Interior and Upholstery Stinky Cushions

[Davedacarpainter]

Help me out here.

Let's say someone finds an old fox body that's been sitting in one place for the last fifteen year.

Maybe it has t-tops, maybe it doesn't, this is all speculation.

Let's say the seats smell moldy and you can't afford the cushions for the rear seat.

What's the best way to make the foam smell good again.

I need your help here or i have nothing mustang to do this weekend.

While you think it over, these might be the problem seats.....

 

[RaggedGT]

I've had good results from a steam genie (pressure washer with a hot water boiler and a soap dispenser.)
Once the water is up to temp I pressure wash the foam with a disinfectant.. In the summer months I let them dry out in the sun. Cold months a heat gun will work just takes awhile lol

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I've had good results from a steam genie (pressure washer with a hot water boiler and a soap dispenser.)
Once the water is up to temp I pressure wash the foam with a disinfectant.. In the summer months I let them dry out in the sun. Cold months a heat gun will work just takes awhile lol

So, what do you think Chris? Car wash then?

 

[RaggedGT]

So, what do you think Chris? Car wash then?

Does your dealership have a pressure washer? Like in the detail shop?
A car wash would work nicely though

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Does your dealership have a pressure washer? Like in the detail shop?
A car wash would work nicely though

I was thinking about one of the local car washes that you stick a bunch of quarters in.

I'll give it a try unless someone has a better idea.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

If there are any visible mold spots:

Spray them down with Tuff Stuff, agitate with a brush, vacuum the foam off, let dry, check the smell.
If they still stink, spray them down with Lysol aerosol in the scent of your choice, it kills most bacteria and fungi that make things smell bad (I've done this before).

If there is zero visible mold, and the A/C works, you can skip all of that, get an aerosol can of Febreeze Air Effects in the scent of your choice. Start the car, put the A/C on recirculate, spray the hell out of the passenger foot well area and close the doors and let it recirculate for about 5-10 minutes. I do this on the F150 every month because for some damned reason, the 12th-gen F150s are bad about A/C evaporator core odors, and it kills the odors left behind in the back seat from the dogs, old car parts, sweaty paintball/bicycling gear, etc.

 

[Boosted92LX]

I was thinking about one of the local car washes that you stick a bunch of quarters in.

I'll give it a try unless someone has a better idea.

Foam? Pull the upholstery off the foam. Spray it with febreeze or lysol, and stick it in a plastic bag. Use a shop vac to suck the air out of the bag and squish the foam like a foodsaver would. Air out and repeat.

 

[General karthief]

And after you do all that and your ready to reapolster, sprinkel a generous amount of baking soda rub it in a little and cover with the fabric of your choice

 

[Davedacarpainter]

If there are any visible mold spots:

Spray them down with Tuff Stuff, agitate with a brush, vacuum the foam off, let dry, check the smell.
If they still stink, spray them down with Lysol aerosol in the scent of your choice, it kills most bacteria and fungi that make things smell bad (I've done this before).

If there is zero visible mold, and the A/C works, you can skip all of that, get an aerosol can of Febreeze Air Effects in the scent of your choice. Start the car, put the A/C on recirculate, spray the hell out of the passenger foot well area and close the doors and let it recirculate for about 5-10 minutes. I do this on the F150 every month because for some damned reason, the 12th-gen F150s are bad about A/C evaporator core odors, and it kills the odors left behind in the back seat from the dogs, old car parts, sweaty paintball/bicycling gear, etc.

Start the car, right....,,,....,,...uhm......,,,,,

 

[General karthief]

Start the car, right....,,,....,,...uhm......,,,,,

You have to evict the current squatters first.

 

[90sickfox]

You can wash the seat cover in a bucket of laundry detergent and hang dry. The foam can be sprayed down with Febreeze or it can be washed by hand with laundry detergent. I wouldn't advise putting a vacuum cleaner to 30yr old foam. Heat gun could also be a bad idea. I'd let it air dry. Or.....

