How to clean carpet in my car

[MsRobyn]

I had something go moldy in the back of my car, and the carpet got moldy, too. I can't remove it, so I can't hose it down at the car wash. What can I use to clean, deodorize and sanitize it?

Thanks!

[XJETGIRLX]

My mom has a small Bissel steam cleaner that I use on my car on a regular basis. It does a great job.

[danceswithcats]

Similar to the advice of XJETGIRLX, I have a Bissel carpet cleaner that attaches to the hot water faucet and sprays a diluted soap mixture onto the carpet/upholstery being cleaned before sucking it back up. The surface is left mildly damp, but will dry fairly quickly, once the temperature is above freezing, and you can leave the windows open for a day.

[Chefguy]

3M makes a spray carpet/upholstery cleaner that works very well. Shake, spray, scrub with a wet brush, then wipe up with a sponge. We use it to clean up cat sick.

[parenchyma]

Wow, I waited years to pop my cherry on the Dope, but getting in on the ground floor of this place makes me brave.

I had a leaky windshield with INCHES of rainwater building up on my car's floor. It started to reek. I tried airing it out in warm weather, which dried it but didn't fix the smell, and was scared to try any bleach to kill mold because I knew it would probably damage the metal.

I was at the Toyota dealer for some routine service, and asked what they recommended. They had a new "ozone-generator" thing that they wanted to try. They closed up the car and ran the machine for a couple of hours, and it worked. I'm not sure the service guy knew how it worked/what it did, but it killed the mold.

Maybe you can find a local dealer who has such a magic machine.

[MsRobyn]

I'm just afraid that if I take my car anywhere near the Toyota dealership, they'll pay me money to buy another car, since the one I'm driving is an embarrassment to the company. (FTR, I drive a Toyota RAV4.) Let's just say it's been through two round trips between San Antonio and Biloxi, one one-way trip from San Antonio to PA, and lots of little trips.

I'll give the Scotch stuff a try first, and if that doesn't work, I'll be calling danceswithcats to borrow his machine.

[Chefguy]

I'm just afraid that if I take my car anywhere near the Toyota dealership, they'll pay me money to buy another car, since the one I'm driving is an embarrassment to the company. (FTR, I drive a Toyota RAV4.) Let's just say it's been through two round trips between San Antonio and Biloxi, one one-way trip from San Antonio to PA, and lots of little trips.

I'll give the Scotch stuff a try first, and if that doesn't work, I'll be calling danceswithcats to borrow his machine.

My bad: it's made by Woolite, not 3M. Works great on everything we've tried it on.

[BiblioCat]

I'm a big fan of Resolve for stains and odors. I think it comes in a foamy version now. That and some Febreze should take care of it.

[Zenster]

Another vote for spray carpet cleaner. I was amazed by the performance of Bissel's aerosol cleaner. A dust buster will remove the residue. Be sure to vacuum the carpet before hand to maximize the aerosol's effectiveness.

[norinew]

'Round these here parts, there's a 'do-it-yourself' car wash that also has a station for cleaning/shampooing/deodorizing the car's interior.
If they have this in freakin' Cumberland, MD, I'd have a hard time believing there isn't such a place near you! (Though you may not know where it is!)

[Sarahfeena]

I have had a lot of luck with white vinegar...it will neutralize anything organic. I put it in a spray bottle, and just spray it directly on, then blot up the excess. Your car will smell like vinegar for a while, but eventually it goes away, and so does the gross smell.

[MsRobyn]

'Round these here parts, there's a 'do-it-yourself' car wash that also has a station for cleaning/shampooing/deodorizing the car's interior.
If they have this in freakin' Cumberland, MD, I'd have a hard time believing there isn't such a place near you! (Though you may not know where it is!)

I actually did that yesterday. It seems to have helped since the visible yuk is gone. I still want to give it a good going-over to make sure it's completely disinfected.