Car Carpets: Wet and Smelly
 

So I parked my car in a lot outside of the mall. It was raining pretty hard out, so I was trying to find a spot close to an entrance. Finding one, i parked and ran in the rain, stepping in a forming puddle on the way out (should have been a hint). I came back to my car, given a ride from the other side of the mall by my friend, to find it in water to the bottom of the doors. I had to hop out of my friends back seat, climb to his truckbed, and then get into my passenger side door. Only checking the front seats, i found that there was no water inside. Upon leaving, my breaks would rubble slightly on hard braking, but stopped after 10 minutes. 2 days later, a mildew/mold smell came from the car. Turns out water had seeped in to the back seat floor, substantially on the rear passanger side seat. I soeaked up the majority of the water and dried out hte carpets, but i dont kknow how to get rid of the smell! any tips on how to clean this carpet?


also, if the water reached that high, is there any other concerns i should have? The car seems to be running fine, and the brakes are not giving me any problems, but i want to make sure... any concerns for engine damage, etc? Thanks for any help...

- Kush

Just realize i posted this is the wrong spot... sorry guys? i can repost, unless you guys move it...

You can probably get rid of the mildew with a bleach solution, mixed 32:1 with water (1 gallon of water to 1/2 cup of bleach). Just load the solution in a spray bottle, spray the carpets until soaked through, and use a shop-vac to suck up the dirty water. Then you'll want to go back with fresh water and detergent to remove the excess bleach until the waste water is clean and no longer has a chlorine smell.

It's important to do a really thorough job of cleaning up the bleach. You don't want any bleach to remain in contact with the floor metal, and you especially don't want it to sit on any screws or bolts for very long. Unless you like rust.

I would highly recommend testing the bleach solution on a hidden patch of carpet before attempting to clean the entire car. Simply apply it, suck up with the vac, and let it sit for about an hour or two to see if any discoloration occurs. Again, make sure you remember to clean this area with fresh water after you've finished, to remove the excess bleach.

You should also do a complete cleaning of every surface of the interior of your car, since the spores undoubtedly have traveled about the cabin. I would not suggest using the bleach solution on vinyl, rubber, and leather, but there are less potent oxidizing agents that you can safely use on these surfaces that should kill the mildew efficiently. Lysol or just some isopropyl alcohol should do the trick. Finally, you should reseal all the vinyl and leather with a lubricating product to prevent it from drying out.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

+1, excellent advice.. I had the pleasure of a wet car back in the day, and this is what I did.. worked very well and no fading, as long as you are careful as to the concentration of water and bleach. Try to find a 'fiber friendly' one that claims to not damage clothing, extra insurance. Also, do not do this/leave the car in the sun until its dry. If you can leave the windows open to speed drying.

Good luck!

+1 to Direwolf. Very hot steam cleaners will work also.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Haven't gotten to do this yet (studying for the MCATs, takes all my time). This week definitely. Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely let you know how it goes.

ewww