Long story short, thanks to the torrential downpour we had in the NY metro area...my car's interior got soaked! I have a fan running inside the car right now, but was wondering if there's anymore I could do to prevent mold/fungus build up. Better yet, do detailers handle this kind of problems?? Never had this happen to me before. I drove the car for a half hour and checked all electronics...everything seems to be functioning properly. TIA

 

Rent a carpet vacuum/extractor to pull as much of the water out of the carpets are possible, and leave the windows down

 

If you have time and another way of transportation remove the interior and like 'lude said pull as much water out as you can. You may also want to get your carpet shampooed because even though you get a lot of water out some will seep down through the carpet and through the styrofoam like material underneath and leave a real bad smell. This happened to me in one of my old cars where my window got broken and it rained. Also get some leather restorer and wipe the interior down.

 

i would put in a insurance claim and have them replace it all

my boss's wife spiled milk in the back of her FX and it couldnt be cleaned as it all got soaked into the form padding and had a mildu smell and would come back in the heat, and they tryed everything to clean it and ended up having to replace it all

if this is an option i woul highly recommend it as you might have mildu growing under stuff =0/

good luck man and i hope all gets back to normal for ya

 

well, i might bring it to a detailer tomorrow during work. but i'll look into putting in an insurance claim. god, this sux! thanx again everyone...

 

^the G carpet has a sort of rubberized backing that minimizes leakage through the carpet. The sooner that you can get an extractor or shop vac to pull out remaining moisture the better. Removing the entire carpet would be the best bet but is a lot of work of course. I think you'll be okay with the extractor and then airing it out for several days.

I guess you won't leave your sunroof or windows open again!

 

^^^yeah, took off today so i could assess the damage closer. went to loews and got a shop vac and boy, that thing sucked up a lot of water!

and the water got in thru the door sills or maybe firewall...our garage got flooded in, almost a foot high from all the rain we just had! also doesnt help that my garage dips down, below street level. i dont thnk anything got damage...at least after drving it for awhile yesterday.

 

Good job on the shop vac. Yeah, it must have gotten in through the door sills if the water was that high. Make sure it wasn't up past the wheel bearings and axle seal or have them checked.

 

I had a similar problem. You MUST pull the carpet up! I don't know about the coupes, but in the sedan, there are "wells" in the floor boards under the carpet that will hold a LOT of water. The carpets are plastic backed, it will take a long time for the padding and the water under them to dry without removing the carpet.

 

^ good advice. At least to check and see if there is water/moisture.

 

i was afraid of that.

my next question is, does anyone have a pdf file or link that shows how to remove the carpet. thanks again!

 

well, after a long day of agony yesterday...i've decided to follow scootch's suggestion and filed a claim w/ my insurance co this morning. i hav the tow truck coming in to tow it to the dealer. im not gonna *** around w/ it. i'll hav the dealer check EVERYTHING, i.e. wheel bearings, axle, interior, etc.

 

Good idea. That way you have a fall back if something screws up.

 

Thats your best option at this point I wouldn't mess around with water damage and all the posible electronics probs you might have later. Most insurance companies warranty their work now for the life of the vehicle so by filing a claim you are protecting yourself down the road from having to pay for future probs. Depending on the company your insured with.

 

^^^yeah, i figured that i might not just be dealing w/ the wet interior. and im under geico...never filed a claim before so we'll see.

until then, looks like the trusty ol' ford focus will have to do for now. it has yet to fail me in rain, snow, sleet. lol