Hi,

The other day I found that my rear passenger footwell was soaking wet. Touching the mat or the carpet showed it was soaking wet. I've spent the last hour with an old towel trying to dry the carpet with an old towel, and rubbing it hard into the carpet to pull in any moisture. The liquid coming out of the carpet is most definitely windscreen wash (bright green colour screenwash from Halfords!). The carpet is a little drier , but still with pressure liquid is coming out of the carpet. Currently have the mat over the radiator in the lounge drying and dripping screen wash onto a towel underneath.

Can anyone suggest the best way to dry the carpet?

Cheers,

I'm guessing one of the connections on the washer tube to the rear screen has come undone under the rear seat passenger side squab?

As fior drying out, when I had leaking doors it was a case of air-con on/full heat and full fan everytime I drove the car but I'm guessing you could try some of those silica crystals?

my old 172 clio leaked like mad, wet and dry hoover was always the best way or the hoover at petrol stations

Can anyone suggest the best way to dry the carpet?

First of all stop all potential inlets for water, there's no point in removing water if it's still finding it's way in! Check the door carriers for leaks and repair as necessary. Check all windscreen washer pipes are secure (there are 4 weak links to check in total). Check leaf grilles aren't clogged with mud/leaves below the windscreen. Check pollen filter and replace/dry out or remove as necessary to stop moist air being recirculated back into the passenger compartment. Check that all door and window seals are in place and doing their job. If you have a sunroof, check that the drainage holes aren't clogged, check that the drain holes in all the doors aren't clogged/blocked as well.

To start drying out your car, park your car in a garage (or undercover) if and when you can. If your car is garaged you can leave all the windows open or you can leave the windows closed and plug in a dehumidifier to suck water out of the interior and into a container. Increasing ventilation is the key to removing moisture so when it's not raining try driving with your windows open a bit. Do not use air recirculation as it will be circulating the damp air back through the interior. Use AC periodically to keep it in good working order and it does also work as a dehumidifier, but it doesn't operate below 5 degrees C, so it's not much use in this cold weather. Remove car mats if you have them to allow air to get to the carpets. If your carpets are really wet and I mean that there is a visible pool of water rising above them then I would remove all the carpets and allow them to dry naturally on a sunny day and mop up any remaining water from the foot wells with a sponge/cloth.

HTH?