SORN going mouldy!

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Fake Concern
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SORN going mouldy!

Post by Fake Concern »

I currently have my youngest daughters Clio sitting on the drive SORN. It's been there about 6 Months & the interior is going mouldy, has anyone else had this and how can I stop it?
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bxzx16v
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Re: SORN going mouldy!

Post by bxzx16v »

I've heard Milton sterilising fluid is good for this and should stop it returning.

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Xantidote
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Re: SORN going mouldy!

Post by Xantidote »

My guess is that it's got rather damp inside the car over the winter months, and that's probably encouraged the mould bacteria. I've noticed that my Xantia suffers quite a lot of condensation on the inside of the rear screen in the winter months, and I've never understood why it seems more prevalent nowadays that it did when the car was younger. Problem is that we live in a damp climate.

If the car were garaged, I'd try leaving the windows open a little, for air circulation, but as it's outside, then maybe a dehumidifier inside the car would help. Never used one, but as I understand it, they switch off once their water collection tank is full - needs mains power of course. A dehumidifier won't get rid of the mould that's already present, but would help restrict further mould growth.

I hope the mould is only on the hard/plastic surfaces, rather than on fabric, where the mould could cause staining if left for long. I've seen polyester sails on yachts develop mould, where they've been bundled below whilst damp, & then left unattended over the winter. Although the mould on the sails can be scrubbed off, it can leave some marks behind, depending on how serious the mould has become.

The mould in your daughter's car can't be an isolated problem - I'm sure there are lots of cars laid up over the winter period (including classic cars). Interested in how you resolve the problem - good luck.
Martin

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Re: SORN going mouldy!

Post by KP »

If it has AC i would leave the engine running and the AC on recirc as long as its above 'c outside this should help dry it out.

There isn't any reason why you cant crack a window open just a smidge to let air in and out of the car.

Rear windows always seem to suffer due to moisture in the boots of vehicles, they always tend to trap it and have large areas of carpet compared to the rest of the vehicle and a higher chance of some spilt fluid in the past.

had this on the Xantia im selling recently that the back window misted up after a few weeks of being sat.

Left the AC and the engine running for a long while whilst I did some jobs on the XM and the garden and job done :) Then cracked the drivers window about 1cm and it hasn't come back since :)

Classics i think can get round it by being dry stored and not having wet shoes in them that often. Also you can get those small silica moisture traps which are meant to be good, just take them out every few weeks and cook the moisture off them :)
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