What lies beneath!!!

[mike rice]

Hi all, my beloved 57reg v70 d5 se lux, is in the garage for a leaky front screen, which has left water in the passenger footwell, so to the title what lies beneath the carpet, as garage saying even a good wet vac will not get all the water out, they need whole carpet out to see if any damage caused. Also what's the chances of getting a good screen out whole with damaging it and resealing. Cheers mike

[ThomasG]

Not sure what's under carpet.
But the screen can definitely be resealed.
Sending PM now.

[ThomasG]

Job takes around 45 minutes plus adhesive setting time. Typically driveable after 3-4 hours, if you wont go too fast.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

There is usually a sound deadening mat under the official floor carpets. Made of some fibrous sound deadening type stuff.
The stuff in my 940 was also glued to the floor.

Des. . .

[Tony500]

I had a leak in my v50 and never affected any electronics funnily enough as there is lots under the drivers side. I taken the seat out, lifted the carpet and used the vax to drain the water. There is approx 6inch of foam that you may have to wring out.

As for the windscreen, I personally wont reuse the window but claim my insurance

[Big Ted]

My front carpets got sodden. (Long story)
To remediate the soppyness, I put a small oil filled radiator in rear footwell and a small dehumidifier on a board on the back seat.
I then ran both of these for 24hrs, until no more moisture was extracted by the dehumidifier. (Doors and windows shut)
The car felt very toasty when I sat in in, but my eyeballs felt like they were drying out within minutes!

I didn't leave the stuff running overnight, but kept it going for 2 days.

No musty smell and no issues since then. Highly recommend this approach if you can get hold of the kit.

[canis]

It's worth bearing in mind that warm air carries more moisture than cold. So typically what happens in damp cars, is people use the heater to get it warm, complete their journey, switch off and walk away. The warm ait then condenses on the first cold objects it can find, usually the screens.

The solution is to put the heater to cold about a mile from home, and run the fans at full speed. This blows the warm air out the vents at the back of the car, and a good amount of moisture with it. It'll take several goes, but it'll work in the end.

Silica gel absorbs moisture, but only to a point. Once it reaches saturation, it'll have no further effect. A spin in the tumble dryer works well, then it can be re-used indefinitely. It also has the advantage that is uses no power, and won't melt your upholstery like a portable heater might. It's not happened to me yet. Cardboard absorbs moisture quite well, and can be thrown into the recycling bin once it's become damp.

If your alarm will let you, leave the windows open a crack on both sides of the car. The cross-draught will take moisture away by evaporation. A very good method is to drive around with all the windows fully open. It's cold, and noisy, but it will exchange the air (and therefore moisture) in no time. As before, get the car warm for a while, then throw the warm air out somehow. It's how a tumble-dryer works.

The dehumidifier idea is a very good one, but I've not had the privalige of such technology.

[Big Ted]

I’d tried the above points for a couple of days, with heaters on full and windows open too an all journeys, with not much improvement.
The dehumidifier took over a pint of water out per 12 hrs, the thought of mould and the associated stench made me seek out a quicker solution. I was really impressed with the quick results.

I think added the heater into the car was the catalyst to getting it all bone dry.
I will say I was anxious about getting the temp too high in the car, but I guess in the heat of the summer in Southern Europe the cars will bake. The car’s has no ill effects since.

Looks like Argos has a mini dehumidifier for about £50 - I guess you buy one 2nd hand or rent one too?

Good luck.

[green van man]

There are chemical type de humidifiers which can do a job, not as good as a proper one mind. I have used both types in the caravan and while the mini electric one was the better it was not as good as the full sized one I run in the darkroom.

All are noticeably more efficient when the air is warmer. The advantage of the full sized one in the darkroom is that the air leaving it is 2oC warmer than the air entering it, in a closed room over time this acts as a heater and no additional heat is required to keep it efficient.

I have been known to put it in the boot area of the discovery to dry the landrover out which it did over a few days.

Paul.

[Model flyer]

My foot wells became flooded due to sunroof drain blocked. I dried them by lifting carpet and laying old news papers on the wet area. Its amazing how much water they soak up. Use two or three folded newspapers at a time and change every day or so. Don't rush it and make sure it really dry before refitting carpet properly or it will continue to smell. Also driving with blower on full and leaving windows or doors open when weather permitted helped.