That vacuum bag trick sounds pretty good. That may help get some moisture out....maybe with shop vac. ?

It'll be like washing out a kitchen sponge. Only 1000 times bigger.
[emoji106]

 

[MustangIIMatt]

Start the car, right....,,,....,,...uhm......,,,,,

Allright, run an extension cord out to the car, put a box fan inside, turn it on full blast, Febreeze bomb it, and shut the door, letting the box fan do most of what the A/C system would've done, just not as well.

 

[mikestang63]

Have Kate Upton sit on them for an hour.

 

[General karthief]

Naked

 

[RaggedGT]

Easiest solution-

 

[Boosted92LX]

You can wash the seat cover in a bucket of laundry detergent and hang dry. The foam can be sprayed down with Febreeze or it can be washed by hand with laundry detergent. I wouldn't advise putting a vacuum cleaner to 30yr old foam. Heat gun could also be a bad idea. I'd let it air dry. Or.....

That vacuum bag trick sounds pretty good. That may help get some moisture out....maybe with shop vac. ?

It'll be like washing out a kitchen sponge. Only 1000 times bigger.
[emoji106]

I saw the shop vac plastic bag trick done years ago on furniture that had been in a house fire and was permeated with smoke. I don't recall the cleaning agent they used, but the bag thing really did work well.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I get the idea to basically replace all of the old stagnate air with new fresh air and disinfectants like lysol.

i'm thinking of cleaning them though.

I don't know why i forget about google at times, but here's a suggestion they have for cleaning the cushions.

Put the cushion in the tub, fill with enough warm/coolish water to submerge the cushion. Some laundry detergent. Take off my shoes and socks and pretend i'm squashing grapes for wine. Drain, fresh water, repeat until clean. Rinse the same way with just water till the soap is gone. Drain the tub, squish the water out and hang up for several days to dry.

Interesting idea to see if it's dry, weigh the cushion before i get it wet. That's the target weight to determine the cushions have actually dried.

What do y'all think of that one? I believe i'll give it a go on one of the cushions as a test today unless someone has done this to bad effect.

 

[Boosted92LX]

I get the idea to basically replace all of the old stagnate air with new fresh air and disinfectants like lysol.

i'm thinking of cleaning them though.

I don't know why i forget about google at times, but here's a suggestion they have for cleaning the cushions.

Put the cushion in the tub, fill with enough warm/coolish water to submerge the cushion. Some laundry detergent. Take off my shoes and socks and pretend i'm squashing grapes for wine. Drain, fresh water, repeat until clean. Rinse the same way with just water till the soap is gone. Drain the tub, squish the water out and hang up for several days to dry.

Interesting idea to see if it's dry, weigh the cushion before i get it wet. That's the target weight to determine the cushions have actually dried.

What do y'all think of that one? I believe i'll give it a go on one of the cushions as a test today unless someone has done this to bad effect.

I think it sounds like a great idea as far as cleaning, I'd be concerned with the water left behind causing mildew, but at this point it sounds like it wouldn't really be a set back.. At least it's cooled off outside finally. Maybe in this weather it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[A5literMan]

Naked

If I had Kate Upton, naked, she'd be sitting on something...

 

[A5literMan]

I get the idea to basically replace all of the old stagnate air with new fresh air and disinfectants like lysol.

i'm thinking of cleaning them though.

I don't know why i forget about google at times, but here's a suggestion they have for cleaning the cushions.

Put the cushion in the tub, fill with enough warm/coolish water to submerge the cushion. Some laundry detergent. Take off my shoes and socks and pretend i'm squashing grapes for wine. Drain, fresh water, repeat until clean. Rinse the same way with just water till the soap is gone. Drain the tub, squish the water out and hang up for several days to dry.

Interesting idea to see if it's dry, weigh the cushion before i get it wet. That's the target weight to determine the cushions have actually dried.

What do y'all think of that one? I believe i'll give it a go on one of the cushions as a test today unless someone has done this to bad effect.

Do that and then Allen's bag trick with a shop vac?