• Mold can grow on a variety of surfaces, including the inside of your vehicle.car open image by buddelchen from Fotolia.com
  
  Mold is a nasty fungus that grows in a variety of areas. If mold is not treated, it will eat away at the surface and deteriorate items like car upholstery. Mold will also spread to other areas, creating an even bigger problem. Trying to remove mold from the interior of your automobile can be a bit difficult, but it is not impossible.
  
  

Wet/Dry Vacuum

• Mold grows on surfaces that have become wet or damp. You must remove all water from the upholstery and flooring of the vehicle or the mold will return. Use a wet/dry vacuum to suck out all the water from the interior of the vehicle. Wet/dry vacuums are available for purchase or rent at home improvement stores.
  
  

Sunlight

• Sunlight is a natural way to kill mold from a variety of surfaces. Move your car into an area where the upholstery will receive the most direct sunlight. As the sun shifts position, move your car to keep the sunlight beating down on the molded and wet areas.
  
  

Cleaning

• Once as much of the water has been removed from the interior of the vehicle as possible, you will need to kill the mold. Prepare a simple cleaning solution by mixing together 1 tsp. bleach, ½ tsp. mild dish-washing liquid, 1 cup hydrogen peroxide and 4 cups warm water in a bucket. Stir the ingredients thoroughly with a spoon. Once you have made the solution, submerge a scrub brush into the sudsy mixture and scrub the molded interior of the vehicle. Scrub the upholstery vigorously in a back-and-forth motion until all mold and surrounding areas are clean. Use several clean, dry towels and pat the interior of the vehicle to remove as much liquid as possible.
  
  

Odor

• Odor typically goes hand-and-hand with mold. Once you have cleaned the vehicle, there still may be a musty aroma coming from the upholstery. You can remove the odor in a variety of ways. Commercial upholstery and fabric sprays are available at department stores. These sprays work by grabbing onto the odors in the upholstery and neutralizing them. Some people prefer a more natural way of removing odors. Vinegar and baking soda are both natural deodorizers that have successfully removed odors for years. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and saturate the upholstery; the vinegar will also help kill the mold. Another option is to liberally sprinkle baking soda on the vehicle's upholstery and allow it to sit for several hours. After the allotted time has passed, remove the baking soda with your vacuum. For easier removal, secure the vacuum's upholstery attachment to the vacuum's hose.