[533ogetnom]

to start with get damp rid and leave it in your car for atleast a month with the top open, besides that try running the dcar with the heater on high during the night (when its the least humid) and cracking the rear windows (i mean like slits )

youll never get that nice smell back though

[De90man]

That smell will never go away.

So i think you should bite the bullet and have the ENTIRE carpet + padding underneath redone.

That way, the smell will be gone for sure. If it gets too expensive to have BMW do it...just buy the pre-shaped piece from them and have a custom stereo shop do it for ya.

Good luck!!

[jonerik26]

Originally Posted by voltron1011

Put rice on the carpets... I'm not joking either... The rice will absorb all of the moisture.

Also, rice works great if you've immersed your phone/pda in water.

rice is also a great as glue, not the strongest but it'll get things to stick together

[Roundelman]

Too bad they can't tie the rain sensor from the windshield wipers to the auto-up feature of the windows. That'd be slick.

[azbmw]

Originally Posted by Roundelman

Too bad they can't tie the rain sensor from the windshield wipers to the auto-up feature of the windows. That'd be slick.

I submitted that to BMW a couple years ago as a suggestion for the convertible. That way you could leave the top down and not worry about rain. Someday they'll have it figured out.

[jaqdripper]

Bummer, man. Sorry to hear about it. The mildew smell will never go away. My best suggestion is to bite the bullet and file an insurance claim. Only other option is to pay out of pocket to have the carpets removed and replaced, whih I guarantee is going to be more than a $500 or even $1000 deductible.

Good luck.

Rob

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by SteveMD

Any other ideas?

Drive it out here to Phoenix and park it outside with the windows & doors open for about 5 minutes - trust me, it'll be dry. It's 96 right now at 11:47pm (!!), and between tomorrow and July 5th, the forecast highs are 112/113/113/115/116/114.

[heatfan03]

damn i feel bad for kid #2

[LEDZEP]

Shop vac. Blot vigorously. The rice is a great idea. Then a hair dryer.

Leave it in the garage with windows open for awhile....

good luck!

[poiney]

Speaking from indirect experience, I think that if you thoroughly dried the carpets and then kept them dry that the smell would wane. A lysol-type product would help.

[sdiver68]

I accidentally left the sunroof open on my Infiniti FX35 during an all night thunderstorm at a hotel. My leather seats had pools of water sitting in them! Floorboard was soaked.

I toweled up everything I could get with towels. Then, I went to a wet/dry vac at a car wash place and wet vac'd everything. I used canned air to blow out all the electrical switches.

Then, with all windows and sunroof open, I drove home about 200 miles. I left the car outside with all windows and sunroof open for several nice days. Thankfully, I Lexol my seats 4-5 times per year, and re-Lexol'd them. I also used carpet soap on the floor mats and carpet. For the next couple of weeks after, I always left my sunroof cracked open in the garage.

In the end, I had no ill effects, not even to the leather, no musty smell, no random electrical issues, nothing. When I traded it in, the dealer had no clue mostly because the interior still looked and even smelled new. So, don't despair too much, you haven't ruined the car

[myk1013]

Here's what I would do...
ShopVac the heck out of it, then use paper towels and place weight on top (i.e. textbooks). But make sure you place a barrier between books and paper towels. Then just air dry the remaining moisture. If musty smell appears, then I'd take it to a detailing shop and shampoo it. You might not get that car smell again but at least it'll smell like April Fresh inside.

Ohh, and if your'e gonna use rice. Don't use Uncle Ben's or Minute Rice.

GL.

[DasBlitz]

Originally Posted by Spool

Google told me that, that's who the hell told me..

Because the engine isn’t working at its peak operating temperature when it’s idling, the fuel doesn’t undergo complete combustion. This leaves fuel residues that can contaminate engine oil and damage engine parts. For example, fuel residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. As the amount of engine idling increases, the plugs’ average temperature drops, and they get dirty more quickly. This, in turn, can increase fuel consumption by four to five percent. It’s a vicious circle of wasted fuel and needless greenhouse gas emissions. Excessive idling can also let water condense in the vehicle’s exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.

Driving your vehicle causes way more damage. I am not saying you are wrong, sure good advice for the guy.

But for any sane people that know it is just a car and realize more shit happens to your vehicle when you actually drive it, having it idle wont be a huge deal.

[0asis]

i would use common sense (ie. dry it by whatever means), instead of waiting 4 hours for 30 replies. it's water.. it's not a mystical non-removable ink

[E91AWD]

Hey you're in Maryland and it's July. Just leave it out in the sun for a week with the windows partially open. Oh yea, if starts to rain, run like hell back to your car.

[karliejai]

dry it with a fan

[SteveMD]

Thanks all. Yup I didn't wait for all the responses but thanks anyway.

I basically mopped up most of the water with an old chamois that I had lying around. Then I pulled out our Sears carpet cleaner. It has a small detachable head that can get in the back there. Anyway, that sucked up a ton of water.

Then we got a 20" dia fan going, ran the extension cord through the window, sat it on the back seat just circulating air, sat the car in the sun, nice hot day, ran the AC on full but with a bit of hot added in there, not too hot since it was 85 outside. AC will dehumidify as well as cool.

Only took a couple of hours. It did the trick. Bone dry. No musty smell.

And ditto to BMW needing a rain sensing window thingy. Methinks lawyers will prevent that one happening though. Just like we don't have 'all windows up' from the keyfob.

So all is good.

[Neurorad]

Good to hear it worked out.

Have you made it to Wells' yet, on York Rd.?

[BK]

Originally Posted by SteveMD

Thanks all. Yup I didn't wait for all the responses but thanks anyway.

Good to hear you took care of it. Thank heavens, for kid #2's sake!

[PMP]

Pick up one of those damp rid buckets at Home Depot and put in the back seat to soak up any residual moisture that the fans and vacuum may have missed.

I toss a couple of desiccant packs in my car every once in a while just to keep the humidity down in Summer. Florida is swampy in Summer, helps keep the car dry especially when it is rainy and you get in the car a bit wet.