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-   -   Sunroof drains blocked, water inside (https://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=13970)

mannyo 24th March 2018 04:38 PM

Sunroof drains blocked, water inside
 
One of the problems of not using the D3 much.

Got in the A8 to take her to the shops today and discovered drivers footwell carpet soaking wet, and I mean soaking. Rear foot well carpet drivers side also the same and the A pillar trim was also wet.

So sunroof drains are blocked, and water has been getting inside for sometime. The car was last driven a week ago, since then we've had snow and a lot of rain overnight a couple of times.

So opened roof, used the modified garden sprayer and cleared the drivers side drain, and water is flowing once again.

Now how to dry the interior carpets, I've removed the mats and they are inside the house now, and got a number of very wet towels after soaking up a lot of water. I am guessing the interior is going to take a Looonnggg time to dry out, at least the warming up weather will help.

Anything else worth adding to help dry out the interior, I am aware the foam underneath is going to take the longest to dry, and not sure what wiring there is under the drivers side (UK) carpet.

MikkiJayne 24th March 2018 05:14 PM

A dehumidifier is pretty much the only way other than stripping the carpet out. If you can lift the sill trims and wedge something in between the carpet and the sill that will help suck moisture from the foam.

I have one which I rotate between the various projects-in-waiting to keep them dry. If you don't have one, look for one with a proper compressor in it (like a fridge motor). The peltier ones are next to useless.

moltuae 24th March 2018 05:58 PM

When I had that happen a couple of years ago, after squeezing out as much water as I could first using towels, I bought a few of these and laid them on the carpet:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AZZB5UY/

Still took a good week or two to dry the carpet out fully but those silica bags seemed to help keep the humidity levels down to prevent mould growth and condensation on windows, and they probably accelerated the drying time too.

I also tried one of these but it was pretty useless.

tintin 24th March 2018 06:49 PM

When I had this issues with blocked drains and wet carpets as a result, I following these steps, in this sequence:

1) Get some old dry towels, laid flat on top of the carpets, to soak up/get rid of most of the surface moisture on the carpets

2) Turned over the carpets, used the flat bladed plastic edge of an ice scraper (gently!) to squeeze out most of the moisture from the foam backing of the carpet: if you're not gentle doing this, then foam will fray, so care is needed

3) Repeat step 2), but on the surface of the carpet - if there is still any significant moisture in the pile

4) Repeat step 1) again

5), Leave carpets in boiler/radiator cupboard to dry out - I did this for about a week.

After this, all was well, no residual damp or staining to the carpets, so all good +++

H-M3 26th March 2018 12:07 AM

https://www.hss.com/hire/p/carpet-cleaner-small

Hire one of these and might as well clean the interior fully and then extract. Very good machine+++ make sure to ask for upholstery head kit.

mannyo 26th March 2018 08:40 PM

I've taken the decision to use the D3 for commuting duties this week, that means I'll do 200 miles travelling between Blandford and Dorchester. I am hoping that using the heater combined with windows open will help a little, and in the evening I can leave the the windows down a little.

IT 26th March 2018 11:20 PM

If your A/C is working well and dehumidifying correctly (one of its main purposes) then it should suck the moisture out quite effectively on some long runs. You can't beat dry air for water to evaporate into..... +++

mannyo 4th April 2018 07:32 AM

Well the D3 has been drying out fine, I used it for a week commuting and despite all the rain last week the carpet is now at least dry. Obviously underneath is going to take a while longer to dry out.

irelandbuyer 19th April 2018 01:19 PM

Drains......
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by mannyo (Post 139322)
One of the problems of not using the D3 much.

Got in the A8 to take her to the shops today and discovered drivers footwell carpet soaking wet, and I mean soaking. Rear foot well carpet drivers side also the same and the A pillar trim was also wet.

So sunroof drains are blocked, and water has been getting inside for sometime. The car was last driven a week ago, since then we've had snow and a lot of rain overnight a couple of times.

So opened roof, used the modified garden sprayer and cleared the drivers side drain, and water is flowing once again.

Now how to dry the interior carpets, I've removed the mats and they are inside the house now, and got a number of very wet towels after soaking up a lot of water. I am guessing the interior is going to take a Looonnggg time to dry out, at least the warming up weather will help.

Anything else worth adding to help dry out the interior, I am aware the foam underneath is going to take the longest to dry, and not sure what wiring there is under the drivers side (UK) carpet.

I had the same problem two weeks ago. Luckily, the car was parked on a kerb so the water pooled in the drivers footwell, and didn't hit the centre console. I went to the local petrol station and just vacummed out all the water and put a dehumidiyer in the car for 2 days and all was ok.

I bought a sprayer in Aldi, took the top off and blew out all the crap with hot water and some degreaser. I could see that it was taking some time, so i didnt go too mad pressure wise until i saw the water come out the bottom in case i burst anything. I just make a point now when i'm filling up the windscreen washers and checking the tyres to give the two drain holes a quick blast....i think i got away lucky tbh...!

Delboy 19th April 2018 04:09 PM

these drains are a right pain.

last time I had it I took the carpets out.

not a bad job and left them in the sun to dry while the carpets were out it was a lot easier to dry the floor below.

I also had to remove them for the aircon drains as well once so if you got wet carpets I might recommend whipping them out and cleaning the aircon drains at the same time.


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