While winter in Sonoma County is beautiful, we get our fair share of fog and misty, rainy days.
While it’s nearly impossible not to track water into your car during the rainy season, you’ll see why it’s important to keep the interior of your car dry.
Wet Car Issues
While excessive moisture in your car isn’t the end of the world, it can cause bigger problems as time goes on.
If you’ve ever sat on a wet car seat, you know how uncomfortable it is. At the same time your clothes are sopping up excess water, your weight pushes water further into the seat fabric. The deeper the moisture goes into your seat, the longer it takes to dry out.
Without taking the time to properly dry out your car’s interior, it gives bacteria and mold more opportunity to grow.
After time, you’ll know you may have mold or bacteria present in the car due to that nasty musty smell that will settle in and permeate into everything inside.
Water can seep under the car mats and if left undried, can ruin the carpet in your car. The carpet becomes matted down with the wet muddy dirt that comes along with wet conditions.
Not-So-Obvious Signs of a Wet Car Interior
The biggest indicator of moisture that hasn’t been thoroughly dried is staining. Watch for stains or water droplets that “set” on the upholstery and door panels of your car.
For wet carpets, you’ll notice they are much dirtier than the everyday dust and dirt. Wet carpets have stains and an almost grimy appearance which requires some elbow grease to clean.
A musty or “wet” smell that doesn’t go away is another red flag that they may be areas in your car that need to be dried and sanitized.
Dos and Don’ts for Drying Out the Car Interior
DO use an old towel. Sop up as much of the water as you can from seats, carpeting and any other areas of the car such as the seatbelts and door panels.
DO remove floor mats and dry up as much of the carpet underneath with a towel.
DO open all the car doors and run a fan to get the air circulating. Much like an exhaust fan in your bathroom after a shower, moving air helps to speed up the drying process. Lightly spray an anti-fungal cleaner on seats and carpet before turning on the fan, which provides an extra layer of bacterial and odor protection.
DO place a couple of scented dryer sheets under the seats for an inexpensive and effective way to rid your car of unpleasant odors.
DON’T throw a towel on the seat or floor and leave it there. While this will soak up extra water, a wet towel invites even more bacteria and mold growth.
DON’T cover up or try to soak up water with a carpet powder. Carpet powder used on a wet carpet turns into a paste which makes even more of a mess to clean.
DON’T try to cover up a musty smell with an air freshener until you’re sure everything is dry.
DON’T leave windows cracked in case of an unexpected rain shower. If even more water gets into an already wet car, it’s going to take even longer to dry, clean and sanitize the interior later. Rain drops coming through a cracked window can also leave water stains all over the interior.
As you work on keeping the car interior as dry as possible, turn to Downtown Autobody in Rohnert Park, CA to keep the outside of your car looking as good as the inside.
