So, water flooded my car....?
Question:
My little sister has been using my eclipse for the past month or so, and she lives in Alexandria, Louisiana. Well, apparently it flooded last night and the water level at her house was above the back license plate of the car. I don't know if you're familiar with the 97 model eclipse- well, while it is quite low to the ground, the back license plate is rather high. She said her flip flops are floating in the back seat. Anyway, I'm wondering what we've gotta do to get the water outta the carpet and seats once it resides. I'm afraid if we just let it dry it'll mold. Any suggestions?
Answer:
The reason why mold forms is because it isn't dried out fully yet. Just because the upper surface is dry does not mean the underlay/padding is dry so you got to keep at it. Mold likes dark, damp and warm for long periods of still air (same as having the doors closed and windows closed up tight) Using a simple example... a piece of bread - one slice we leave laying in the cupboard , the other piece we wrap up in plastic and again leave in the cupboard and close cupboard door . Wait a couple of days and take a look. The one laying there will be dried up and the one wrapped in plastic(where there is no chance of air movement even if the door is opened once quickly to get a glass or something) will be moldy.
So the movement of air is enough to keep mold from "rooting" and it needs to root in order to grow.
If you get your carpets cleaned in your house, they ask for you to leave the windows open a crack for the next day or two so that the moisture can escape as it is basically evaporating from the carpet like a steam kettle emits steam. Because air dries. Even when it is raining it is still drier. When it is freezing outside, it is still drier. So leave the windows open in the car for a couple of weeks. Even(especially) when you park the car overnight. And when you are in the car have the fan speed on high all the time for when you drive around and heat up high. It will dry out the car faster.
///"most importantly"/// Also, mold is less likely to grow when there is no living materials(car is basically plastics -rayon, nylon, polyester, etc; so toss the homemade seat covers and pillows and let the car be. It will be fine.
The "Febreze" it.
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