you find mold growing on your seats and dash!

I had to do some travel for work and was gone or hardly home at all for 6 weeks. My Discovery sat in the driveway where it always does and I thought I'd go for a spin the other day and opened up for the first time since I left for work and found mold spores growing all over the black leather seats, dash and black plastic trim! I checked the carpets and none are damp so I guess it was just the super humid air here in the Houston area and the car being all closed up sitting in the rain and then the sun! Where I live hasn't flooded but we have had about 12 inches of rain in the past 2 weeks!

I'm thinking a mix of vinegar and water would be the safest way to get rid of the mold but am open to other suggestions.

 

Time to invest in that climate controlled garage.

 

plug in a dehumidifier and let it run for a while. there is a 2 part concrobium that works great for mold....but you gotta remove all the moisture in order to be 100% successful

 

Problem is I have an air conditioned garage, I dry walled and insulated it and have an AC unit in there because I have a lot of high end wood shop tools that used to rust with all our humidity. And with my 3 inch lift and a roof rack I couldn't fit in under the door header!

 

I actually have a dehumidifier in the tool shop. That's an idea though to put it in the LR and run it. Just need to figure out how to run a drain line.

Oh and just to add to my misery, the battery is dead from sitting idle for the past 2 months so I need to find my charger!

 

This rain is ridiculous, isn't it?
All recreational activities have been banned on our lake (Eagle Mountain) because of the debris and fast currents from flooding.

 

not sure of yours, but mine has a little nipple that will except a drain line..(bottom/back)

 

A battery left discharged over 24 hours will never recover to rated capability. Prepare the wallet.

For the humidity and heat buildup, I did install a screen that keeps wasps from getting in. It is hard to see in the picture, but fits tight between the inner metal frame and inner felty rubber gap. Allows to leave it 'breezy' inside up to two inches, and rain does not get in. It is curled and contacts the glass for bug tightness. Attached.

 

Another way to air out the car if you have those Weathertech-type side window deflectors on the back windows - crack the back windows about an inch and a half. Then use some of the 3 inch adhesive mesh dry wallers tape to cover the gap between inside door frame and window edge. Wasps and rain can't enter.

I haven't looked at my Discos for drain holes over the years, but their must be some firewall holes under carpet on passenger side with plugs in them. All the Euro cars I have owned have had these setups to allow for Left and Right hand driver models. (I had a Fiat decades ago. My wife always complained of cold air hitting her when we were moving and she was in front passenger seat. I thought she was crazy, but one day while under the dash on passenger side running some wires I found the firewall opening for steering column on Brit and Japanese versions of the car. It wasn't plugged and it was pretty big.) Another alternative might be removing the rear seat track bolt from one of the front seats. I think those rear bolts go through the floor. A small tube should fit through.