My car got a bit wet the other weekend during a rainstorm. The parking lot flooded overnight and seeing that the water was continuing to rise I decided to drive to higher ground. When I got in the car I discovered nearly an inch of standing water in the bottom of the car. I've had the windows open for almost 2 weeks now (under a car port), but with the rainy/humid/cold weather we've been having here lately its not drying very fast. I use teh shop vac on it every day but is seems most of hte moisture is in the padding beneath the upholstery. Is there something I can put on there to help draw the moisture out? I've thought about some activated-charcoal cat litter, but was wondering if anyone had anything more car-specific that could help. (No noticeable mildew yet, I've made it a point to keep the windows open at all times)

 

I would get some fans blowing on the carpet. And there is a product called Damp-Rid that you can put it in your car also. I actual store my car with this stuff in it.
Damp Rid website

 

Thanks, I'll look into the DampRid stuff. The fans are impractical due to the fact that I live in a second story apartment with no external outlets.

 

Also with your car so new it seems like it would be covered under your insurance policy. That way you can have it professionally cleaned

 

Ive used the Damp Rid stuff before, and it works great.

 

I would pull up the carpet and padding, and let it dry out. You might get a mildew smell if you don`t.

 

+1 You will play hell trying to get rid of that smell once it gets in there. Also you run the risk of rusting/rotting out the footwell area