Drying out a very wet footwell.

[_James_]

What’s the best way of drying out a footwell? I have a wee window cleaning vacuum and it sucked quite a lot of the water out but I’d like to get it bone dry without removing the carpet…(due to weather)

Would buying a cheap dehumidifier and running it flat out for a day or two do the trick?

 

[Eager]

Sound deadening and nooks and crannies of floorpan will be a nuisance if it’s actually a lot of water. Mixture of dehumidifier and driving about with heat on etc.
summer should help if it ever arrives

 

[Gambit]

big tray of cat litter or cheap salt left in the car will also help absorb moisture.

 

[KevM]

I had bone dry carpet surface in the Boxster & the foam underneath was literally saturated.

You might need to lift the carpet to be sure

 

[gary1365]

Wet vac

 

[mcauleyj]

I had bone dry carpet surface in the Boxster & the foam underneath was literally saturated.

You might need to lift the carpet to be sure

Had the same with an old B5 Passat that suffered water ingress due to the rubber bungs in the bulkhead below the battery getting full of crud.
Got as much out mechanically as I could (scoops, old towels etc) then propped the carpet/ sponge up from the metal floor using pieces of wood.
Used a dehumidifier on one occasion and a small blow heater (left on low and positioned that it wouldn't harm anything) on another - both worked well.

 

[_James_]

I had bone dry carpet surface in the Boxster & the foam underneath was literally saturated.

You might need to lift the carpet to be sure

Started to poke at it earlier and the foam is saturated! Will have to lift the carpets up to find where the water is entering from as the usual locations are all fine.

Absolutely love well finding faults as soon as the warranty runs out on a car!

 

[Carson]

I had similar issue on the Bora few years back. The pollen filter housing had a crack and water was getting in and running down the bulkhead into passenger footwell. The carpets the least of the worries, if you have wet carpet then likely foam under it is saturated. It was a strip out job for me.

 

[southsky sunrise]

Drill a hole or two it’ll soon drain.

 

[Boydie]

I had a Focus in to clean over Xmas and extracted nearly 2 full Georges as well as 2L of water through a dehumidifier and it was pretty dry after that. Could still smell the damp but this was probably after months or years of laying water which only replacing the carpets and foam would have fixed

 

[_James_]

Drill a hole or two it’ll soon drain.

if i make them big enough they might just let a little bit more exhaust noise into the cab!

 

[southsky sunrise]

if i make them big enough they might just let a little bit more exhaust noise into the cab!

Or fumes might help you to send her on abit

 

[belfast nick]

If you really can't be arsed lifting the carpet out, you may get away with lifting it in that foot well and putting something under it to lift it up and let the air around it.
Just get as much of the moisture out with towels, wet vac etc as it takes ages to dry properly. If you can leave the windows open at all that will help too.

Edit: dehumidifiers don't work well in the cold and cheap ones don't work well at all. You'd be better with those plastic £ land ones imo.

If you want to come to Newtownabbey I can lend you a wet vac and a dehumidifier

 

[_James_]

If you really can't be arsed lifting the carpet out, you may get away with lifting it in that foot well and putting something under it to lift it up and let the air around it.
Just get as much of the moisture out with towels, wet vac etc as it takes ages to dry properly. If you can leave the windows open at all that will help too.

Edit: dehumidifiers don't work well in the cold and cheap ones don't work well at all. You'd be better with those plastic £ land ones imo.

If you want to come to Newtownabbey I can lend you a wet vac and a dehumidifier

back carpets are out, couldn't get the front out as there is a aircon drain that needs taken out from underneath the car to pull it out and I'd given up for the day but did exactly as you've said. the heater and dehumidifier was running flat out yesterday.

 

[DJMCA]

Had the same with an old B5 Passat that suffered water ingress due to the rubber bungs in the bulkhead below the battery getting full of crud.
Got as much out mechanically as I could (scoops, old towels etc) then propped the carpet/ sponge up from the metal floor using pieces of wood.
Used a dehumidifier on one occasion and a small blow heater (left on low and positioned that it wouldn't harm anything) on another - both worked well.

This is the only way . Speaking as another experienced Passat owner, we are seasoned veterans at this ****

Drill a hole or two it’ll soon drain.

And this. My Passat has multiple 3mm holes in the passengers front footwell

 

[anlygi]

I feel your pain. I had to sort the paddling pool on a Mk1 Leon, Fabia and a Mk4 Golf. Hateful!

Now I've to do it again as I've developed one on the Civic over winter. Identified the source as the seam on the roof, under the plastic moulding. Getting in during heavy rain, which we're getting a lot of, and running down the inside of the A pillar. Same as the rear I fixed when I bought the car, to resolve the wet hidden boot compartment they nearly all suffer.

I've just been sucking it out with the spot cleaner until I get a chance to do it properly if we get a decent break in the weather. Strip, clean and seal both sides the whole way along the car to fix the drivers side and preventative on passenger while I'm at it. Carpet out for a proper clean and dry out.

Thankfully it doesn't have much in the way of sound deadening. The VAG deadening with the hard top couldn't be sucked out at all from above and remained waterlogged underneath until it was removed from the car.

Get a big bag of silica cat litter, Home Bargains do it for about a fiver. Fill socks with it, tie them and leave them in the car to absorb moisture in the air.

 

[_James_]

I sat and rinsed the car in every nook and cranny, couldn't get see a drop or water getting in with the carpet etc lifted. I did notice the mechanic that did the rocker cover didn't screw the scuttle panel back into place, so maybe with the serious rain we had lately, the water was diverted to places it shouldn't.

 

[DJMCA]

Try a pressure washer, it will find any leaks. Sometimes a hose doesnt do it

Also, aim from underneath, it may be coming up from the road and getting in somewhere

Another area on the passats is the door regulator panel, if it isnt selaed right the water runs down in behind the interior door panel and over the rubbers

 

[ChrisR]

My Skoda Karoq had a door leak, the door is apparently a new design but long story short, it was a peice of foam that allows access from inside to outside of the door plan had unstuck a tiny amount in one corner and was allowing water in.

Thankfully I have rubber mats so found the water on the floor instantly as it was lying on top where as with carpet I’d have had no chance.