Mrs Lizardo and I forgot to fully close the sun roof on the car before a drizzle, and the interior has become somewhat damp and a little smelly. What is the best way of drying it out before the mold spores settle in? I have taken out the damp floor mats and sponged up any standing water in the cup holders. I live in DC, where the temerature is regularly in the 90s and the humidity nearly 100%. I would guess that I should either run the AC for a while, or leave the windows cracked so the car heats up and moisture can escape. Any suggestions from the teeming millions? I still have 16 months of payments left; I’d rather not have to ditch the poor thing.
At the hardware store you can get some white stuff to dry interiors. It comes with a
little thingy used to catch the water it sucks from the air. I think its called DryOut but
might have another name where you are. It about $5.00 Works great too. You can of
course, take the seats out & the rugs & dry them in the sun too.
If you have access to a wet/dry shop vac, use it to suck up as much moisture as possible. If you can’t get to a shop vac, most machines at coin-op carwashes are okay for sucking up liquids.
On most cars, the bottom rear seat cushion is easily removed. Pop it out if you can, and leave it on your porch or something until it’s dry.
Auto detailing shops clean upholstery with what’s called an extractor—it sucks up liquids like the shop vac, only better. For a fee, a detail shop might be able to suck out more water than you could yourself.
Also, I’d leave the floor mats out until the car is dry.
As you suggest, I’d leave the windows cracked; with 100-degree days it’ll be dry before long.
If you don’t mind wasting fuel, harming the environment, and putting a little wear on your engine, you might hasten the proces by leaving the motor running for a few hours with the A/C on, and the temerature lever all the way to “hot.”
Leaving the doors open on a sunny day with a good breeze can help a lot. Unfortunately, there’s sometimes no feasible opportunity to do that.