Car getting flooded knowingly or unknowingly is an undesired condition. The water-damaged floor repair and cleaning up can be too hard and tiring. If it is not done properly, it can result in long-term issues like mould and mildew.
In this article, we will walk you through how to repair your car’s floor properly and do the rest of the cleaning up without making mistakes. So read on!
Table of Contents
How Does Flood Damage Occur In Cars?
Driving your car through a flooded street or having your house including your car’s garage getting flooded are the main reasons how your car gets flood-damaged
Water can seep into your car relatively quickly and can cause significant damage to your car’s floor and other parts. Leaving windows or doors open when it’s flooding makes it easier for the water to enter your car.
Other traumatic events like a car falling into a lake or similar water bodies following an accident, can flood your car. In such events, saving your life is the priority.
Water Damage In Your Car: Common Issues
To begin with, your car’s carpets will get soggy, damaging the floors completely and taking the right water-damaged floor repair measures is important to bring them back to normal. This will be followed by horrible odours coming out of your car. Some other problems your car will face when flooded are
- Hydrolock
- Rust
- Electrical Issues
- Damage in Moving Parts
These issues can be more serious than floor damage, so if your car was severely flooded, getting a mechanic to fix your car is the best thing to do.
What To Immediately Do When Your Car Is Flooded?
Before taking steps to do water-damaged floor repair or other repairs, you have to follow the following steps first
1. Don’t Try Starting Your Car
If your car is heavily flooded, it can cause damage to several parts including the engine and transmission. When you try starting your car immediately, the chances of water entering your engine are very high. This can only worsen the situation so avoid starting your car at all costs as it will hydro lock your car. This will either cost you a lot of money to repair or in the worst cases, your car can be completely damaged.
2. Remove The Water From Your Car Immediately
Letting your car stay flooded for longer hours can only worsen the damage to your car. If puddles of water are still left on your car’s floor after removing the rest of the water, get a vacuum pump and remove them as soon as possible.
3. Ventilate The Car
Once you finish removing water from your car, in case there is no more rain outside, leave the windows and doors of your car open. This will help the car dry especially if there is enough sunlight. You can also keep a standing fan near the car to dry it out faster. A fan will also help in removing the horrible odours that may be stuck in your car after it got flooded.
How To Do Water Damaged Floor Repair?
The most obvious damage caused in your car when it’s flooded is floor carpet damage. If water-damaged floor repair is not done very soon, the unpleasant smell and dampness can stay on the floor forever. This is not only hard to live with but also helps in the growth of mould and similar bacteria on your floor carpets. These can not only cause damage to your car’s floors but also can cause damage to your health
Steps To Be Followed
Here are the steps you must follow to do affective water damaged floor repair
Step 1: Use Wet-Dry Vaccum Cleaner
Get a wet-dry vacuum cleaner to suck out the dampness from the floor. If you do not have one, buying a vacuum cleaner for this purpose is recommended. After sucking off as much water as possible, use towels to blot up the remaining water if there is any.
Step 2: Use Hydrogen Peroxide
Take a bucket and fill it half with water. To this add about the same quantity of hydrogen peroxide as that of water. You can buy hydrogen peroxide from several stores. Once the mixture is made, pour it over the floor carpets. Then use a brush to scrub on the stained areas. Brushing the areas with more odour also helps getting rid of it.
Step 3: Brush The Floor Carpet
Thoroughly brush the entire floor carpet until you are satisfied. Then let the brushed hydrogen peroxide mixture on the floor stay there for 30 mins. This will make the mixture soak deep into the floor carpet thus killing all the mould spores. This will also help in removing the horrible odours on your floor carpet.
Step 4: Use Wet-Dry Vacuum Cleaner Again
After 30 minutes or so, take the wet-dry vacuum cleaner again. Use it to suck off the hydrogen peroxide mixture from your carpet. Vacuum the floor carpet thoroughly until you are sure that all the dampness is dried off.
Step 5: Ventilation
Now ventilate your car by keeping all the windows and doors open. If you can park your car under direct sunlight, then that’s the best thing to do as it will help your floors to dry out properly. Keep a standing electric fan too in such a way that the floor carpets are subjected to the strong breeze from it. Both these techniques will help to dry the floor carpets.
Once the floor carpets are dried off, sprinkle baking soda over them to drive off any left odour. This will also help in killing any left mould in your floor carpets. Once this is done take the vacuum cleaner again and use it in the dry setting to suck off the baking powder from the floor carpets.
If the odour is still there, keep a bowl filled with ammonia inside your car and let it sit there overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions:
So,here are some of the frequently asked questions about can water damaged laminate flooring be repaired, can you fix water-damaged wood etc?-
Can Water-Damaged Laminate Flooring Be Repaired?
Can You Fix Water Damaged Wood?
Can You Dry Out Subfloor?
Do I Have To Replace Water Damaged Subfloor?
Conclusion
Your car flooding is a very undesirable condition. With monsoon season soon approaching, it’s time for us to take precautionary measures to avoid water flooding our vehicle. And in case it flooded higher above the floors, make sure to get it checked by a mechanic as there may be damage caused in your engine and transmission.Follow the steps that are mentioned in the article to repair water damaged floors and bring them back to normal condition. But still, avoid flooding your car as much as possible.
