cleaning mold on pop top ceiling

[thomast]

The fuzzy liner on the ceiling of the pop top has some dark moldy spots. Has anyone delt with this before? Not sure what to use to clean it.

Thanks

[bigdood]

i've tried simple green and diluted bleach. the diluted bleach i think was a little too strong (or maybe i rubbed too hard w/ a washcloth over it) as the fuzz was removed in those spots. the simple green did an OK job, but wasn't perfect. good enough for me though. possibly my simple green solution was TOO diluted though.
_________________
**http://nitsuj.tumblr.com**

"We should all be having more fun. A lot more of the time. " -Randy in Maine

[bucko]

Take a squirt (spray) bottle, fill it 30% bleach, 70% water. Spray it on the mold. The mold will disappear before your eyes. Absolutely no need to scrub at all. If nessesary, wait a few minutes, and apply again, but I only needed one spray, and in seconds the mold disappeared!

Speaking of eyes, wear some clear goggles when you have the pop top open, as you will be spraying this upwards, and you want to keep this "mix" from getting into them (eyes).

Keep the sliding door and the zip windows open to aid in keeping the bleach smell to a minimum.

This is the beast and easiest way to kill the mold, bar none.
_________________
Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[cnskate]

I've heard white vinegar works and it's less toxic than bleach.
_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

[ckissick]

My liner was black. Sprayed it with Tilex. Next day, it was 100% gone. Looks like new now.

[r39o]

There are 5 threads in the best threads sticky on this topic:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=151300
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[K58]

[Timwhy]

Last weekend I cleaned the inside of my pop top. It had some of the usual
spotty mold growing on it and around the perimeter of the canvas
where it attaches to the pop top.
The first method I tried was the bleach and water in a spray bottle.
I used a scotch pad to scrub the top as well as the canvas. It seemed
to work fine but I thought that it would ruin my canvas if the bleach
solution was too strong.
I tried the solution out on a rag to see if there would be any color
change, and when there was I dilluted the solution more.
The day after I tried this method I tired some Tilex mold remover.
Better results than the bleach! I had some mold on the canvas that
would not come off using bleach.
Once I used the Tilex, waited 5 minutes and the mold was gone.
I sprayed over the entire pop top interior as well as the canvas and
let it soak in. Any problem areas I used another scrub pad and all
the mold dissappeared.
So anyone looking to clean their interior pop top or canvas, don't mess with
trying to get the right bleach to water mixture and buy some Tilex and
get a bucket of clean water to wipe it down after it has a chance to work.
_________________
'15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary

http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee

[GWTWTLW]

[DAIZEE]

Yes I use a bleach/water combination. That kills all germs including mold. Ok so that takes care of the mold you can see. You should also spray it into areas you can't see and/or places that may get damp.

I do use a stronger cleaner for different problems but you can never go wrong with bleach/water. PS you should always keep a spray bottle full of 40% bleach to wipe down your counters, sinks, tables etc... on a regular basis. It's really good to use if you are dealing with chicken too.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[greenplasticme]

Works like a charm! Had a mix of 60% water/40% bleach and sprayed entire inner top. All the grey/black dots of mold just disappeared like magic!

* I'd recommend throwing on some old clothes and be careful for the drip down; especially if you have carpet!

[The Raven]

I used this stuff yesterday with a medium stiffness brush and it came out new without damaging the fuzz. It looked to be about 2% bleach the rest "other ingredients" Now I wish I knew of a product to prevent buildup in the future.

In the process of replacing the tent so it's a good time while the top is off.

[randywebb]

go to an allergy supplies store and get something from them

there's one online in Georgia IIRC - they will have a mold prevention spray
_________________
1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[Timwhy]

[The Raven]

The mildew buckets are a good idea. I used to keep a couple in the boat and it worked well. I guess that's what we will have to do. Pop and air in the sun after it rains. Mildew bucket the rest of the time.

[Pascal]

they sell a product in the hardware stores here in Canada that kills and prevents mildew from returning. I have not used it yet, but contractors use it here for basements. I replace my tent two yeas ago and did a good cleaning with tsp and clorine, but this summer we noticed a few mildew spots apeating. I will get some of the killer/preventative stuff and give it a try...but I can't report on it now
_________________
'84 Westy - 2.2wbx, GT Torque-Biasing Differential
'91 EA Cabby

[r39o]

There are 3 articles in the FAQ about this topic.

Does the above add anything????
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[The Raven]

[Ethan5150]

Well I've read pretty much every thread about mildew but a question I haven't seen answered is HOW OFTEN do you have to scrub? Here in Bellingham, the number 1 least sunny place in the US (http://www.city-data.com/top2/c475.html we just scrubbed with Tilex a few weeks back, and it's already coming back with a vengeance.

Furthermore, I would recommend against the Tilex as it was WAY too fumy afterward to think about sleeping upstairs (Tilex has a neurotoxin in it - actually probably more than one if I had to guess). After hours of scrubbing, we finally gave up, waited three days with it airing out, then called our friend who brought his professional carpet cleaning van and upholstery cleaner and cleaned the entire roof. FINALLY it stopped smelling like Tilex. Next time I'll try the diluted bleach solution, but this comes back to my original question - HOW OFTEN seems normal? I just purchased a renewable dry-pack to keep upstairs that sucks up the moisture so we'll see if this helps.

If I can get my darn overheating problem solved I'm going to go VERY FAR SOUTH and solve this problem for good with a real solution - it's called SUN.

[noganav]

I used to do mine once a year when I lived in Seattle. Things would start to get mossy around January. A good scrub would last all summer till it got humid again the next winter.