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Cleaning mold from carpet?

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Arcstarter

Mon Sept 28 2009, 06:29PM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

Well, my dad is gone for the next two days to a deer lease with some guys from work, so i figured i would surprise him by having our boat cleaned (he asked me to do it).

The boat has not been used in about 2 years. It is a pretty nice, expensive boat, and i would like to take it out at least one more time, before we sell it, and do some fishing in the Neches River. The boat has a large cover on it, to protect it from rain. Well, this of course traps moisture, so now there is plenty of mold on the carpet. Also the rubber steering wheel, the seats, and some oh-sh** handles.

What is a good way to get rid of the mold? What i was thinking was some carburetor cleaner for some of the rough spots in the carpet, and pressure-wash the carpet to blow out the mold. The pressure-washing could start ripping carpet up, so i may have to turn the pressure down a bit.

For the steering wheel and other stuff i will use some bleach, probably somewhat diluted in water. But this would be a bit of a pain, because it would fade the colors in the carpet if im not careful.

Any other good ideas? He will be back the day after tomorrow (Wednesday) so i do not have much time. Maybe what i was thinking will work fine, maybe everything i was thinking would be a bad idea.

Thanks!

Mads Barnkob

Mon Sept 28 2009, 06:48PM

Registered Member #1403 Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968

The thing about mold is, its mushroom spores. There is not just one kind of them, there are alot.

So the only way to effectively get rid of mold is to use heat, cold, poison, disinfectants, salt etc.. you get the point. They all got different "enemies" that will effectively kill them.

I think the most common is, remove the moist and they will dry out and die.

This is what I heard last week or so from a fungi specialist that answered a question about mold removal.

Proud Mary

Mon Sept 28 2009, 07:06PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Hi Arcs, I reckon you can get some kind of spray on fungicide, maybe from a gardening shop. Just cleaning the carpet with soap and water will only get rid of the mold just so long as it takes to re-grow from its spores.

Bleach will kill it very well, but as you say, will bleach the carpet too.

There's a lot of mold killer, and mildewicides advertised on the web, so you could pick a popular American brand and then set about buying some from a local store.

Arcstarter

Mon Sept 28 2009, 07:15PM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

Thanks alot guys! Very enlightening.

In fact, i think i have some kind of fungicide or other sort of stuff in the shed. I am not sure what kind it is or what it is for, but i will have to check in a few moments. Right now it is rather stormy.

MinorityCarrier

Mon Sept 28 2009, 08:22PM

Registered Member #2123 Joined: Sat May 16 2009, 03:10AM
Location: Bend, Oregon
Posts: 312

Mold and mildew are a chronic problem near large bodies of water. If you have the $$, rent a generator and a Rug Doctor, plus disinfectant carpet cleaner, and wash the carpets with the Rug Doctor. The disinfectant will suppress mold for a while after cleaning.

Proud Mary

Mon Sept 28 2009, 08:50PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Another thing, Arcs, is mildew hates ventilation, which is why you get so much of it in bathrooms where they only have an under-rated fan instead of an open window.

Arcstarter

Tue Sept 29 2009, 12:05AM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

Well, after 6 hours of continuous cleaning, i think i am convinced it may not come back.

I pressure washed the entire boat, using a gallon of gas and taking 2 hours, then about 3 hours to vacuum the water up. This took enough mildew off to make it look good, but of course it is still there. Well, i am just going to keep the cover off the boat for awhile, and if it comes back, i will resort to harsh chemicals. I still need to bleach the steering wheel, though.

As long as we keep the boat cover off unless it rains, it will not get moldy. But that is too much to ask from my dad...

I will be watching...

Proud Mary

Tue Sept 29 2009, 12:10AM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

That's a deal of work, Arcs - I guess you Dad will be pretty pleased.

Arcstarter

Tue Sept 29 2009, 12:39AM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

Harry wrote ...

That's a deal of work, Arcs - I guess you Dad will be pretty pleased.

Well, either that or scold me for using the pressure washer. Which i doubt, i am more able than him to use things the right way -.-. I have done other things that took much more time (half of my summer vacation) that goes unnoticed.

Well, after eating i decided to be lazy for the next few hours left of the day, but tomorrow i will clean the huge amount of mold from the steering wheel and any other plastic parts. How should i go about this? It is solid rubber, so it will not soak into it, but the seats may be a bit porous. I will dilute the bleach in either 1 part water to one parts bleach, or whatever other ratio is suggested. This mold is mostly green, starting to become black because of how much there is!

Proud Mary

Tue Sept 29 2009, 01:53AM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Go at it with a scrubbing brush, and some 'kitchen spray' - it'll come off the steering wheel easy enough, I guess, but it might be tough to get it out of the textured fabric of the seats. Bound to look better whatever you do.

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