How to fix encoding artefacts and mojibake in a csv
- Step 1Identify the garbled CSV — Open the CSV in a text editor and look for sequences like '’' or 'é' in text columns.
- Step 2Drop into Special Char Stripper — Select the columns with garbled characters.
- Step 3Run the strip — Mojibake sequences are removed or replaced.
- Step 4Review the output — Check that names and descriptions read cleanly. Re-encode the source CSV if possible for a complete fix.
Frequently asked questions
Will stripping mojibake recover the original accented characters?+
No. Stripping removes the garbled sequences. Recovering the original characters requires re-encoding the source file. For a complete fix, re-export from the original system with UTF-8 encoding selected.
How do I prevent this from happening again?+
Always open and save CSVs in Excel using 'Unicode Text' or 'UTF-8 CSV' options. Never use the default 'CSV' save option with non-ASCII content.
Does this work for all encoding combinations?+
The most common UTF-8/Latin-1 artefacts are handled. Unusual encoding combinations may require a dedicated re-encoding tool.
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