Mold in trunk

[Twixboy]

My car sat untouched in my garage for 14 months when I was out in Hawaii on a job assignment. I didn't even bother hooking up the trickle charger because I knew I needed a new battery when I got back anyways. When I opened my trunk there was green/yellow mold growing on the carpet right above the battery. Actually, all the mold I've seen has been white or brown, so I'm not even sure if it's mold. Any idea what would cause this? I forgot to put my car cover on before leaving. I'm guessing it has something to do with the lead acid battery I had in there.

Also, any tips on removing the mold or should I re-carpet it? I tried vacuuming and wiping with a clorox wipe, but it's still there.

[mmm-five]

Battery acid residue tends to be white/beige/brown maybe with a bit of yellowing.

Mold can simply be from condensation from repeated warming/cooling cycles due to the car sitting for so long.

Best option would be to remove the carpet from the car and give it a wet shampoo with a product containing a biocide (or spray on a biocide after the shampooing has dried).

I had something similar in a previous car when someone spilt a small amount milk on the cloth/alcantara seat and floor...but didn’t tell me. Didn’t notice for a while until I started smelling it and saw a mold bloom in the rear footwell.

[StickMon]

If it's from battery acid, 50/50 baking soda and water should work.
If it fizzes when you put it on the stain, yep, it's from the battery.

[SaltyNC]

The biocides work great on mold and mildew. We use a miracle product on our house that sits back in a forest. It's called Jomax. We've sprayed it on outdoor carpet on our boat, and it didn't affect the color. I've become a Jomax evangelist and tell everyone about it. Years ago, they had a commercial for Tarnex where they would dip a black and tarnished silver spoon into Tarnex and it would come out bright and clean. Same deal with Jomax and mold/mildew on houses, decks, and even though not intended for it, on carpet. Spray it on, wait a bit, hose it off. Miracle. :-)

Salty

[Twixboy]

Thank you gentlemen. It turned out to be battery acid, so I just scrubbed a whole bunch of baking soda on it, scrubbed/hosed it off and dried with a towel and hair dryer. Looks like new now!

Salty - I've used Jomax to strip old paint off my deck before. Good stuff. I should try the house cleaner & mildew cleaner for my siding too!