Advice on Drying a Car Interior

We get lots of calls from people who have had leaks in their cars, had them fixed by a dealership or local mechanic, but they still have wet carpets, their windows always mist up, they have name smells and mould.
It's likely they have tried to suck the water out or dry it with towels, but the car is still damp.
New Again specializes in finding and fixing leaks, drying cars and dealing with mould contamination. But what if we are too far away, or you have already found and fixed the leak, can you dry the car yourself?
You can, but it will take a bit of work. You will most likely need to remove the car seats. You will need to lift up the carpet, and there are things like electrical components to consider. Watch the video to find out more.
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Presented by Gary Wray ► the-ida.com/member/GaryWray

[@michaw7408]

My right ear really appreciated this advice, thanks!

[@ReadyUpGo]

After watching numerous videos in preparation for mold eradication in my daughter’s car, I found yours and want to compliment you on your in depth, thorough approach. Your comment about the possibility of needing professional help to complete seat installation if the car was started while they were removed is unique to everything I’ve seen, logical, and could save your viewers much unnecessary hassle and expense. Thank you. You rock!

[@newagainautoreconditioning]

Glad to be of help.

[@charlieryan1736]

Thanks for making this informative and helpful video

[@waynejennings1632]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this video.

[@pablokimon]

Great advice!

[@madoldgranny]

Would a decent mains dehumidifier dry out the water in the foam underlay? I’d say the water left in foam is low to medium after having had a slow leak which has now been fixed.

[@madirish88]

Thanks for posting this Gary! Very helpful. Question if I may.... If I have an unheated garage and a large industrial fan (which would be blowing cold air onto the lifted carpets following your advice here) will this work? Or do you need heated air? Thank you in advance!

[@CarWaterLeaksFound]

As long as the air is moving and circulating, it will work. Of course it would work quicker if it were heated, but it will still do the job. If I remember my chemistry classes, I believe air movement is more important than it being hot. However, as cold as it is at the moment, this could inhibit evaporation so it could take a few days. I would advise, assuming you have lifted to the carpets up so they can drip-dry, to keep going back to it and vacuuming any water out. This will help speed things up. ~ Danny

[@madirish88]

@@CarWaterLeaksFound after lifting the carpets and wet vacuum I just went all in an got a dehumidifier in there too! Thanks again!

[@user-rw6oo9fc4h]

Great video and very helpful. What anti mold/treatment sprays do you suggest.

[@CarWaterLeaksFound]

We have always started with Formula 429, but since Covid, a huge number of products for decontamination have come on the market and are available to the public. I would think any of them would do the job.

[@Franc1sc0]

My left ear thanks you

[@PamelaBrandonChromeFoto]

It’s a terrible thing to experience, mold will cause itching and a rash also bugs that eat mold will also get in there, also mold mites. I have mold in the air vents now, it’s a big mess, take the extra steps in getting the water out.

[@CarWaterLeaksFound]

Sound advice. It needs to be taken seriously.

[@JORDIIMusic]

Is it possible to get rid of the water without lifting the carpets? Or is lifting the seat and the carpet an absolute must?

[@CarWaterLeaksFound]

It depends on the thickness of the underlay under the carpet. Some small town cars have very thin carpet which could dry out, but in general its going to be at least a couple of inches thick in some places, so in the vast majority of cars you need to lift the carpet.

[@JORDIIMusic]

@@CarWaterLeaksFound thanks for the info! Hypothetical situation: if someone were to leave a dehumidifier and fan in their car running for an indefinite period of time, how long before all the water would be removed? A week or possibly more? I would lift the carpet, but it's going to take so much time and effort 😂

[@CarWaterLeaksFound]

@@JORDIIMusic On occasions we have lifted the carpet and in places the foam underneath is 5 inches thick, with the water pooling half an inch deep over the whole floorpan. We have then pulled 20 litres, or 4 gallons out of the car. This is not that uncommon, and we have seen worse -- we once pulled about 45 litres out of an Audi. Years ago, we used to use an industrial dehumidifier and an industrial air blower, it could still take up to 5-6 days to dry the carpets after we had sucked the water out. This dense foam is very good at holding water. These days, we use multiple industrial dehumidifiers, and we can pipe in hot air, and it can still take 2-3 days to dry a car thoroughly, that's with us lifting the carpets and sucking out the bulk of the water, and running our machines overnight. If you look at the video at 1:28 you will see a piece of foam underlay which is backed onto a piece of grey rubber which isn't porous. Again, this is not un-typical. Sometimes the carpet has a plastic membrane between the top layer and the foam and carpet, and often where the foam is moulded it forms a dense shiny layer which isn't porous. This means the water would be trapped under the carpet and only able to evaporate around the edges. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that it could take months to do a four door saloon.

[@JORDIIMusic]

@@CarWaterLeaksFound Sounds like I'll need to pull out the interior then! I appreciate the info!

[@OfficialNewAndImproved305]

Why can't you use bleach and water mix?

[@newagainautoreconditioning]

Bleach is an oxidizing agent. Essentially, what it does is steal an oxygen molecule from whatever it touches. If it touches metal, it will cause rust. If it touched foam, it will cause it to shrink and become fragile -- bleach can do all sorts of nasty things to foam. And while it kills germs, it doesn't remove them, so they just become more organic matter for new germs to feed on once the bleach has evaporated.

[@tomt1374]

⚠️DON'T USE SILCONE SEALER ON WINDSCREEN OR BARE METAL⚠️