# Black spots on seat cushion



## teal

One of our dining area seat cushions has developed several black spots like mildew or simular, have tried Autoglym and Carplan cleaner to no avail. The spots are around 1mm in size and as its a 2003 model there would be no hope in Mobilvetta having any material like it. None of the other cushions have it. Would appreciate any advice , thanks.


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## kikade

Have you spilt a drink on it, one of our grandchildren did ours back in the summer, we sponged it down, but did notice few weeks back mildew spots forming on it, this is after we hadnt used the van for a few weeks,have given it a good clean and dryed it by a radiator in the house seems ok now, gonna hire a upholstery cleaner come spring and give them all a good steam clean.


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## sideways

we used the material from the overcab bed to recover a damaged cushion and had a plain cover made for the bed


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## WhiteCheyenneMan

Sounds like spider droppings?


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## Spacerunner

WhiteCheyenneMan said:


> Sounds like spider droppings?


I've never heard a spider drop!


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## cabby

did you have a pirate aboard by any chance. :roll: :roll: 

cabby


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## MrsW

Mildew would be my guess, but might be easier if we saw a picture. If mildew it is impossible to remove the marks from fabric. Sorry!


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## Spacerunner

If it is mildew then, as MrsW says, it will be impossible to completely remove. However you must make sure that it is dead! Seriously!!
Get some anti fungal treatment from a decorators merchants (B&Q?) and treat the stain.
You may find that even after treatment that over a long period the marks will rot and eventually go into a hole.


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## Pudsey_Bear

Mildew can be removed if it's not too bad but you need to use MR Muscle mildew and mould remover, then put it in the wash, but at 30 degrees Number 4 cycle, I had some clothes which were covered in mildew after being in storage, it all came off first time round except on one sleeve.

Nothing to lose.


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## Spacerunner

Kev_n_Liz said:


> Mildew can be removed if it's not too bad but you need to use MR Muscle mildew and mould remover, then put it in the wash, but at 30 degrees Number 4 cycle, I had some clothes which were covered in mildew after being in storage, it all came off first time round except on one sleeve.
> 
> Nothing to lose.


Except a seat cushion!


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## Pudsey_Bear

Spacerunner said:


> Except a seat cushion!


I must be missing something the seat cover is virtually ruined anyway, so a gentle wash won't do it any harm, it could be washed by hand but the machine will get the MR Muscle out faster before any harm is done.


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## Spacerunner

Kev_n_Liz said:


> I must be missing something the seat cover is virtually ruined anyway, so a gentle wash won't do it any harm, it could be washed by hand but the machine will get the MR Muscle out faster before any harm is done.


Yup. A sense of humour.


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## Pudsey_Bear

I was awake all night, leave me alone ya bully :wink: :wink:


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## teal

Thanks for replies, after trying to clean them they looked worse so put it in front of raiator last night and this morning they do not look as bad. Having taken another close look with magnifer glass some of those bits have clung to fibres and they were removed with tweezers, making me think a insect etc had done them ,as I have never had mould like this its something new to me .I am wary about removing them to wash etc incase it spreads more. I will take on board what you have suggested and see what else can be done.Again this morning took a look at all the other cushins and blow me the other one has got simular marks on front corner.


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## teal

teal said:


> Thanks for replies, after trying to clean them they looked worse so put it in front of raiator last night and this morning they do not look as bad. Having taken another close look with magnifer glass some of those bits have clung to fibres and they were removed with tweezers, making me think a insect etc had done them ,as I have never had mould like this its something new to me .I am wary about removing them to wash etc incase it spreads more. I will take on board what you have suggested and see what else can be done.Again this morning took a look at all the other cushins and blow me the other one has got simular marks on front corner.


This afternoon went into RobertDyers shop and looked at all their products for mildew, all except Dettol contained bleach so this seemed best to spray on the marks to stop further problems .To get another advice we are popping into our local dealer CaravanTech to see what they say.


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## Pudsey_Bear

I think almost any cleaning product will contain a bleaching agent of some kind, it's the concentration which matters, and the duration it's in contact with the cloth.

The sun would likely do more harm than Mr Muscle mildew/mold and a quick trip through a washing machine, the longer you leave it the worse it will be to remove.

I just checked and it seems you can spell mold with or without the u, I checked because it didn't look right in print.


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## MrsW

Teal it would suggest you have inadequate ventilation or water ingress (slight) if 2 cushions show the same symptoms. I suggest you store them stood up so the bulk of the cushion has circulating air to try to stop this happenning again. Opening the window every day no matter the weather may also help to keep the air dryer and reduce the risks.


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## teal

Bought yesterday one those electric tube heaters 80watt along with three boxes of damp trap ie crystals in box, plus brought all cushions in doors until I know the camper is dry. Incedently it was mentioned about water ingress, well we bought the camper in May this year and found at rear by grey water tank water had got in. It took 6 weeks for underfloor to be renewed under warranty.I say underfloor as on the Mobilvetta the first skin is 3mm ply then 50mm polystyrene then inner floor 18mm, all this under the water boiler so could not see this when buying it.Also none of these spots were present until last week.I suppose I should mention a bit about the 6 weeks, I told the dealer I was in no hurry for it as I had to go in hospital so he done it when fitter had gaps in his work schedule.


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## Spiritofherald

Your mention of insects has rung a bell in my head. I once found what looked like black insect eggs on fabric (I think it was a shirt) and it seemed impossible to remove the marks, but in my case it wasn't important so I threw the shirt away. This doesn't help you but your thoughts on it being an insect could be correct.


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## MrsW

Hmm, your story of damp found after purchase would lead me to take the van back to the dealer with the damaged cushions and ask for the damp levels to be checked while you watch. It may well show up a further damp issue which is the cause of the marks on the cushions.


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## teal

Hi , went to dealer today and showed him the worst cushion and he replied that they have has a few of their own stock to have some mould , saying its this weather. He took our cushion and is getting his valeter to clean it mentioning "wetvax what ever that is. As we did not have camper with us at time I will ask whether he will do another damp test while I wait, wish I had thought of that today, will let you know next week . Again many thanks for all your replies.


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