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-   -   Car flooring & carpeting wet after floods | Now what? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/283477-car-flooring-carpeting-wet-after-floods-now-what-2.html)

On the one occasion that resulted in flooding in the front passenger footwell of my Getz due to the vehicle being caught in the pre-monsoon rains with a semi closed window, I was able to suck up the water from the carpet using my Eureka Forbes Wet & Dry vacuum cleaner. Fortunately, the next 2 days had blazing afternoon sunshine, and the carpet was crisp dry by the 3rd day. Also, kept an open box of Bhimseni Camphor inside to remove any unpleasant odors. As a contingency, I had planned on running a room heater inside the car with the windows rolled partially down to allow the moisture to escape; but didn't need to do so.

I would get a quote for new carpeting.

The water that entered would be a mix of rainwater along with the contaminants that the road had. In most cases it would be sewage also since there was inundation.

No matter which detailer you take it too, once such water touches those carpets, it will start smelling at the drop of a hat and continue every monsoon.

My car recently had an issue where an entire bottle of water got leaked on to the floor. Since it was clear water i though it will dry out, but by the third day the car had mild smelly feeling. Because the carpet will always have some dirt in it which will start smelling if it is wet.

I got the carpet removed and washed at a good place. Spent 3k. which is fair because you have to remove all seats and it takes a couple of hrs to get it done.

Yours is dirty yucky water and do remember that water logged water on the street there is always muck and shit water from the streets.

Always better to get it cleaned and washed and dried from a good place.

Similar problem happened in my TUV due to a damaged cowl top which was leaking external rainwater in the Front passenger foot well.

MOST IMPORTANT: Action needs to be taken immediately. I ignored the situation for a few days and started seeing tiny cockroaches in my car.

What action needs to be taken depends on the material of your carpet. Usually, car carpets have 2 layers
a. Upper aesthetic layer - The is the one which we see. This is made of materials like PET, PE & LDPE. This is completely polymer based and doesn’t rot.
b. Lower silencer layer - This is not visible after assembly and used to improve NVH. This is a mix of natural cotton (usually from jeans scrap) and low melt polyester. This layer can rot and needs to be dried thoroughly.

Best low-cost action which has worked for me is
1. Remove all rubber matting and access the OE carpet.
2. Use a mop or similar material to press hard and soak out as much wetness as possible.
3. Remove the seats if required
4. Carefully remove the clips which hold the carpet to the floor.
5. Remove or fold open the carpet and try to expose the lower silencer layer as much as possible. Exposing the bottom layer is very important because the top plastic layer doesn’t allow the bottom layer to evaporate the water. Its like covering a wet cloth with a plastic sheet.
6. If you succeed to remove the entire carpet then you can just lay it bottom layer up and dry it in the sun and fit it back. Else the only option is to leave the car in the hot sun with the windows down and the bottom layer exposed.

Since I live in a gated apartment, I chose the latter and tipped the apartment security to keep watch. It took 2 full days to dry the carpet completely. I broke a few clips in the process and had to buy new ones of the same colour.

In all probability, the service centre will do the same thing in a much more professional way with easy access to fasteners if anything breaks

Visible carpet - Polymer based



Silencer layer - Cotton mix



Removed seat to allow the carpet to folded lol:

Nothing will help except taking out the carpet, sun dry it till it is dry as a rock.

It should be easy for basic entry level cars. Cars with electric seats and BCM electronics placed below the gear selector area will need a mech/electrician.

Please expect some unknown gremlin to come up in the future, it is a curse of a flooded car.

Happened to my Alto as well. Paid 4500 for getting it cleaned and took two days.

We recently had 2 of our cars face this issue, while parked. The only effective way to avoid long term issues is to remove the seats, floor carpet & ensure it dries out completely before being put back. The smell can take a few days to go away

I got this done by a detailer in Malviya Nagar (Detailing Mafia), who charged 3k/car

Also a learning that might benefit others with a Mild Hybrid system in their cars. One of the cars in question was the XL6 which has it's mild hybrid battery under the front left seat. The water had seeped in there and the battery had to be replaced under insurance. The car needed to be towed and spent over 20 days at the workshop

I think getting your cabin floor cleaned by a professional is the best bet as other members had already mentioned.

But check if any detailer in your city has a steam cleaning package, it would remove all the germs and the moisture from the floor and you would not be able to smell any bad odour.

I am too facing the same issue, writing this reply while getting my car dried at a workshop, but I didn't drive it in flooded roads, the workshop manager says that the AC drainage pipe was lose, Is it possible ? -

Everybody has given the right advice. Do not take this lightly.

Given that car manufacturers cut corners on everything, you can be assured that the paint quality on the bottom of the floor, an area that never gets to see the light of day, is not going to be as moisture resistant and rust proof as we would like.

Next is your Carpet and the underlay beneath it. While the carpet being synthetic will survive water, the underlay will retain water like nobody's business. That is a recipe for disaster. The party will start with mold, fungus and associated smells and end with rust in the underbody.

You can take out the seats and carpet yourself. The front seats are held by four large screws and the rear seat bottom is just held with clips. Once you have them out of the picture, then you can remove the rest of the plastic trim yourself.

The reason I say this is, most detailers also cut corners. Also, contrary to popular belief, the carpets may not dry properly in the car. The best bet is to get them out of the car, wash them with clean water since they are already soaked and then hang them out to dry.

I unfortunately am facing the same thing now.
My FNG had removed the carpets, dried it. But, after a week, I could see light fungus on the seats since they are fabric.
I am not able to do anything now, since it is continuously raining, cannot keep the windows or doors open. I do not have a covered parking in my apartment.
As of now, I got around 50 small packets of Silica Gel and have spread it in the car. I am thinking to wait till the monsoons are over to get a full Interior cleaning.
Is it okay to wait for another month or, I once again remove the carpet? One of the carpet which is behind the dashboard cannot be removed. Require your suggestion.

This was the case with some cars in Chennai town post Michaung last December. As folks have stated above, a good detailer should be able to handle this professionally. The steps for this would be as follows:
1.Remove all the seats
2. Remove the flooring material including the insulation layer
3. Pressure wash the flooring layer carefully and dry it out in the sun for 2 to 5 days. Ensure that not even a single pixel is wet before you pull it out
4.Dry out the water stagnating in the chambers in the chassis
5. Use a steamer to blast vapours in the impacted areas including all parts of the flooring and upholstery as well
6. Clean all the seat and upholstery with interior foam cleaner. This is to prevent any damp smell that might surface in future
7.Use IsoPropyl Alcohol and wipe the seats. This is to remove any fungal formation
8. Use an Ozonator to neutralize the air in the cabin
9.Finally, place back the seats and you should be good to go.

The protocol listed above is critical and has to be followed in the same order.

A quick question - does it get covered under standard Maruti warranty ?