Arnold asked: How do I remove mold from carpeting? Water got into the carpet in our car. It wasn’t obvious because it was under the removable rubber mats and was there until we noticed a fungus-like smell. The mold isn’t visible. There’s no obvious green, brown or black gunk. I vacuumed the water out with a wet dry vacuum and let the car air dry. The carpeting has felt totally dry for several weeks, but the smell is still there.
If 
you have a mold or mildew smell in your car, odds are pretty good that you still have a moisture problem. Mold will not linger without a moisture source, so the ideal solution is to get to the bottom of your issue. Until the underlying cause has been eliminated, it will not go away. The following fix is temporary, however, it should be quite effective.
Removing Lingering Odors
This method will remove the smell of mold, however the smell will continue to be produced until the mold that is causing the smell is removed.
You Will Need:
- Innofresh Odor Eliminator
- Baking soda
- Vacuum cleaner
Steps to Remove the Smell:
- Sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda over the entire carpeted area of the car. If you suspect the smell is coming from the seats, treat those as well.
- Allow the baking soda to sit for several hours.
- Vacuum the baking soda up.
- Repeat steps 1-3 as necessary. It may take a few applications, depending on how bad the odor is.
- Once you’ve improved the smell, leave an Innofresh Odor Eliminator in the car. These activated carbon filters actually remove, rather than cover, odors.
Removing the Mold
Although moisture is the enemy when it comes to getting rid of mold, using a steam cleaner is a great way to kill mold and is actually a low-moisture method of cleaning since the carpet is not fully soaked. Any moisture caused by this cleaning will dry too quickly to be useful to the mold.
You Will Need:
- Carpet shampoo
- Carpet steam cleaner
- Water
Steps to Remove the Mold:
- Fill the carpet cleaner with hot water.
- Add the appropriate amount of carpet shampoo. Each vacuum is different. Some will use a separate compartment for the soap, and others add it directly to the water.
- Use the upholstery attachment if necessary for small spaces.
- Clean all of the areas that were affected by the mold.
- Once clean, rinse the entire area with clean water and vacuum away the moisture.
- Keep the car open and allow it to air dry completely.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Avoid using liquid odor or mold eliminators or homemade solutions with liquids. Because it will be difficult to dry the carpet completely, you will likely extend or multiply your problem.
- It’s best to wash the interior of your car on a hot, sunny day. Keep all the doors/windows open to allow maximum air flow and shorten drying times.
My daughter spilled her cup in my back seat (never told me about it). One day, I started feeling sick, but when I got out of the car I felt better, so I started hunting and found the mold under the back seat. I used Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle all over the carpets first. It may discolor, but it kills 100% of the mold. It’s an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral solution. Bleach only kills 80% of Mold. Let the Hydrogen Peroxide sit for a few hours, then shampoo and dry as normal.
Hydrogen peroxide will not kill peroxidase-producing bacteria… not that it has much to do with mold.
I used a mixture of 8 parts water to 1 part bleach and it worked great. And it did not discolor my carpet!
A local car wash place ruined my car carpeting by failing to properly dry the car after they shampooed the carpet. Now I have this persistent mold and mildew problem. Can’t tell the difference because I cannot see the problem, but I can definitely smell it. Thanks for the tips. I will try to clean the odor with the comments suggested.
Yes, really helpful commenting and really new tips that are a helping hand with the green mold in the back of my car.
I am battling this problem and found it very helpful to pry the door thresholds off in order to get under the carpet to allow complete drying of the carpet and used peroxide to kill the mold.
I live in a extremely wet climate in the pacific northwest. I work for a non-profit organization and unfortunately got stuck on a day that it was ‘rain, sleet and snow’ to pick up three loads of furniture. Needless to say, since then (a year ago), I have been battling the wet carpet in my suburban. Over the summer, even though it was hot, the humidity levels were unreal so some drying happened, but it is still moist and causing more mold. More odor. I have tried taking it to the only auto detailer in town, tried the bleach thing, as well as the baking soda. Haven’t tried the hydrogen peroxide yet, although it has peaked my interest. Thing is, I don’t want to try it only to battle the weather to try to get the carpet cleaned. Any suggestions on how I could dry the carpet, aside hitting a catch 22 and vacuuming only to just keep adding more water from the heavens above into the car? I should probably inform you it rains night and day 295 days of the year here. Unfortunately, the summer isn’t dry enough, as I have discovered, and the rainy season has already commenced. I seriously just don’t want to deal with yet another year of this… I desperately need some help.
Kelly,
You can try using a dehumidifier, either store-bought one or a homemade one (which is basically just charcoal, rice or baking soda in a modified plastic carton). Keep the dehumidifier in your van and replace it regularly, or just put it in the van each night. Pointing a fan on the area overnight when it is the most wet could also help to dry out whatever moisture is left after vacuuming it. Also, when you are hauling the furniture, you could duct tape a tarp over the open area to prevent large amounts of water from entering the van.
A heated garage!
I live on the Cal/Oregon border and have a wood stove in the garage. This keeps the car like new.
Accidentally spilled milk on an auto carpet and since have what smells like a chemical odor. What is the solution?
Thanks.
Irv,
This article can help you to clean the area: How to Clean Milk and Cereal from Carpet.
If any smell remains after that, this article can help you to remove the smell: How to Remove Sour Milk Odors from Carpet.
