking soda in a wide top container inside the car to help with the moisture problem?

 

[Triplegreen500]

Dehumidifier that I modified - I drilled a hole in the bucket, added a hose nipple, and run a drain line outside the garage. It probably pulls 5 gal a day (bank barn style garage, 3 sides are "underground").

I also have 3 or 4 of the electronic rodent noisemakers plugged into outlets around the garage. Zero rodents. Been here for 12 years now.

I use a different brand but same idea, they're about the size of a USB charger brick

 

[RR Fan Dan]

Dehumidifier that I modified - I drilled a hole in the bucket, added a hose nipple, and run a drain line outside the garage. It probably pulls 5 gal a day (bank barn style garage, 3 sides are "underground").

I also have 3 or 4 of the electronic rodent noisemakers plugged into outlets around the garage. Zero rodents. Been here for 12 years now.

I use a different brand but same idea, they're about the size of a USB charger brick

View attachment 1925800

I thought about trying those if the peppermint spray didn’t do the trick.