wet carpet idea - your thoughts

[Dawn]

\My ppd car has a very bad water leak I am trying to diagnose, but in the meantime the carpets are soaked. I don't have the expertise or knowledge to remove them. So, my idea is try and source a replacement carpet for later, but for now cut out front and rear sections about the size of the mats so I can stop the water doing too much damage and dry it a bit. It also means as I try sealing different things I can lift the sections and keep checking for ingress.

Once she's dry I could get :the new carpet in at my leisure, at the moment I am panicking what all the water will do otherwise. What do you think? I think a cut carpet I better than a rotten floor and blown sensors?

[Walter]

Take seats out and dry floor out while trying to trace water ingress ,helps if you have someone to help lifting soaked carpet out of car, very heavy with amount water soaked up by carpet .

[mystabe]

One thing I might say is that if you just cut out sections water will 'ooze' (technical term ) from the remaining wet carpet so you will struggle to know if any potential solutions are working as water will appear anyway.

Maybe cutting round places like the centre console to make taking most of it out easy (and in manageable chunks) while you figure out where the water is getting in is a better idea if you plan to replace it all anyway?

[Tracker]

It's a rotten job but I had to do it last year. I adopted Jules' suggestion which worked well for me and is less drastic than cutting the carpet up (which might well be more difficult that it sounds - it's very thick).
Jules' method is to lift the carpet as much as you can in situ and sponge out as much water as you can. This can tale quite a long time; I think others have also used a wet/dry vacuum cleaner but I didn't have one. Then insert folded old towels under the carpet and remove/change them every couple of days for as long as it takes. It does eventually work - I was assisted by some very hot weather at just the right time.
The source of the water (if it's of substantial quantity) is almost certainly a blocked plenum.

[cb750chris]

As mentioned in post 3, unless ou get all the damp bits of carpet out, you will have to account for water draining out of the remaining carpet when looking what has leaked in.
Also, be very careful as there is definitely wiring under the carpet for the seats, so plan where you are going to cut. As far as I know, nothing should go across the floor, under where the mats are... However can you be sure a previous owner hasn't tried to save 2 inches of wire and taken the shortcut?

Chris

[MarkS]

If you can take your car out of use for a week:

1) Put a tarpaulin over it to stop more water getting in.
2) Hire a dehumidifier for a week for £60. This will remove ~140 litres of water in a week.
3) Use a wet and dry vacuum cleaner to remove as much as possible. These cost ~£40.
4) Use towels as suggested.

Some devious people would buy a dehumidifier over the internet for ~£140 and return it after a week for a full refund. Ask neighbours/relatives if you can borrow a dehumidifier or two.
Aldi and Lidl do a two month full refund option, and one of them did a dehumidifier recently.

Be aware the floor plan is covered with up to 2 inches of water absorbing foam under the carpet.

Look for any plastic floor drain plugs that can be drilled out.

[mgzrjake]

been there done this, it's best to remove the lot trim, rear seats, console the full sh-bang it's the only way. then if poss hang the carpet up. I will bet it's your sunroof drains that have pulled apart

[Ravinder]

She hasn't got a sunroof...

[madeupname]

I took the carpet out of Mo a couple of weeks ago. I had to remove all trim, console and seats. Please don't cut the carpet as there are thick bundles of wires going front to back under both front seats.
The worst part of the trim is where the bonnet/boot buttons are. There isn't enough wire on the boot button to get your hand in easily. I think I wrenched it through backwards, and fortunately didn't detach any wires. I have since added about 4" of wire to this so I can easily plug the connector back in/remove it again if I need to.
There are also impact sensors near the base of the B pillar to watch out for.
As for getting the carpet itself out, trickiest bit is getting it over the heating ducts under the two front seats, and then getting the carpet over the handbrake handle. Put gear stick into 2nd or 4th to help with that bit.
And good luck

EDIT - It's good fun though

[Dawn]

Guys, I am a woman on my own, no way can I strip the whole interior out myself to get to the carpet. The towels underneath don't work, it soaks again the first drop of rain. Tgis is why I was going to cut the carpet to get under and keep mopping until I can sort the leak and replacement carpet fitted by someone who can. I cant leave electric humidifier on in the drive while at work all week either, and no garage....