I got into an accident a while ago and the windshield was badly broken and letting rain inside on most of the interior. Any solutions on having my seats and carpets back to normal?
I just gotta truck with mold every where and I mean everywhere. Anything I can do without having to wipe everything down, because a lot is unreachable.
Just bought a truck and the mold is green, black, white, and most likely in places I can’t reach or even see. Please help. Spent good hard earned money to buy this truck and if there is one thing I don’t need it’s more health issues.
I have a 2008 Ford Fusion 4-door with a sunroof.
On the floor of passenger side, the carpet is green. It stays wet, not ever drying out…even on 90 degree days with car in the sun all day, it still stays wet!
Please help me.
Linda,
Clean the carpet thoroughly to kill the mold. Then, use a wet vac to remove as much moisture as possible. Finally, try using a dehumidifier like I recommended to Kelly here.
Linda, you probably have a heater core leak. It will leak coolant onto the passenger side floor and it’s the color green. If it’s staying wet no matter how much you dry it, it’s because it keeps leaking again! Happens to tons of people, give it a google!
I had a mouldy green fluff-covered Orange in my back seat for a month till I found the smell. I tried vinegar and essential oils. I really don’t want a new car interior. Please help. The smell stayed.
Sean,
I’m not sure what you mean by trying vinegar and essential oils; I’m guessing you mean you sprayed the interior with a mixture of those. Instead, you can put a bowl of undiluted vinegar in the car overnight. (You can use more than one bowl if desired.) Remove the bowls in the morning and the smell should be gone, but if not, you can repeat the process as many times as needed. Setting a plate with activated charcoal on it in the car overnight can also work.
The methods in this article should also work – using baking soda or steam cleaning.
You can also try spraying the interior with an enzyme digester for odor, such as a pet stain and odor remover (available in the pet aisle of most grocery stores). Kids ‘N’ Pets usually works well.
An ionizer works well at getting rid of odors once the source is removed. It’s about the only thing they are good for though.
Hey, so I had a very moldy orange (blue/green) in a backpack in my car. We started smelling rotting and the smell got into the car. We’re worried that the mold got into the upholstery. Does anyone know how to get rid of it and the smell?
Kayla,
See my response to Sean in the comment above.
While I was out of state for two months, my husband used my car for some reason. He went shopping, then left a plastic jug of orange juice, a dozen eggs, etc. in my car! It got hot outside, the jug exploded, and he never cleaned up anything. The carpet molded everywhere in the back, little black flies got in, laid eggs, and now I have little white maggots crawling all over the bottom under where the spare tire was! I have been gagging! I will try the vinegar trick. Any other ideas?
Ima,
The vinegar trick only works if the source of the odor has been removed. The carpeting needs to be cleaned thoroughly to remove the mold and orange juice residue. Once that has been removed, then the vinegar trick can be used to remove the lingering odors. However, since you have files, it would be better for you to use either charcoal or baking soda; vinegar is an attractive smell to flies (and possibly baby flies, i.e. maggots). Instead of putting a bowl of vinegar in the car, put a plate with either activated charcoal or a generous pile of baking soda on it in the car. The baking soda can be sprinkled directly on the carpet or seats over the area where the mess was to be even more effective, particularly if you’re in the car. Just don’t open a window or you might get baking soda flying all over. (You could try taping plastic wrap over the area if needed to hold the baking soda in place.) Vacuum up the baking soda several hours (or days) later and repeat the process if needed.
Coffee grounds can also be used; they will remove the foul odor, but they will replace it with a coffee odor instead. Only put them on a plate though, not directly on the carpet.
If the flies are still a problem, look through the article How to Get Rid of House Flies for some tricks you could use. Hanging a sachet of cloves may help with both the smell and deterring the flies. Good luck!
I would make my husband take the car and have it professionally steam cleaned, since he created the mess.
I spilt some water tgat I was carrying in my car. It’s now left a terrible smell. How do I get rid of it?
Lee,
You are on the right article. The water has probably led to mold/mildew, which is what you smell. Either of the methods above can work to remove the mold and smell. The baking soda in the first methodd could absorb the moisture, therefore killing the mold as well as removing them smell. If you live in a humid area though, the second method using a steam cleaner will be needed as the mold will have enouch moisture from the air to return. Good luck!
Should I put a heater in the my car to dry out the floor carpets, saturated and moldy from leaving the windows open?
Gloria,
Use a fan, not a heater. A heater will encourage the growth of mold unfortunately; mold prefers warm, damp areas. Also, place a dehumidifier in the area as well (be sure the fan won’t blow the powder around though if using a powdered one). These can be found at Dollar Tree stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores. DampRid is one example. These are especially useful for times when the fan is not available (while driving, while out shopping) to ensure the moisture is removed as fast as possible. Good luck!
Toyota highlander has a manufacturer water drain kink. My warranty is only up to 60,000 km, and doesn’t cover the replacement of carpet and underpad, or cleaning of the foot wells. Have people actually replaced the carpet and underlay? And could they still have the odour and mold?
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
If the water doesn’t drain properly, then replacing the carpet/padding is useless as the new ones will just get wet as well (causing the mold to return). In order to solve the problem, the drain kink will need to be fixed. Check to see if there are any recalls out on your year/model based on this problem; if so, the manufacturer will fix the problem (no warranty needed). Good luck!