Been a long time since I've been by - wanted to drop a cautionary tale on those who are storing their loved one with a stranger.

Soooo... after a long and boring story, we move from metro Detroit to the hinterlands of the west side of Michigan. Need a place to keep Blackbird, so I choose up with a local place good guy and a good price. The room is vented, and heated in the winter (to 40-something.) Seems like all is good, pop in in last November under the cover, walk away,

In the meantime, we start a pretty big (for us) project that obviates the garage for the summer- which means the car stays in storage for three months longer than ever. Picked it up today - and it is a @#Q$Q# science project that smells like an abandoned Chris Craft.

WTAF? The room is water tight. Guessing they shut off the heater in the spring, but didn't open the doors. And the Seal-Skin waterproof / bomb proof cover kept all the moisture in. While it was months, not years, there is mold/mildew spotting everwhere. Under the hood... the top... the interior. Everything has that old boat smell now, I can see the white spores in places.

Owner seemed sheepish - now I'm hot as blue hell at myself for not checking this out better. Until today, that car still smelled more or less like the day I bought it.

Will obviously need a professional clean and detail, but I need to get at it right away, as in tomorrow when the quarter wash opens. Anyone with ideas, magic potions, branded products that kill this smell - sound off.

Everyone else: check out your storage, use a breathable cover, go visit regularly.

Let it rip - anything you can share will help.

 

Buy an ozone machine. They work wonders. You may need a few treatments.

 

Ozone machine work well, i think they can damage plastic if used for to long periods.

 

Wow, what a horror story. So sorry that happened...

 

A good soap water shampoo and bath, vacuuming dry then in room with dehumidifier and lots of air movement.
that's the key in storage, dehumidifier and air movement.

 

Same thing happened to my brothers 92RS. it has sat untouched for a few years in a poorly sealed garage and the once mint black interior is now hazed with white mold all over. Similar old boat scent as well. The plan is to shampoo and wet vac the carpets a few times, blow out the dash, wipe every surface down, and then sit it out in the sun with the windows down and the t tops off for a few days. Mold hates dry heat and loves stagnant wet air, you essentially just have to create an unenjoyable environment for the mold and it will go away.

 

It won't go away, but it'll go dormant, and as long as you keep it dry, you can mostly keep the mold at bay. But yeah, clean with soap and water, maybe some 303, or similar type cleaner and protectant on the plastic, then a good drying session, with maybe some exposure to sunlight. Ozone will eat the foam between the headliner fabric and headliner panel, so that might not be a great idea.

 

interesting, if it stays dormant and manageable long enough until my brother is ready to replace the carpet and headliner then so be it. If I remember correctly, the headliner was starting to sag a few years ago so it's probably at the point where it wouldn't matter what ozone would do to it now and should just be replaced. He gets really into cleaning interiors so if anything it'll be solid project for him while I get the car running again lol

 

Then he'll have his hands full!! I spent an inordinate amount of time cleaning the seats on our '92. It seems the orange color of the seat foam would float up and discolor the fabric on our seats. Probably a mistake using a wet vacuum on them. They cleaned up, though by just using some 'Incredible' and rubbing them dry with a towel.

 

i live in phoenix.
never dealt with what you guys are describing.
it was 107 here yesterday.
I can, and do, take cars to the local carwash, and open the doors hood and trunk and use the high pressure sprayer and wash door panels, door jambs, rockers ect to get them clean. -sometimes even spray the seats depending on how bad they are.
I dont mind driving home on a wet seat.
In a few hours everything is dry.
No clue what this mold or white spores are.
sorry you have to deal with that stuff.

 

Been there, it was awful. However, one good SUNNY day, wiped it all out with generic multipurpose cleaner, left it open, tops out, windows down - no issues since (going on 9 years now). Those waterproof/hailproof covers are great if you have to park it outside during a storm but not for long-term storage due to moisture build up.