Any chance of saving carpet?

crimsonv70 · Post by **crimsonv70** » 10 Aug 2019, 23:49

Hi everyone,
My 2004 V70 flooded real bad a couple months ago, thanks to the infamous passenger footwell leak problem. The entire interior carpet was SOAKED since the car sat outside during a thunderstorm for 2 weeks.

The carpet and foam was completely aired out and dryed but it smells reeeeally musty. I just took a whiff of it and immediately began coughing and feeling like I had 2x packs of smokes.

This might be a dumb Q, but is there any way to save it..? Washing machine with mold killer detergent? Or something else? I cant find a good source in USA for replacement carpet. The closest non stock ones I find want $300++ for a carpet set. :''''(

Post by **MoVolvos** » 11 Aug 2019, 17:30

-
Sodium Hypochlorite aka Bleach. Regardless it's pool stuff (10%), roof algae/mold remover Sodium Hypochlorite is the main ingredient (6% Clorox).

1) Use warm water and bleach mixed well before soaking - check label for dilution ratio and colorfastness
2) Be sure to squeeze the material from time to time circulate the water
3) Circulate / Rinse with clean water a couple time to remove the bleach water and on the second to final rinse add OxiClean Odor Blasters Odor & Stain Remover Laundry Booster and soak.
4) Rinse again and hang dry preferably in the sun

OxiClean Odor Blasters Odor & Stain Remover Laundry Booster - Comes In Liquid or Powder
https://www.amazon.com/OxiClean-Blaster ... 161&sr=8-4

Pool Essentials 1-Gallon Liquid Pool Chlorine (10%) - Cheap Bleach vs (6%) in Clorox
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pool-Essential ... 1000181271

Post by **SuperHerman** » 11 Aug 2019, 18:08

Basically as MoVolvos says. It is a matter of two things - eliminating the mold and bacteria and rinsing it clean.

Pay special attention to the foam - give it a good soaking and squeeze it very well when done. Then let the sun do the rest of the work.

Also spray the same formula to the car floors and dry up.

I have had this problem with my BMW - removed it from the car - sprayed it with cleaner - scrubbed the carpet - squished and soaked the foam and power washed the carpet. Then I squished and dried the best I could and left it in the sun for 5 days. Looks better than when I bought the car used and not a hint of smell two years going.

Post by **- Pete -** » 11 Aug 2019, 23:56

These guys nailed it.

Recently, I had the same thing happen, but on the drivers side. Turned out to be the flexible, black rubber "J" drain for the AC had come undone (no zip tie/remnants evident anywhere!).

Bet I squeezed 3-4 gallons of water out of the drivers side carpet/foam.

Edit: I distinctly remember asking my wife why the car smelled like diapers after she had driven it. Made a lot more sense later on.

I did all the stuff the other guys said, wrung it out, washed it for probably an hour in our 1945 Speed Queen wringer washer, wrung it out several times & let it bake in the sun for about 2 days.

Hopefully I'm as lucky as SuperHerman 2 years from now. Like he said, the foam is where you need to concentrate your energy.

crimsonv70 · Post by **crimsonv70** » 18 Aug 2019, 23:34

Thanks so much MoVolvos and everyone!! Im trying this now and will update with results later

so happy to know there options available cause the places i called didnt want to touch this, lol.

Post by **vtl** » 19 Aug 2019, 06:21

Tornador (or alike clones) will be super-helpful in reaching the inner layers of carpet. I could not get rid of the smells of my old carpets, even resorted buying new ones, but could not source the passenger side (discontinued). Tornador Black removed the stink, all is good. It also cleaned the dirty headliner, it looks like new now.

Post by **abscate** » 19 Aug 2019, 08:20

If you decide to remove the seats, as I did, make sure you disconnect the battery, so that you don't get an SRS code from the sets being out.

I had to remove to get all the coolant out of my 1999 - 6 years ago!!

EngineeringBloke · Post by **EngineeringBloke** » 22 Aug 2019, 14:07

I really like Nok-out as a deodorizer and cleaner. I used it when I was given a car that had been owned by a smoker (mother-in-law). I would get a headache after being in the car for a few minutes. I had had the car detailed at an auto repair shop but that did not make enough of a difference. After using Nok-out, the car just smelt fresh and I was happy to get into it!

I used it on my kid's sneakers and it worked great there, too.

Nok-out removes odors and mold. It is safe to use unlike some other products. They suggest that bleach does not actually remove mold, only changes its color.
https://www.nokout.com/about-nok-out-od ... nator.html

Post by **abscate** » 22 Aug 2019, 15:16

Nok out is a dilute solution of Chlorine Dioxide. Pretty strong stuff, and chemically very similar to bleach in solution.

Post by **oragex** » 22 Aug 2019, 15:23

Small trick, when letting it dry - took my longtime in hot summer days, over 1 week, hang it somewhere vertically - this way all the water from the foam drains much faster as it leaks down towards to the lower part. And from now on, you can put some expanding foam from a can where there's a few holes under the front seat reinforced floor - so next time the water will not travel to the rear carpet and will stay only at the front (hopefully it won't happen again, but the roof drains do clog even from rain dust that leaks past the sunroof seal)