Rain damage on interior

B

BMW335i

New member
What should I do to take care of rain that got in one of our cars. The back window was left open and the carpet on one side is very wet. Everything got pretty wet, the leather seats, vinyl, carpet etc. I don't want it to start smelling like mildew, how can I prevent this immediately?
 
Use a shop vac to suck up as much water as you can. Lift up the carpet/padding and use towels and a shop vac to suck up the water. Put the vehicle in the garage and run a dehumidifier until it stops sucking moisture out. Put some silica desiccant packets on the carpet to let it suck up any remaining moisture. Park the vehicle in the sun with the windows cracked to let anything left evaporate.



You might want to take the door panels off if you think they are holding moisture as well.



Good luck.
 
audicoupej said:
Use a shop vac to suck up as much water as you can. Lift up the carpet/padding and use towels and a shop vac to suck up the water. Put the vehicle in the garage and run a dehumidifier until it stops sucking moisture out. Put some silica desiccant packets on the carpet to let it suck up any remaining moisture. Park the vehicle in the sun with the windows cracked to let anything left evaporate.



Good luck.
Click to expand...



Where can I get the silica packets?
 
Is there any other OTC product that I can put down on the carpet that will eliminate/revent midlew? Turtle Wax Foam Carpet Cleaner?
 
Ive had my carpet get soaked before also. Sucked all the water out with a shop vac and pulled the carpet up.. Propped it up with something and put a fan in there to blow on the carpet.. it will take it a few days to dry.
 
Get rid of the water quickly and that is the best solution to mildew, Shop vac and towels, $20 on a helms manual on how to remove the back seat and pull up the carpet with a fan on it. If you have a couple hours turn the car on, turn on the floor registers all the way and put the heat on full blast. Crack one window slightly. just a hair. Use leather conditioner on the leather so it doent get too hard.



Silica only pulls water from the air and barely can draw more than a few grams of water per ounce of silica. Better to put towels down and step on them to blot up the moisture.



You can also buy an electric heater with fan built in at wally world and put it in the car, careful where you aim it so it doesnt heat one spot excessively. Same as the cars heat, close it up and crack one window barely to warm the interior and evaporate the water



Good luck
 
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