An Australian family received a terrible, unexpected and potentially very expensive shock in their garage when they returned from a recent trip abroad.
They found their car infested with mold that spread throughout the interior, including the seats, steering wheel, console, floors and doors.
With little of her vehicle saved, the Sunshine Coast mother who posted photos of the car on Facebook asking for advice was understating the damage when she wrote “it’s very bad”.
He received a lot of advice from people who had had similar unwanted experiences, and some gave him the very bad news that they did not believe it was possible to save the car.
“It’s a huge loss,” one wrote, while another added: “Even if I managed to get it cleaned up, I still don’t think I could trust it to be safe.”
Others said that when the same thing happened to their car, the insurance company wrote off the vehicle.
Anthony Johnson, mould remediation expert at Green Mould Solutions, said that given the right conditions, a car can be a perfect breeding ground for mould to spread rapidly.
“This happens to a lot of people and they get a big scare when they see it,” he said. Yahoo News.
A family returning from abroad found their car (pictured) infested with mould spreading throughout the interior, including the seats, steering wheel, console, floors and doors.
He said that if a car has a window slightly open, it could let a small amount of water inside.
Indoor temperatures can create humidity, which causes mold to grow and spread quickly.
Once you get to the cloth and leather interiors, it can be difficult to control.
Mr Johnson said it can take as little as 48 hours for the interior of a car to be completely taken over by mould.
While it can be removed, it takes someone with the proper equipment to do so.
“You need to call a professional to use the right cleaning solution on the different surfaces of the car, which will remove the mold completely,” he said.
“You can use a machine to remove mold from the air, but the key is to treat the mold on the surface. Otherwise, it can easily grow back and start spreading again.”
The woman received a lot of advice from people who had had similar unwanted experiences, and some gave her the very bad news that they did not believe the car (pictured) could be saved.
The specialist said mold is a common problem in homes, cars and workplaces and spores must be treated carefully to ensure safe removal.
Mr Johnson said it was vital to have a professional who knew how to deal with this problem “because it is people’s health that could be at risk”.
Many mold spores can only be seen with specialized equipment, he said.
Maintaining a clean, dry and well-ventilated environment is the best way to prevent mold, Johnson added.