Wet Car Smell

BubbleBelly542

BubbleBelly542

2,338
United States
Southeast MI
BubbleBelly542
You know how a dog has a nasty scent it gives off when it's wet? Well, imagine that, but 10 times worse in a car. A couple days ago, I didn't realize I had left the sun roof open and it stormed all night. I know, I'm a complete idiot. So the whole inside got absolutely soaked. Now it smells terrible. I want to gag. The worst part is only one window and the sun roof open, so I can't get much relief when I drive. So what is a good way to dry all of the carpet, and how do I get this disgusting smell to go away?
 
Open the car up, put an electric heater in it for a day and let it sit.

They say Microban disinfectant cleaner helps. Never tried that.
 
Sunroof open through an entire night of rain is very bad news.

You more than likely have mold now for sure because all the water has soaked through your carpet and your seats. Probably also in and under your center console, maybe even behind the dashboard, headliner is soaked. The only hope you have is to either have it professionally cleaned and vacuumed until all the moisture / mold is removed. OR remove the seats and the carpet yourself. Then clean top and bottom and let the carpet dry for at least a week before reinstalling. You have to remove the mold for sure. Not a good situation at all.
 
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Yup especially when he said "a couple days ago". If it had been cleaned and dried out the next day it wouldn't be so bad. But several days later with water sitting inside a car is not a good situation at all.

Even worse, I know the exact Michigan storm he got hit with which was about 4-6 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Its the same storm that flooded my yard, made my concrete driveway settle 3/4" which caused it to break. If he has all that rain in his car he is in very bad shape. :lol:
 
CAMAROBOY69
Yup especially when he said "a couple days ago". If it had been cleaned and dried out the next day it wouldn't be so bad. But several days later with water sitting inside a car is not a good situation at all.

Even worse, I know the exact Michigan storm he got hit with which was about 4-6 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Its the same storm that flooded my yard, made my concrete driveway settle 3/4" which caused it to break. If he has all that rain in his car he is in very bad shape. :lol:
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Same storm that dropped tornados here.
 
CAMAROBOY69
Wow no kidding? It hit here in MI severely violent but I didn't know it hit NY with tornadoes. :eek:
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Yeah. I watched it come in, the clouds looked pretty nasty. It was forming literally right over the top of me and then dropped an F1 about 2 hours away from me. I heard there was an F3 as well, but not sure. My mom said there was a waterspout over Lake Ontario.
 
Ya I'm extremely ******. I got out as much the moisture as I could with a shop vac and towep. Now I'm not sure what to do next.

I hope none of you are ever as stupid as me.
 
CAMAROBOY69
See post #3. Your only 2 options.
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Well I know that but right at this immediate second I don't know what to do to dry it further. I don't have the slightest clue how to properly remove these things, and I can't have it done professionally, at least not yet, because I can't afford that at the moment and my parents (I'm only 16) will probably want to try and come up with some free alternative.

At the moment, the smell isn't bad at all, but I know that will change.

Fortunately, the headliner was never very wet, and neither was any of the front part of the carpet. And the seats were dried off. O can tell they don't smell. But the rear carpet... That was horrible.
 
BubbleBelly542
Well I know that but right at this immediate second I don't know what to do to dry it further. I don't have the slightest clue how to properly remove these things, and I can't have it done professionally, at least not yet, because I can't afford that at the moment and my parents (I'm only 16) will probably want to try and come up with some free alternative.
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In that case I guess you could try to set as many fans inside your car as possible and hope for the best. Its better to take care of this now otherwise it is going to be VERY expensive later down the road. I am talking you will have to replace your seats, your carpet, and anything else that is damaged. Also the more moister that stays inside your car, the more your electronics will get messed up inside.

Keep vacuuming, drying, patting down with towels, put fans in there. Otherwise you will have to do what I said in post 3 to properly remove the moister.

Also, don't beat yourself up too much over it. We all make mistakes. As long as you learn from your mistake that's all that matters.
 
CAMAROBOY69
In that case I guess you could try to set as many fans inside your car as possible and hope for the best. Its better to take care of this now otherwise it is going to be VERY expensive later down the road. I am talking you will have to replace your seats, your carpet, and anything else that is damaged. Also the more moister that stays inside your car, the more your electronics will get messed up inside.

Keep vacuuming, drying, patting down with towels, put fans in there. Otherwise you will have to do what I said in post 3 to properly remove the moister.

Also, don't beat yourself up too much over it. We all make mistakes. As long as you learn from your mistake that's all that matters.
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Thanks. I will try all of that. Right now I have the doors open and there is a decent breeze blowing through. But it looks as if it will rain any moment so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this.

And luckily, all of the electronics work still. Well, I mean all of the ones that worked before this happened, which was pretty much only the radio and the sunroof switch.
 
BubbleBelly542
Thanks. I will try all of that. Right now I have the doors open and there is a decent breeze blowing through. But it looks as if it will rain any moment so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this.

And luckily, all of the electronics work still. Well, I mean all of the ones that worked before this happened, which was pretty much only the radio and the sunroof switch.
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Its been raining here all day so yes you are about to get hit with rain. ALso don't forget that if you leave your doors open all day, you have the potential to drain your battery.
 
CAMAROBOY69
Its been raining here all day so yes you are about to get hit with rain. ALso don't forget that if you leave your doors open all day, you have the potential to drain your battery.
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I suppose we'll get it tomorrow :lol:
 
CAMAROBOY69
Its been raining here all day so yes you are about to get hit with rain. ALso don't forget that if you leave your doors open all day, you have the potential to drain your battery.
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It's rained here in Ontario for 24 hours twice in the last week, and were supposed to get more this weekend. :scared:
 
Reading this has made me thankful for my cheap, plasticy, carpetless interior.

CAMAROBOY69
Its been raining here all day so yes you are about to get hit with rain. ALso don't forget that if you leave your doors open all day, you have the potential to drain your battery.
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Unless he disconnects his battery first.
 
I want to laugh but i know this feeling.

My first car had a sun roof, while I never left it open it did leak when it rained hard as water just stayed in the channels and when you drove off, it would spill down your back.
 

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