Do I have to strip my car interior if it rained inside?
You can usually dry a soaked car interior using a shop vac and fans or a carpet cleaner instead of tearing out the whole setup. Leaving the car windows open during sudden rain leads to completely soaked carpets, which requires drying and cleaning to fix.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Using a shop vacuum to suck out the waterDid this help you?
- 2Running a dehumidifier inside the carDid this help you?
- 3Using a carpet cleaner to clean and dry the areaDid this help you?
- 4Placing towels down to absorb moistureDid this help you?
- 5Running multiple fans to air dry the interiorDid this help you?
- 6Using a wet/dry vacuum and towels to absorb waterDid this help you?
- 7Scrubbing with a white vinegar and water mixDid this help you?
- 8Applying baking soda to absorb bad smellsDid this help you?
- 9Using a mini space heater and leaving windows crackedDid this help you?
- 10Running an ozone machine to kill mold and odorsDid this help you?
- 11Placing the car in a garage with a running dehumidifierDid this help you?
- 12Replacing ruined carpeting and sound deadening material from a scrapyardDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“So I left my windows open and now my carpet is soaked do I ahve to take out my whole interior or can I just shop vac it and put a couple fans blowing into it ?”source ↗
“had the same thing happen to me it was clear when i clocked into work and i left my windows rolled down it started pouring when it got busy didnt have time to roll down my window so i just used a carpet cleaner and let it air dry”source ↗
“car flooded as shown during heavy rainfall at the end of last month. I managed to empty it and dry using a dry/wet vac, but it still seems a lil bit wet underneath the carpet, some signs of mould down side of car and centre console, and condensation ONLY on the front window every morning.”source ↗
“Main concern is the condensation problem as well as potential mould growth and rusting.”source ↗
“also only the leather bit of the carpet (just under the pedals on photos) is the bit still damp. any way of gettint that out?”source ↗
Where this came up
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