How to dry out a damp car?

[voteforpedro]

I had two massive holes in the bootlid where the number plate threaded bushes were for about six weeks. Now there is loads of moisture on the inside of the windows and today there was ICE on the INSIDE of the windscreen! There are also mould spores on the rear seats and on the floor behind the front passenger seat.

How do I get the dampness out of the car in this cold weather? I ran the air con on high for about 20 minutes and wiped all of the windows dry so hopefully it will retain that heat for a while. But I'm worried it's so damn in there, the windows will get condensation again in the morning.

btw the seats are not wet, just a little cold to the touch.

Any ideas? Heater or dehumidifier?

 

[alijames]

May sound a little daft, but even in this cold weather, get out and drive it with the windows all open, and the heater on full.

Has always worked for me in cars with no air-con...

Also, alternate this with air-con on and windows closed over a few journeys.

Should dry it out a treat.

Cheers,

 

[auroan]

You will need to do it for more than 20 mins if it's damp enough for mould spores to develop.

Make sure you have sealed the source of the moisture ingress. Pull out the bench seat and put it on a radiator over night. Then as suggested but your heaters on full wack and drive around for at least 2 hrs. The heat will evaporate the damp and the water mist will be drawn out the windows.

 

[andybnwc]

you sure you not got a leak through pollen filter seems a bit extreme to be just boot lid, have you checked under carpets rear and front passenger side or push down real hard

 

[jcs356]

I dried a friends 106 out which had got soaked due to a blocked sunroof drain tube. Ended up parking it on the drive, taking the front seats out to dry out in the house, and then left inside a fan heater on low heat and a dehumidifier. Let the whole lot run for 3 or 4 days from memory. It worked a treat.

Problem is that cars have a couple of centimetres of fabric based sound deadening material under the carpet. Once that gets wet it holds an awful lot of water like a sponge.

Good luck.

 

[andybnwc]

last time i used a heater blower and a dust buster type thing from philips , it sucks water awesome had most of it done in a few hours you can see the water being pulled through the carpet , i8 had to empy like 10 times each time about half a litre

 

[voteforpedro]

Hmmm... take the seats out... buy a dust buster thing...

Or, I could just wait till Spring when the temperatures start to rise again.

I will check the pollen filter though. My guess is that it was letting moisture in through the holes which kept evaporating then condensing, soaking the seats and carpets.

 

[aragorn]

the most common culprit is the scuttle panel drainage holes. They get blocked up with *****, and the scuttle fills up with water when its raining. This then leaks inside the car and soaks the carpet underlay, which is about an inch thick and acts like a sponge.

When its been leaking you often find the windows steam up easily and are a ****** to clear without aircon. I wouldnt think the tailgate would have much bearing as its pretty self contained and i'd imagine the water would just run out the drain holes. Our wiper motor was leaking for ages and while the trim panel looks a bit mouldy on the inside, theres no real water ingress inside the car.

 

[voteforpedro]

btw, apparently my 15 minutes with the heater on and drying of the windows paid off because the moisture has gone. Thank God it was nothing worse.

 

[aragorn]

check those drain holes anyway.

Easiest way to check is to have a look in the scuttle panel after washing the car with a hose, as if they're blocked the water will sit in the scuttle. Failing that get a bucket of water and pour it in the gap between the battery and the servo. It should disappear pretty much instantly. Ifit doesnt you need to clear the drain holes.

 

[voteforpedro]

So I cleaned the inside of the car out for the first time in six months and the floor behind the front passenger seat is soaked. The front footwell and directly underneath the front passenger seat are bone dry.

Is this likely to be a blocked drain or just where the condensation has been dripping off the N/S/R window?

 

[aragorn]

i think the rear footwells are the lowest point so the water tends to gather there, sounds like the drains to me, theres no other way for the water to get down there really.

Its more likely that the windows are condensating because of the water.

If its as bad as you describe, i'd be removing the seat and lifting the carpet, then removing the foam sound deadening, properly wringing it out and letting it dry out fully. Get the battery out and clear the two drains while your there.

 

[voteforpedro]

i think the rear footwells are the lowest point so the water tends to gather there, sounds like the drains to me, theres no other way for the water to get down there really.

Its more likely that the windows are condensating because of the water.

If its as bad as you describe, i'd be removing the seat and lifting the carpet, then removing the foam sound deadening, properly wringing it out and letting it dry out fully. Get the battery out and clear the two drains while your there.

OK, a job for tomorrow. Thanks for the help.