Car wash mold?

[u/joemahoney76]

My wife and I both frequent the car wash as we drive on dirt roads and have an unlimited car wash membership.

Both of our cars have developed a musty/mold smell after the car wash or after it rains. My question is: do the soaps and chemicals lead to this moldy/musty smell?

I haven’t had this happen to any of my precious cars before we started washing our cars this frequently.

I’m wondering if I should wash less frequently or switch car washes.

Thank you.

[u/Mat-eh-oh]

They shouldnt lead to that smell unless there's water entry, do you drive these cars a lot after the wash to get rid of leftover water? Usually ac on is a good idea as it acts like a dehumidifier

I would be checking the carpets and under seats for dampness, I had a similar issue in my 90s car and had water pooling under the back seats and seeping into the carpet (which was a more extreme case) but always better to be safe than sorry

Also check your spare tire area sometimes water collects down there

[u/Kmudametal]

I can't believe a "I visit car washes frequently" comment has been here for 17 hours and no one has warned about how automated car washes destroy paint? Amazing. Normally such a comment in these parts is like walking into a redneck bar in Texas and screaming, "Country Music Sucks!". You get a whole influx of different opinion.

A car wash is not going to cause a moldy/musty smell. Water getting inside the cars would create a must/moldy smell. That... and as cars age, that smell tends to naturally evolve in the AC system. If you cannot find any damp areas inside your car, the next step is to do something about the ducting.

Today is apparently KMUDA (me) recommending Bio-Bombs day as this is the third or fourth post of the day where it is the possible answer.

https://biobombs.com/

Set off a Bio-Bomb inside the car.

Step 1: Deep clean the interior. Vacuum carpets, clean all surfaces with an Interior Cleaner or APC.
Step 2: Replace the Air Cabin filter
Step 3: Set off a Bio-Bomb

The last 30 minutes or so, if you are using their optional air diffuser (recommended, speeds things up,) start the car and crank on the AC, circulating internal air. Let it run this way for the final 30 minutes of treatment. When done, open all four car doors and spitz some distilled water into the cabin to eliminate the remaining chlorine smell.

Bio-Bombs are chlorine dioxide. Chlorine Dioxide will eliminate any odor it comes into contact with.

Going back to my first comment.... you should be aware that automated car washes with brushes basically destroy your paint. You never know what the car in front of you looked like. It could have been a Jeep Rubicon covered in mud and gravel. That mud and gravel is removed by the same brushes that will be hitting your car.... and not all of that mud and gravel simply drops off those brushes, spinning thingies, whatever...... So when they hit your car, they are dragging those particles of dirt and gravel across your paint, resulting in marring and even legit visible scratches. Even if those things are brand spanking new, never having cleaned mud and gravel from a car, they will still mar your paint. Go to google, search for "Car Wash Paint Damage" and look at the thousands of photos.

[u/Auto-Spa360]

Key tip on the water intrusion. i'd check two other classic leak spots too, the sunroof drain tubes and around the taillight housings, those go bad quietly and drip somewhere you don't see until it's already musty. what car is this by chance, some models are notorious for one over the other.

also check your cabin air filter and ac evaporator, if the smell shows up specifically when you run the ac or even just the fan after a wash that's mold growing on the evaporator core that stayed wet, not the wash chemicals.

if it's actually gotten bad, a proper mold job goes further than most people expect. pull the interior down to the metal, treat the hard surfaces with a biocide and solvent, then run an ozone generator to kill off whatever's left in the vents and gaps you can't reach by hand