Seeing molds on your seat belts truly isn’t a pleasant sight. Certainly, you would want to know how to remove mold from seat belts without any nuisance.
Is cleaning mold off a seatbelt better than replacing it? What approach is the best to clean the mold of seat belts?
You don’t need to be an expert to do mold removal since one can learn of the ways in mold removal through the internet. To know more about mold removal on car seat belts, proceed reading.
Learning About Mold
According to the North Central District Health Department, molds are microscopic fungi that dwell on plant and animal matter. They can be found anywhere and are part of our natural environment.
Molds can become a predicament when spores begin to thrive in a damp place. It can devour any material it grows on, so it should be resolved as soon as possible to prevent more damage from occurring.
Mold could look like slippery black spots, hairy white patches, or slimy orange layers.
How To Clean Mold On Seat Belts
A situation where seat belts got dampened with liquid, then retracted while still wet and left behind unnoticed, was where mold could grow and thrive. Mold growths are primarily due to moisture.
There’s no need for hiring a professional to clean the mold growth or directly judge it as a waste. If you don’t know what to do to a fully grown mold on your seat belt, then here are a step by step instructions that you can follow:
Step #1. Ensure proper protective clothing to guarantee your safety, such as gloves, goggles, and face masks. See this article to know the personal protective equipment needed for removing mold.
Step #2. Start with gently pulling the seat belt as far as it can go so that you can quickly identify the spots where molds are.
Step #3. Using a brush, sweep the surface of mold toward the outside of the car so that mold spores wouldn’t scatter to the car’s interior.
Step #4. Apply a mild laundry detergent on a sponge, rub it on the seat belt, and rinse with a wet cloth.
Step #5. For further assurance, damp cloth in a solution of one portion rubbing alcohol and one part water. Use that cloth to wipe down the seat belts, then rinse it with another moist cloth again.
Step #6. If there’s still some mold residue, applying a commercial disinfectant household cleaner can do the trick. Put in mind that this causes discoloration to the fabric of your seat belt, so try it first on an obscure corner.
Step #7. Use a Concrobium mold control to hinder future mold growths. Here is a comprehensive guide on where to buy Concrobium mold control.
Step #8. Open your car’s windows, leave it to air-dry the seat belt. Make sure to loop the strap on the door handle or steering wheel to deter it from retracting.
The proper cleaning of seat belts
If you don’t want molds to grow on your seat belts, you should properly clean them. Do this, and it’ll save effort, time, and money spent on cleaning molds.
Molds look, feel, and smell bad; they can even lead to some health issues if breathed or had direct contact with skin. So, it’s always best to have some preventive actions by proper cleaning and a few that you have to keep in mind.
Follow the succeeding steps to help you in cleansing your seat belts properly:
Step #1. Pull the seat belt until it doesn’t budge anymore. Then, clamp or loop the belt so that it wouldn’t retract.
Step #2. Using a fabric cleaner, spray along and under the belt. As an alternative, you can use dish soap with water as a cleaner.
Step #3. Using a brush, scrub from the top and move downwards. Keep your stroke strictly up and down so that the fabric wouldn’t acquire damage.
Step #4. With a clean cloth, wipe the belt. Ensure that the extra moisture is gone.
Step #5. Leave the belt to dry for several hours beneath the sun. Make sure that the belt is thoroughly dried before you let it withdraw.
Here are some concerns you also must keep in mind when you want to guarantee that molds wouldn’t grow on the interior of your car:
- After washing your car seats or seat belts, ensure it’s thoroughly dry before using them again.
- Use car dehumidifiers; this could help reduce the humid air and the dampness inside the car.
- Be careful with any liquids. If you spill some, immediately wipe it dry, or you can use a hairdryer if you have one at hand.
- Get rid of stale air by opening the doors and windows to let the air circulate for a few minutes.
- If you don’t usually use your car, leaving it behind in your garage can accumulate mold. Either you use it as much as possible or follow these steps on how to prevent mold in stored car.
Conclusion
Knowing how to remove mold from seat belts is a life-saving grace for those with cars. As long as you have a car, you could encounter this situation.
Cars are valuable belongings that you bought with your hard-earned money. Facing a mold arising in your vehicle is upsetting, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of your car’s lifespan.
Remembering how to eliminate it properly lets you be at ease.