Take Care of a Wet Car’s Interior the Right Way

How Do You Dry Out a Rained-In Car?

Summer means a lot of things — cookouts, family vacations, and, unfortunately, unexpected rain storms. You aren’t alone if you’ve ever been caught by surprise and left your car’s windows open only to find the interior soaked. So, how do you dry out a rained-in car? Water damage is as bad for an automobile as something could be and if left unattended, can lead to mould and mildew taking hold. Our team did a little homework to come up with some helpful tips to mitigate the damage. Follow along with the handy guide we’ve included below.

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Start the Drying Process Immediately

It should go without saying, but the sooner you can stop water from getting inside your vehicle, the better. Before you do anything, close the windows or otherwise get it out of the rain, into a garage or other covering. 

You should start removing as much of the moisture as possible by using towels to dry the seats and, if possible, use a wet/dry vac to suck up as much water as you can. The longer the moisture sits around now, the harder the damage will be able to fix later.

Get the Air Moving

If you can get your car into a garage, open the doors and set up as many fans as possible to keep air moving through the wet interior for as long as possible. This will help with evaporation and help prevent mustiness from overtaking the passenger cabin. 

In the event you don’t have a garage with fans, there is one last-ditch effort you can make. Close the windows, turn the heat all the way up while turning the vehicle’s fan to high and set the system to recirculate. This will help keep air moving through the cabin, though it’s less efficient than the previous method.

Future Steps to Dry Out a Car

It can take a while to get all of the moisture out of a rained-in vehicle. There are several products on the market that will continue working in the days after the incident. Putting open boxes of baking soda (like you’d put in your refrigerator) in the vehicle can be very helpful. Additionally, dehumidifier packs can be purchased at most auto parts stores and can be placed in various pockets, nooks, and crannies to absorb lingering moisture.

If there is ever anything Davis Chevrolet can do to help you keep your vehicle in the best possible condition, make an appointment with our service department today.