CHARLOTTE, N.C. — JT Shy says he was in the hospital for a while, his truck sat for weeks and, when he came back, “It was green and gray. And there were some spots in the back where it was black up in the cupholder area, had two car seats in there and they were covered in mold.”
Charlie McGraw says his daughter’s car sat for three months.
“Part of the day was in full sunlight, other part of it was in shade. So, warm and locked up. So it was enough to be a nice environment to grow,” McGraw said.
Jason Vinson also opened his car doors to find mold.
“I see that the back seat is really aggressively covered with mold,” Vinson said.
David Lonadier owns Lonadier’s Mobile Detailing, which works in four cities including Charlotte. He says he’s seeing three times more mold cases than before the pandemic.
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“It’s because people aren’t driving their vehicles," Lonadier said. "They’re sitting in closed up, you know, in humid situations with high heat, and that’s kind of what mold needs. When the humidity is above 90 degrees and the temperature is only 80 degrees, mold can start growing in three days.”
According to news reports, North Carolina traffic dropped as much as 50 percent in some places from February to April. Obviously, it’s picked back up, but not all the way. Those same reports show Charlotte was still 18 percent lower in July than before the pandemic.
Lonadier says parking under trees makes it worse. Trees give mold shade to grow and twigs and leaves can clog rubber seals, letting water in.
Vinson thinks that’s what happened to his truck.
“In that well where the spare tire is, was about four or five inches of water,” Vinson said.
Lonadier says the first place you’ll see signs of mold is on your seatbelt and that 90 percent of the leaks he sees come from sunroofs.
To prevent mold, it’s really all about two things: good air flow and keeping your car dry.
So, here is some advice:
- Start your car a few times each week
- Turn on your A/C or roll down your windows
- Check for tree sap, twigs or any other debris blocking air flow
- Check for leaks and spills, especially on your floor mats