Car covered in mould - help!

[OhToBeASeahorse]

We bought a 2nd car at the start of 2020 (oh for a time machine). We kept our 1at car as a run around.
DH moved it last week, all fine. I went to get something from it yesterday and the seats are covered in mould?!?!

Any ideas about a) why and b) what the fuck I can do?!
They are fabric not leather

You can buy big bags filled with silica crystals which you can leave in car. That might help in absorbing the damp that's inside your car. Obviously doesn't fix the root cause but could help in the short term at least.

Oh that's a good idea - I have some, somewhere...

We had this on the mats in the foot wells. We sprayed them with Klercide and then had the car wash place wash them. I'd test the fabric in an inconspicuous patch to make sure it won't damage it then spray it down and have them washed. But you absolutely have to find the source of the moisture leak.

I keep a wee dehumidifier in my car.

This happened to us a couple of weeks ago. One of the dcs hadn't closed a door properly and rain had seeped in.

I wiped everything down with Flash wipes and it hasnt come back.

So disgusting, especially aroind ds2's car seat and seatbelt - doesnt bear thinking about what sort of filth was lurking there.

I've made bags to go on our car dash using old odd socks filled with cat litter. It really soaks up the moisture and dh gets annoyed with himself when he forgets to put them on there after parking up at home. You could do trays filled with it around the car to help get rid of the moisture. I think the seats could be cleaned with a bio washing solution, just be careful not to soak them otherwise you're adding to the moisture issue.

I would say it's getting damp inside - a window may not be shut properly or a door not tight. If it has been left in the sun it will be like a greenhouse with lots of condensation. The extreme temperature changes would make it a great home for mould.

This happened to me last week. We were isolating so didn't go in the car for over a week and when we did the seats, seatbelts and kids car seats were covered in mould.
I checked the back windows and I think one was left very slightly open.
I scrubbed it all out with diluted Milton liquid and cleaned all the windows, made sure every window was dry and free of any condensation and blasted the heaters. I put a cheap dehumidifier in there (the £1 plastic tub with balls in it) and leave it on the dash when I get out and fingers crossed, its been fine since.
I don't think it necessarily means there's an issue with the car, if it continues then maybe an issue with a seal.

Thanks. Annoyingly it has a flat battery so I cant blast the heaters on. I do have some Milton.
Think i will need to charge the battery then clean it thankfully we dont need it but it will obv get worse

Mines getting like that as its just not being used enough (and its a convertible). I leave the windows open a bit on nice days and wipe down regularly.

Ok you need to do the following:

Open the bonnet and clear the well under the windscreen wipers. This time of year leaves gather, rot and block the natural drains that are under there. This leads to damp in the car. My old one suffered from it, its place you tend to forget to clear.

Thank u, it is parked under a tree so that makes sense

@OhToBeASeahorse

Thank u, it is parked under a tree so that makes sense

Thats the same as mine, I have lots of tall trees right where I park. The wet leaves clogged the drain and the water ran back into the footwells. It wasn't enough that the car was obviously sodden, but the car had condensation inside in the morning and then the roof lining started to get mottled. When I finally figured out that they had blocked the drain there was about 3 years worth of mulch in there. Cleared them, dried the car out and never had another issue again.