Wet (soaked) car interior

[CarolAnn]

I got the company car detailed yesterday and this morning there is frost on the INSIDE of the windows.

I sat on plastic driving it back to the office because the seats were still so wet from being "steam" cleaned - it was more like "cleaned with running water" than steam.

Now what? It's COLD outside, but if I don't get it dried out, we'll have mold.

Any ideas?

[Deberosa]

I'd march it right back to the detail place to fix!

[conundrum]

Oh great-what a fun ride that must be! Second the take it back-they should have vacuumed a lot longer than they did.
I have similar problem with moisture inside just from water/mud on boots lying in floormats, and just opening doors in pouring rain. The humidity in the cab is just too much sometimes. I have a little electric heater that I put in the truck with the windows cracked about a quarter inch. Set the heater on low and let it run for a few hours. You shouldn't have to do this, but better than what you have described.

[machinemaker]

Well here in colorado, you wouldn't even need to open the window, it so dry here that with in a few minutes it would be dry.
kent

[chrisser]

I'd definitely take it back to the detailer. *They likely have better equipment to deal with this than you do at home.

That said, if the seats are as wet as they sound, I don't know if any amount of vacuuming is going to get the water out.

At least if its cold, it will buy you some time. *If the detailer has a heated shop where you could store the vehicle overnight with the windows open, that might help. *Some other ideas would be a portable heater (one of those oil-filled electrics would be good, but still watch out for it touching "meltable" surfaces). *Some fans pointed into open doors would also help, especially in a warm room.

If it was my car (and I had made it wet), I'd remove the seats and carpets, disassemble whatever I could (seat covers off the cushions, seat panels off if applicable, disassemble front and back of buckets, remove console, etc.), and get the stuff into a warm room and separated as soon as possible, vacuuming what could be vacuumed with a wet/dry vac. If it looks like mold is unavoidable or likely, at least if the pieces are separated, you can confine the mold to individua items - most likely the seat cushions themselves, and the carpet padding (if the carpet is wet too).

Once it molds, you'll never get the smell out. Also, if the moldy moist air gets sucked into the HVAC system, it will just compound the problem and that's even harder to address.

IMHO, after vacuuming out what can be vacuumed, moving air is going to be the most help, followed by heat. *Heat is going to be a double-edged sword - if you get it warm enough that mold is happy, but not warm enough to dry out quickly, you'll have an even worse problem. *Any parts that can be removed and dried separately will help the process. *If there's unprotected jute padding under the carpet, it will soak up a whole lot of water and take forever to dry.

If it stays wet long enough, then besides a mold problem, you'll have corrossion problems, especially with power or heated seats and seatbelt mechanisms.

Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

BTW, getting a full tank of gas and running the car with the heater turned all the way up and the windows cracked would be a possibility too. A tank of gas is a lot cheaper than a new interior.

[chrisser]

Oh, and good luck!

[DM]

There's no way i'd remove the seats and go through all that....

I'd take it back, or i'd put a small electric heater in it with the windows open a little, just be carefull nothing by it gets too hot... You could even put a small fan in it too, and everything will get dried out...

DM

[CarolAnn]

Thanks, all -
It's a company car (and they pay for the gas) so I guess I'll crank up the heater tomorrow and just let it run for a while and see if that takes some out. I rolled down the windows today - it was a rare dry day - and it helped a little, but not enough so you wouldn't get a wet butt by sitting on a seat for a while.

Now I know I'd never take my car there to be done! (If I could ever afford to do it, that is!)

Something else - they had FIVE guys working on this car for two hours. The bill was $85 and that included a wash and hand wax, and full a bath for the inside. Considering it was done in a heated building, those guys must have been making minimum wage - or less if they didn't have green cards. Very hard, wet work. There's more than one thing wrong with this picture! (No wonder they didn't care to dry it out enough!)

[tufhelp]

Just curious, why the reluctance to take it beck? Your car or company car, still money exchanged for service not properly provided...

[CarolAnn]

It's more a time issue than anything - I'm on salary, and they already expect me to work 50 hours a week. If I take it back - I wait on my own time.

I'd rather let it rust. :P

[Mac_Muz]

If it ends with you drying this use the AC as well as the heat on full blast, crack a rear window no more than 1/4".

The AC will pull the moisture from the air.