Cars > Cleaning InteriorMay 05, 2009

Drying Out a Leaky Car

My car had a leak and rain poured into my driver's side floorboard. I fixed the leaky problem. How do I get rid of the wetness on my floorboard carpet to prevent mold? Also, how do I make it odor free and fresh smelling once I get the water completely removed?

By Ace from Nashville, TN

Answers

Read answers for this post below.

By
05/12/2009

You can also go to the car wash and use their vacuum. You will have to make sure that you keep the car aired out. This means leaving the windows open on a very hot day. Otherwise it will start to mold and stink.

By
05/12/2009

So far, I have put my compact car in the garage & put a strong fan blowing inside of my car with the windows down. This really helped, esp for the water under the seat. Ace

By
05/12/2009

If you have a shop vac/wet vac, you can vacuum the wet up. When I have stains in our cars I pour some oxi-clean/water on, scrub, and then vacuum up with the shop vac. It works wonders! Also, baking soda will kill mold,and asorb any oders, as far as I know.
Jamie

By
05/12/2009

How did you get rid of the leak? I have the same problem. Thanks

By
05/12/2009

DampRid Closet Freshener 16oz.(FG80) This is a product that is made to remove the humidity from closets. Wal Mart and other stores carry it and also little tubs of stuff that absorb the humidity out of the air. It may takes several of them to remove the humidity from your car depending on the size of car you have. Also you'll probably have to replace them at least once, depending on how bad it is. But it would help.

The first step though would be the wet/dry shop vac. Get up as much as possible using it. Take everything out of the car that you can--mats, etc---and let them air dry. Leave all the windows open on the car for several days to let it air out. Maybe 4-5 days to make sure the seats dry all the way through.

Once you get it completely dry again, spray Febreze or some other air/fabric freshener in there. Then take a couple of fabric softener sheets and attach one to each of 2 or 3 vents. This will keep it smelling fresh.
Or you could take one nice smelling flower (just one, the sun's heat will amplify it big time!) and place it on your dash board. I do this every year with a small sprig of honeysuckle.

05/09/2009

You can use a wet/dry Shop Vac to suck up the water.

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