Breaking the mold...

[MGF74]

Hello,

hope everyone is enjoying the first few warm days,wherever you are.

Here's a bit of a cautionary tale about leaving your F out in the weather too long. After a few weeks of letting it sit in the driveway of an elderly family member who's in poor health and who I'm looking after, it seems that no good deed goes unpunished, and while checking on my car today, I was greeted with absolute loads of mold all over the passenger cabin. The soft top was shut the whole time, just in case you're wondering.

It even got on the inside of the Adidas cap I like to wear while I'm driving

Luckily, a bit of chlorine bleach made short work of the mold, and even the leather looks fine after it has dried. Not sure I'd use bleach on cloth seats, if you ever spot any mold inside your car. There could be some discolouration.

The mold on the cap seems to be coming out too, I've put it in the bathroom sink with a bit of detergent and a few litres of boiling hot water from the kettle. Probably helps that it's nylon fabric.


But yeah... don't leave your F out in soggy weather for too long. It never takes neglect well


- MGF74

[Rob Bell]

Yikes!!!

Glad you got it clean

[MGF74]

I was a bit worried about the leather, because you shouldn't normally expose it to harsh chemicals, but a quick wipedown with the bleach on a soft sponge didn't seem to do it any harm. I did give it a generous amount of Audi leather care lotion afterwards. Which I can wholeheartedly recommend, btw.

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It's a non-greasy, glycerine-based lotion, I've been using it on both the Audi and the MG for over a decade, and the leather looks stunning considering its age. It also smells really nice. Available for about ten quid at your local Audi dealer, and no, I don't get a sales percentage.

[Rob Bell]

Good shout!

[mgb281]

If you are able to get to an agricultural merchant you can buy Sodium Hypochlorite solution (very strong bleach), its normally about 14% chlorine. The last time I bought 25 litres it was about £10 and it dilutes down to what ever strength you need, 3 to 1water to Hypochlorite will give an equivalent to a strong household bleach. Keep the cap screwed on tight and it will last for years. Its great for removing moss and algae from patios and driveways, dilute 2 to one in a watering can and move quickly preferably on a damp surface. A typical watering can with a fine rose will cover a driveway 3 metres by 15 metres, wear old clothes, gloves and wellies

[MGF74]

Most kitchen bleach is sodium hypochlorite based, it typically contains about 0.5-2% of the stuff.

It's a pretty aggressive cleaning agent, I would only use it on surfaces and soft fabrics around a car, let alone an MGF, if there was no other way to get something clean.

Sodium hypochlorite is very effective against mold, which is why I used it inside my F. But it's not something I'd make a habit out of, because although leather will be more robust than cloth, it just isn't meant to be treated with chlorine bleach.

You can use IPA or white spirit on cloth and leather for tough stains, it's what's used in leather restoration. For vinyl like on your door cards or centre console, IPA is probably the better choice, and either should always be followed by a good bit of an automotive vinyl care product. The same goes for leather and the need to remoisturise it with leather lotion.

[mowog73]

You can use IPA...

Not sure if I would try to use India Pale Ale on mould.

I used bleach to remove the mould from my F when I first got it, it was everywhere inside of the car, and it effectively eliminated the mould issue. I did dilute the bleach about about 10:1, but then our household bleach has a strength of about 5%, and I used it sparingly, I didn't let the bleach mixture saturate the leather seats in my car and I rinsed in thoroughly after a few minutes.

[MGF74]

Not sure if I would try to use India Pale Ale on mould.

Why not. You can have a drink while you're cleaning it that way.

Most household chlorine bleach sold here in Germany has about 1% sodium hypochlorite, I think I saw 2% once but it's rare. They're also kind of phasing out chlorine based cleaning products here. Some brands have surreptitiously replaced it with formic or lactic acid as the active ingredient, which you won't notice while you're buying it unless you bother to look on the back of it to see what they actually mean by "New formula".

Chlorine has its environmental and health concerns, and that's fine, but I've found that nothing cleans quite like it.

For any stains on leather that aren't mold, however, I'd still use white spirit or isopropylic alcohol.

I didn't let the bleach mixture saturate the leather seats in my car and I rinsed in thoroughly after a few minutes

I sprayed some on a wet sponge cloth and then gave the seats a good rub and then wiped it off again with a second sponge cloth and just water.

And then, again, always make sure you immediately remoisturise the leather in some way.

[mgb281]

Not sure if I would try to use India Pale Ale on mould.

Why not. You can have a drink while you're cleaning it that way.

Most household chlorine bleach sold here in Germany has about 1% sodium hypochlorite, I think I saw 2% once but it's rare. They're also kind of phasing out chlorine based cleaning products here. Some brands have surreptitiously replaced it with formic or lactic acid as the active ingredient, which you won't notice while you're buying it unless you bother to look on the back of it to see what they actually mean by "New formula".

Chlorine has its environmental and health concerns, and that's fine, but I've found that nothing cleans quite like it.
/quote]

Bleach in the UK was reduced from a typical 5% solution about twenty years ago to the far lower levels found today, although there are benefits to reducing the chlorine level all that happens is that two or three times as much is used to achieve the same effect.
Thick bleach is normally a weak mixture of thin bleach and a weak caustic soda solution.
The same thing has happened to paint strippers, find a good one that works these days.

[Barbour]

Dumb Dutch here, I still don't get the IPA thing, unless you really mean the beer...

[mowog73]

IPA can also be short of Isopropyl Alcohol.