Mould on carseat belt

Hobbitfeet

OH was cleaning the car the other day and he pulled out the seat belt in the back and it was covered in mould. He went and bought a special spray for cleaning mould and got rid of it using that, the belt is still stained though. He checked the car and there is no mould anywhere else. We only bought the car maybe 5 months ago second hand and never use the back really so don't know when the mould grew we haven't used the seat belts in the back since we bought it.
I'm due first baby in 2 weeks and worried now it will be dangerous to have the baby in the car? Any idea why the mould grew? What can we do to prevent it from growing again? Will it be safe to have baby in the car?

Ayla

Mould can easily grow in cars if the car wasn't used for a period of time, or if the windows were left open & moisture got in.

Mould stains are permanent and there's nothing you can do to get rid of them. But the mould spores themselves can be easily killed (using bleach if nothing else) and once the spores are gone the mould's gone.

No danger to a newborn - they won't be in the car for hours on end anyway.

The house we rented when our first daughter was born was *literally* covered in mould...dripping down the walls. Foul really. We bleached, painted w/ mould killing paint, dehumidified, everything. No luck getting rid of the spores completely (not like your problem) and our baby was fine throughout it all. So then of course we move to a mobile home (while our house was being built) and got to know mould, drafty windows & mice. And we all lived through it all.

Your baby will be fine.

Hobbitfeet

Thanks Ayla OH cleaned it a few times with mould killing spray so hope it will be fine. Might go to halfords or somewhere and see if the have something to take moisture out of the car.

caprilicious

The car might have been lying up for a while before you bought it. When you go out to the car in the morning, is there a lot of condensation in it?
If not, then chances are the worst of the moisture is gone now.

I don't think there is anything you can get to remove moisture from the car, other than running the heat on full blast next time you're on a drive.

If its a hatchback, check the boot to make sure there's no water leaking in there. My sister had a rover, they're notorious for the boot leaking and the water pools in the well where the spare wheel is kept.

Once you bleach the belts as Ayla suggested it will be fine, I had mould on the belts of my last car (it had been lying up before I bought it) and never had any adverse affects from it.

Hobbitfeet

I don't think it was left empty for any long period before we bought it. We bought it from a dealership and they said it had been fully valeted and it was spotless when we got it. Its a hatchback estate type car got it so we could fit baby, buggy and dog in Doesn't seem to be any leaks will get OH to have a proper check.
The condensation when driving is pretty bad the windows fog up the minute you start to drive and it does take awhile for it to go so maybe that has something to do with it?

caprilicious

That's a bit peculiar alright, the only time I had really bad condensation in a car was during the winter when I owned a convertible, the seals on it had shrunk & it was letting moisture in.

Is there a sunroof in your car? they can leak a little water too after a few years.

Hopefully it's only something small & you'll get it sorted soon

Hobbitfeet

No sun roof. We do have the dog in the boot quite a bit coming back from walks and the beach but we have a special water proof cover that covers the floor of the boot and the back of seats on the boot side if you know what I mean.
I just read to use car litter in a sock and hang it in the car to help soak up moisture so might try that.