this car loves rain. wipe her down, air it out and yer done.

 

Someone posted before with a similiar situation. He would place a dehumidifier in his car to suck out all the moisture. I've done this to get moisture out on mines also. It works like a charm and the car seems to smell better. Add a sheet of Bounce and your interior will smell like fresh laundry. That how us dirty boys get clean.

 

This is how mold issues start, as well as the corroding of the floor pan. Ever see the show "Overhauling?" They usually yank the interiors of cars (which usually looks in OK condition), only to find the floor pan corroded through. Mold issues can arrise from not completely drying everything out.

I would not be worried about the seats, as leather is generally water resistant. I would remove them, and leave them in your air conditioned house for 24 hours. The A/C will pull any excessive moisture from the padding.

As far as the carpets, they are a nylon based thread (hence the plastic remark), but the PADDING under the carpet is not plastic. The padding is what absorbs all the water, and will hold it against the floor pan. If the pad stays wet, it is in a warm, dark environment....perfect for mold cultivation. If you just vacuum it out, and the pad is still wet, the wet spots will just return.

I deal with mold for a living (home / mold inspector) and once it gets started, you need chemical treatment to get rid of it. I would yank the seats and shop-vac the ENTIRE carpeted area until the wet spots are COMPLETELY gone.

I had this problem in my 1990 Miata. The drain channel clogged and the interior flooded a bit. I didnt yank the seats, and only vacuumed the floor and sills, and sure enough....2 weeks later the whole car smelled like mildew.

John

 

Sorry to hear about the water problem. Unfortunately jwa4378 is absolutely correct. Mold is in the air we are breathing at this very moment... The thing is it's not "active". What mold needs to grow is the following (use it as a guide)

1) initial spore (in air right now
2) damp environment (car)
3) food source (can be anything from glue in carpet to anything cellobiose like foam)
4) lack of ventilation (closed car)
5) tepid climate (heat of Florida sun)
6) darkness (top up, shade of seats, cover of carpet liner in car itself)

If all 6 of these things come together, you have yourself an incubator on wheels! It will smell.. it will smell... it will smell! Therefore I would make sure the car is processed by someone who really knows what they are doing and tell them the truth as to what happened and in what time frame. Sadly you usually have 48 hours to respond.. any time outside of that only makes things worse. Again, sorry to hear about it and hopefully everything works out for the best!

Good luck man.

 

I had this happen as well.
The interior was soaked, but a towel cleaned most of it up. It didn't stink after that, and everything worked fine. I just moved it up under a carport and left the top down for a while to vetilate. Get the drops up yourself, but evaportation should do most of the rest.

 

WOW I'm so glad I have an amazing super-optioned Mold-Proof car!

 

WOW I'm so glad I have an amazing super-optioned Mold-Proof car!

I do suggest letting it air out with the top down, in the sun.

That's what I did, Every time it has rained in both my MY00 and my MY04, and astoundingly.. No mold problems whatsoever. ever.

 

omg that sucks!