Date:         Tue, 11 Apr 1995 23:48:10 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         nrubin@s1.csuhayward.edu (Martha Rubin)
Subject:      Re: Camping in the Rain

Speaking of trashy mildew, I just decided today to go ahead and
rid my van of this menace.  It was not there due to my neglience
in the first place, mind you, as I've only owned the '81 for
the past year.  

At any rate, I used Tilex (like X14, or similar commercial
products), which doesn't smell as strong/offensive as clorox.  I
sprayed the area once over lightly, and extra on the spots.  Let
it sit about 5 minutes, and then scrubbed with a good long-handled
brush (dry).  This created a type of white foam, which sort of 
worked its way in thru the fibres (the "fabric" of the inside of
my poptop is rather like furry suede).  As long as I kept brushing
evenly, and brushed EVERYWHERE, the color all ended up even.  It
would not have if I'd just sprayed it there and let it sit.  You
gotta keep the brush moving to make it look all the same as it
dries - sort of like steam cleaning a carpet, or sanding a floor.

After, because I'd sprayed Tilex in the corners and crevices,
I decided to use the upholstery steam cleaning mini machine
I have to do the tent canvas (helping to remove and distribute
the remaining tilex), and the upholstery and carpeting as well.)

Whatever of this you do, make SURE you open up everything and ventilate
well while using the tilex.  I got some pretty serious/weird stuff
going on in my lungs/head  :(  Also, afterward, you'll need to
ventilate until EVERYTHING is totally dry - or the problem will
undoubtedly emerge again.  Right now, I've got a strong electric
heater with fan going on in it all nite to try and evaporate
out a lot of the moiture.  Hopefully, tomorrow's sun will finish
it off, but I won't fold the top down until I'm positive there's
not one bit of moisture left in there.

/martha