Musty Smell - No Sign Of Mould

[MrStabby]

I have bought a Stagea that smells pretty badly of mould but the carpets, seats etc all seem to be clean, dry and free of mould. I've tried to Glen20 the interior (its kills mould) but its not made much difference. What else should i try? Or should i just get the interior shampood by a detailer? Any recommendations for a detailer in Sydney?

[Frosty]

id be finding the root cause of the water leak first coz its likely there is one.

[MrStabby]

id be finding the root cause of the water leak first coz its likely there is one.

I'm keeping an eye out for one, but so far its been dry. In the meantime i need to de stink it.

[Frosty]

get the house out man and smash all the windows around the edges etc...usually enough to find the water leak

id be getting it shampoo'd and dried properly

best of luck mate

Edited May 13, 2013 by Frosty

[ARTZ]

Chances are it was shampooed and left with windows closed...shamppoing is ok but you really need to air it out well afterwards...thats why steam cleaning is prefferable....

you an try oet it air out and keep the heater blasting to dry it out but you need to kill the mould and it could well be in the underlay.....it could be leaves or crud stuck in your vents even that's creating a pool of stagnent water...we found a drink spilt under our back seat that had made the seat foam turn mouldy..it was milk to, smelt like dead animal.

But yeah keep looking, you need to find the source of it..GL

[GTR-N1]

You can have a loan of my moisture detector Adam.

It's actually used for detecting termites behind walls - and has three settings to 'see' through brick or gyprock or timber.

So in effect, you can pass this hand-held electronic block over carpet, boot lining and such.

If you wish, I can bring it down to Earlwood on Friday.

[MrStabby]

You can have a loan of my moisture detector Adam.

It's actually used for detecting termites behind walls - and has three settings to 'see' through brick or gyprock or timber.

So in effect, you can pass this hand-held electronic block over carpet, boot lining and such.

If you wish, I can bring it down to Earlwood on Friday.

Hi Terry,

Thanks very much for the offer, I will take you up on it. I'm intrigued by the gadget! Let me know what time suits. You could text me on Friday afternoon to fit in best with your work schedule if you like.

Hi Artz,

Yeah i saw another post about steam cleaning - will look into that, exp since its already clean just needs a spore nuking.

[GTR-N1]

I've given myself a reminder...

Fri arvo Adam, at say 4?

PS You can go over as well, roof lining, C pillar/back shelf, door cards or any flat surface down to the size of a cigarette packet etc

[ARTZ]

Terry I'm just having a chat to a pest controller friend of mine...says those meters are no good around metal as it sets it off giving false readings.

"yup. it uses electricity to detect moisture, so anything that conducts electricity will say that it has a 100% water saturation."

have you got something different to what he has maybe? they look to be relatively inexpensive to buy..

[GTR-N1]

Thanks for that feedback.

They are expensive - and they're closed-shop items to inspectors.

Since I live in the Blue Mtns, I wanted one for myself 'er; my house.

To my knowledge, there's no alternative. But what I can say is, there are virtually or close to no false readings when I pass the unit over AC wiring.

Maybe I should try it on my own car first?

[GTROID]

Have you checked inside doors? if your window seals leak they could be wet inside.

[Sinista32]

I can think of a few things that could contribute to the Danky smell

Mould grown from water trapped in the AC/Heater ducts or

Under the wiper Arms there is a sheild, under that sheild is a valley. It may be blocked where the water is supposed to run off.

Mould may be growing in there and smell comming through the air vents. My old 32 had a nice fungus growing in there

Stags have sunroofs - damp seeping into hood lining ?

Perhpas even under the centre console (carpet).

[MrStabby]

I've given myself a reminder...

Fri arvo Adam, at say 4?

Ok see you then.

[GTR-N1]

It's in my car now Adam.

For your research, it's called a "Tramex Moisture Encounter" - 'Electronic Moisture Meter'

I haven't tried it on the inside of my car as yet.

[GTR-N1]

Glad the machine didn't give off any "false positives" from proximity to metal.

So it appears the cabin is pretty dry.

There are probably residual fungal spores that need to be evacuated - say, with a Dyson?

[MrStabby]

FYI, i'm going to try this out: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140969224914?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

[Sinista32]

Maybe you can find a detailer or car yard that uses an Ozone Machine or hire one

http://www.cleaningup.com.au/content/ozone-generator-machine-hire

After that if you want you could use one of the car products and run your car with AC on

Cheers

[MrStabby]

Maybe you can find a detailer or car yard that uses an Ozone Machine or hire one

http://www.cleaningup.com.au/content/ozone-generator-machine-hire

After that if you want you could use one of the car products and run your car with AC on

Thanks for the the link - ill definitely give that a shot if the other one doesnt work.

[Sinista32]

No worries mate, you've helped me a fair bit over the years. (brakes is one I remember )

Did a bit of research when I saw the issue you posted.

This Ozone Machine seriously seems the best method. Actually kills/removes the ION's, microbes, fungi that creates the Odours.

Cleaning masks the issue but does not rid the micro bacterial cause.

I'll definitely be using this as a Just-in-Case measure.