Drying out footwells?

[JMo]

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread, and it's a very boring one:

A month or so ago my passenger footwell was constantly soaked whenever it rained. It turned out to be a well known issue where a drain in the scuttle often gets blocked by leaves etc causing water to run in through the cabin filter - easy fix.

However since then my passenger footwell has stayed damp and I think it's the main cause of the condensation on the windows, which is 10x worse than any other car I've driven when it's cold out. There's also the issue of the carpet probably rotting if it's left like this.

Does anyone know the best way to dry the footwell out? I've tried with a cloth and it would take hours, and I'm guessing a hairdryer would take forever too. Also considered a household dehumidifier in the car but not sure how much it would help / if it would even dry the floor out quicker.

[Dog_Book]

Why would troubleshooting in the subsection interior be incorrect? As you have a problem and it’s the interior.
knowing how easy it is to take it apart I would remove the seats and centre console and other trim and take the whole carpet out and dry it inside a warm house.
you can put the front seats back in and drive it while it dries

[bigmac]

As Dog book says, seats are easily removed (just remember to unplug them from under seat) I would then lift carpet up and try and dry it out with a rag and hairdryer or remove all plastics to get at it better.

Also check boot (spare wheel) my vectra use to fill up with water when it rained, this in turn caused loads of condensation. Also fill an old sock up with cat litter and place under seats, this will soak up any condensation or use those condensation packs you can buy.

Good luck

[autov]

As someone who had a flooded passenger side footwell for months on one of our vectra's and diden't remove the carpets i would agree with dog book and bigmac remove the carpets from the car and dry them out by what ever means you have AND disinfect the carpets and the underlay and the floor pan. If you don't you run the risk of a smelly car as we have.You have been warned.

[Big Dave]

Does anyone know the best way to dry the footwell out?

Easy enough to drain the water out

https://youtu.be/rgZobRfDEzU

[autov]

Easy enough to drain the water out

https://youtu.be/rgZobRfDEzU

Far easier to use a cordless drill here in the uk ,just think about the hassel of getting a firearms licence.

[autov]

Easy enough to drain the water out

https://youtu.be/rgZobRfDEzU

Yes i did have a good laugh and did think a friend of mine would be into doing this if he had still been living in SA as he had a good collection of suitable firearms.

[JMo]

Alright I think I'll be pulling the carpets up this weekend then and nicking the girlfriends hairdryer, assuming it's dry enough to run an extension outside.
I got a whiff of a damp smell yesterday that I'd rather didn't stick around.

[autov]

It's now quite a few months possibly 6 since i managed to find where the water was coming in and dispite it being summer and drying out well and smothering bicarbonate of soda all over the carpets and underlay theres still a wiff of mould in the car like i wrote earlier treat every thing with a strong disinfectant ( i dident) and let it get bone dry ,not easy at this time of the year but you could use a dehumidifier if the inside car temperature is warm enough. Like i wrote earlier you have been warned. I now have to go to the trouble of ripping everthing out again but i'm leaving it a few months. O and i think the hair drier will be like p----g into the wind you want a 1/2/3kw blower fan heater or the dehumidifier.

Alright I think I'll be pulling the carpets up this weekend then and nicking the girlfriends hairdryer, assuming it's dry enough to run an extension outside.
I got a whiff of a damp smell yesterday that I'd rather didn't stick around.

[Dog_Book]

It's now quite a few months possibly 6 since i managed to find where the water was coming in and dispite it being summer and drying out well and smothering bicarbonate of soda all over the carpets and underlay theres still a wiff of mould in the car like i wrote earlier treat every thing with a strong disinfectant ( i dident) and let it get bone dry ,not easy at this time of the year but you could use a dehumidifier if the inside car temperature is warm enough. Like i wrote earlier you have been warned. I now have to go to the trouble of ripping everthing out again but i'm leaving it a few months. O and i think the hair drier will be like p----g into the wind you want a 1/2/3kw blower fan heater or the dehumidifier.

Yes, and take the WHOLE carpet out dry inside in a warm building for a few days.