So last summer I had a dehumidifier bag in my car, a sachet that hangs up. It comes in two parts; top full of beads that soak up moisture, which then filters through to the bottom part and stays as liquid.

 

Did a great job, until I got the liquid bag caught on something and it went all over the back seat, soaking one half of it.

 

i wasn’t too bothered as I thought the baking weather, and my car being like an oven would help dry it out, but it hasn’t, back seat is still damp. 

 

The damp on the seat isn’t coming from anywhere else. Recently bought a Pingi dehumidifier to try and help. (Although I was stupid and bought the one you put in drawers, rather than the larger car version, however I’m sure they do the same job.) this dehumidifier will not burst everywhere. 

 

Is there anything else I can do to try and shift the damp?

I use £1 Damp Traps from Asda or the likes.

Just piercing the Foil and removing and throwing out if liquid / H20 fills them.

One under front seat and 1 in the boot. 

Cars, Vans, use in caravans, sheds etc. 

 

Used to for decades just use a Marg tub of dry rock salt with taped on top pierced.  Salt absorbs and holds the H20.

Edited 25 November, 20187 yr by Offski

If not using Fog X or other Anti Fog / Mist on inside glass then Toothpaste works.

Wipe on wipe off polish up.  Karate Kid Stylee.

 

You learn a lot at 'Kerbside Auto's Fly by night. 

Back seat is still damp or back seat has become damp again in the exact same position?

 

My money is on the latter.

 

What will have happened is that whatever the active hygroscopic compound was (some sort of salt probably) has leached into the seat fabric and remained as salts when dried ready to attract more moisture now its in the air.

 

Hopefully a deep valeting of the fabric will remove it, if not then you are stuffed.

 

I have experienced it twice, one time was the laurels that came with a trophy for winning a sports car race, I hung them with the others in my garage, the others dried and faded but these had been coated with something so they stayed green, it was some kind of saline coating because thereafter anything underneath would get soaked in damp weather and I thought for a long time the roof was leaking but it all came from the treated laurel leaves.

 

My property here in France was a bar restaurant/brothel, people used the outside wall as a ****oir and despite repointing, refacing and damp proofing the bricks and mortar absorb damp in humid weather up to the 1.5m high tide line!!

 

A dog had been imprisoned in one of the bedrooms and peed across the floor, the salts accumulated at the T&G joints where the fluid ran, as soon as there is damp weather it stinks and you can see a coloured stain appear, a damp tester reveals its sodden but a few cms either side its as dry as 100 year old floorboards should be.

 

I never managed to resolve either of these problems but I hope fabric seats will be easier to remedy.

 

good luck.

Just recalled, my parents had a new static caravan in the early 70's, as part of the overwintering preparation my mother put salt in bowls and placed them on the seat cushions, she learned to her cost that the salt attracts 10 times its volume and they had all overflowed and stained the seat cushions.

 

Worse still they attracted the moisture themselves every winter thereafter.

The reason we put a dried pea in the salt seller is to keep the table salt dry and running.... Grannies knew best.

The stuff they usually use in those dryer things is Calcium Chloride (which is a salt IIRC), we used to use it at work in little desiccant chambers to dry Hydrogen

Edited 25 November, 20187 yr by SuperbTWM

14 hours ago, J.R. said:

Back seat is still damp or back seat has become damp again in the exact same position?

 

My money is on the latter.

 

What will have happened is that whatever the active hygroscopic compound was (some sort of salt probably) has leached into the seat fabric and remained as salts when dried ready to attract more moisture now its in the air.

 

Hopefully a deep valeting of the fabric will remove it, if not then you are stuffed.

 

I have experienced it twice, one time was the laurels that came with a trophy for winning a sports car race, I hung them with the others in my garage, the others dried and faded but these had been coated with something so they stayed green, it was some kind of saline coating because thereafter anything underneath would get soaked in damp weather and I thought for a long time the roof was leaking but it all came from the treated laurel leaves.

 

My property here in France was a bar restaurant/brothel, people used the outside wall as a ****oir and despite repointing, refacing and damp proofing the bricks and mortar absorb damp in humid weather up to the 1.5m high tide line!!

 

A dog had been imprisoned in one of the bedrooms and peed across the floor, the salts accumulated at the T&G joints where the fluid ran, as soon as there is damp weather it stinks and you can see a coloured stain appear, a damp tester reveals its sodden but a few cms either side its as dry as 100 year old floorboards should be.

 

I never managed to resolve either of these problems but I hope fabric seats will be easier to remedy.

 

good luck.

 

99% sure that it’s kept damp, various items that I’ve put on the back seat (including over summer) have come out wet

14 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

The stuff they usually use in those dryer things is Calcium Chloride (which is a salt IIRC), we used to use it at work in little desiccant chambers to dry Hydrogen

 

Salt is Sodium Chloride 

3 hours ago, Prykey said:

 

Salt is Sodium Chloride 

Taken from wiki:

 

Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula CaCl₂. It is a colorless crystalline solid at room temperature, highly soluble in water.

 

much better at trapping moisture than table salt

Looks like we are both right, not sure if I’d want your salt on my chips though lol