Drying out car that's been in the drink

[SpikeyBush]

Hey folks, any suggestions on how to dry out the interior of a car that has become soggy in a recent flood? The condensation has been a real pain but recently in the cold mornings it has been freezing up on the inside as well as the outside. Everything still works but the carpet and soundproofing are completely sodden. I've mopped up the excess water as best I can. Don't want to claim on the insurance as it is dear enough as it is, and they'd probably write it off anyway and I'd be left with naff all once the outstanding finance is paid off.

[HowardKennitby]

Could you buy or hire a dehumidifier and put it in the car with all doors and windows shut. Leave it running over a weekend.

[HowardKennitby]

Just thought, do the carpets not come out. If they do wash and dry them.

[Philtaz]

Maybe a few bags of dry boil-in-the-nag rice? Sounds odd I know but when mobile phones become immersed in water one way to rescue them is to leave them overnight in rice, which removes any remnants of moisture.

Repeat it over a couple of nights perhaps?

[Philtaz]

Boil-in-the-nag?

BAG even!

[SpikeyBush]

The doorhandles :-(

[SpikeyBush]

At first I thought I could hoover up most of the water. That would of course knacker the hoover so I went to the petrol station to use theirs. It wasn't a very good hoover there, the sponges had more luck. BTW the hoover at the petrol station is now out of order. I can't think why.

[ummmm]

What about a proper carpet cleaner. You can hire them from B&Q and they apparently leave the carpets dry enough to walk on?

[snags]

Set fire to it ;-p

[SpikeyBush]

if there wasn't so much outstanding finance on it I'd be tempted Snags

[welshlibranr]

I have a dehumidifier doing nothing!....you can borrow it with pleasure Spikeybush!.....You're probably miles and miles away though!........

[S_C]

the best thing you can do is remove all carpets and padding from the car , before the seats become damp and mould sets in.

there is a reason why insurance companies right off cars that have been flooded. " first the damage the damp does to the materials and on top f that the enevitable damage to the electric's.

once all the carpets and padding hads been removed , you would be better of replacing them.

" regarding the garage hoover " you best hope they do not find the container half full of water , as this may lead to them checking the cctv footage .

[SpikeyBush]

My number plates are so dirty they are illegible. The PSNI keep shouting at me for that but five minutes after cleaning them, they're like the ace of spades again. So I don't think the garage will link me to their knackered hoover

[chas2008]

not good, as said its why insurance companies write of flood damaged vehicles there is no telling how much damage has been done to the wiring or any ECUs (ie air bag sensors) mounted on the floor.It may not show immediately but it will sooner or later as the corrosion sets in. We recently had a couple of brand new unregistered mondeos that had been flooded upto about 6 inches inside, we replaced ALL the wiring looms and sensors/ECUs etc. They then went to auction !!!!

[MantaRay]

I would remove the carpets and try to get the car in a garage or under cover where it could dry out, possibly with the assistance of a dehumidifier. either way, try to get the interior dried out as soon as possible before any corrosion [to metal or electrics] takes hold.

[AlBags]

I take out the seats and carpet .. Easier than you think.
The sound absorbent bases on top of the floor pans harbor water for months. Hang it all up in a warm airy place for a few days.

[SpikeyBush]

Thanks for the suggestions. There are a lot of bits that have to be removed in order to take the carpet out which is why I was hoping for a quick-fix that would negate this. I have to use the car every day so off-roading it for three days with a dehumidifier isn't really an option. As soon as the finance is cleared I'll send it to the auction, the electrics are fine now but corrosion will be a problem in the future.

[tinkerbell23]

U can buy non electric dehumids too though x