car flooded tonight - need some guidance please

[Bob Butler]

Ouch... been there, done that... my parents borrowed my old cabriolet and left it parked outside with the top down. We got over two inches of rain that night.

A little advice from your fellow SCWDP conspirator to get things back to normal:
(most of this is listed above too)

Take the seats out. Set them in an empty garage with a fan blowing over them. Get the back ones out too. If you can do it without damaging them, remove the covers. (depends on the type of seats you have)

Remove all of the carpet you can without damaging anything. Hang these up to dry.

Put large fans on everything. (and, don't make the same mistake I did and set everything outside to dry... just so it can get rained on again)

Disconnect the battery, then pull out all of the electronics under the seat and thoroughly dry everything. (you can use canned air, but be careful that you don't freeze any moisture in the process)

Get some of the dryer packets (like the silica ones that come in boxes of new shoes) or if you can get one or two of these (http://www.newpig.com/en_US/main.jhtml?productId=PIL204&ppanalysis=O-2LHBPIGABSORBENTPILLOWSPANS&page=browse/pp.jhtml&email=us) they work awesome. Just place them on the floor in the car and they will absorb the moisture from the padding and so forth.

You might also want to take off the door panels and make sure they're dry inside.

And my favorite part: "Assembly is the reverse of removal."

And DON'T call the insurance company!

--Bob

SCWDP Operative #0053
(AKA "Herbie's Revenge")

[tcar]

Go to one of those rental places and rent a wet/dry shop vac for a couple hours.

Cheap. Worth it.

[SCWDP911]

yep, shop vac is no longer an issue

Thanks

[tcar]

If your door panels do warp slightly, leave them alone, blow air on them.

They will (like a hardwood floor) sometimes straighten back out.

[mhackney]

Shane, do you have damage and a claim? If so, then call the insurance company. If not, then don't. Is the damage greater than your deductible? If not, then don't call the insurance company. For instance, if you have a $500 deductible policy on comprehension and the "damage" consists of a professional cleaning and drying for $200, then you don't really have a claim.

I wouldn't call leaving the top off or windows down in a rain storm flood damage unless it was left untreated for a long time and resulting rust, mildew and damage occurred. You got on this quickly and are drying things out. Take the opportunity to clean the carpets while you have everything out and do a good job to make sure everything is dry. You should be fine.

cheers,
Michael

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by tcar

If your door panels do warp slightly, leave them alone, blow air on them.

They will (like a hardwood floor) sometimes straighten back out.

Thanks tcar, they actually look straight this morning. I am taking them off this afternoon just to make sure everything dries out... And thus the "while you're in there -itus" begins.

I just went out and got a steamcleaner to clean the carpets.

While the door paensl are off, I can finally replace the alarm key tumbler in the door.

I might as make some time now to use my leatherique redye kit!

And so it begins...

[vash]

get some fans, maybe rent those flooded carpet fans? and get the air moving.

[mhackney]

Shane, what color is your interior? Keep us updated on the redye. My 83 Cab has Champaign seats and door panels and brown dash and arm rests. Thinking about how I want to freshen those up.

cheers,
Michael

[mhackney]

Ok, why am I getting double posts? I don't think it is operator error.

[SCWDP911]

Michael,

Mine is Grey-Beige... and black

[SCWDP911]

1. Would anybody recommend doing anything to the floor boards while the carpet is out?

2. when I removed the rear seat bottoms, some of that green "grass" (my 4 yo said "Dad! There is grass in your car!" This morning, he walks down, looks at mess in the garage that was once my car and tells my 14 yo, "Man Ashton, lightning sturck Dad's car and blew it up!" - you gotta laugh)... anyway, some of the green filler is stuck to the carpet. Is there a preffered method of removal for this stuff?

[mhackney]

Sounds sharp Shane!

Michael

[livi]

Sorry about your car, Shane! Hope it works out for the best!

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by livi

Sorry about your car, Shane! Hope it works out for the best!

I am trying to make lemonade out of lemons. We are in the South afterall.

I am up to over $2 in change recovery now!

I have another question: I am trying to get the tunnel carpet out. I have everything out of the way now except the console. I cannot figure out the best way to disconnect the AC knobs. Looks like spade clips on everything except the white wire. It is hardwire in the fan switch and I am not sure of proper way to disconnect.

Any opinions on whether or not I should get the carpet on the sides (door jam areas) up and out to dry out. It did get wet. I vac'd it for awhile and it will probably be fine, but not sure about the metal underneath. Just don't any surprises down the road...

[SCWDP911]

Just found this thread... starting to make sense now

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_short_shift_tindel/911_short_shift_kit_install.htm

[JeremyD]

Fans Shane - and AC if you have access to it - dehumidifier - some places you can rent them.

Clean everything to stop mold from growing at least once a day - no heat - that will propogate the growth of mold.

[SCWDP911]

Man, removing the console was so easy I almost feel embarassed for asking now.

Thanks for the tip Jeremy.

Hey, I thought of another bonus - no excuse not to do a shift coupler adjustment now!

Under my driver's seat was a black box that looks like maybe an aftermarket alarm module. Was there anything factory under here on an 83?

[SCWDP911]

Door panels look straight tonight, so that is good, although the pockets and tops could use some help. I have been trying to find a thread I read here or on Rennlist about reshaping the pockets and tops. Anyone know the one I am talking about?

Looks like everything might dry out well enough. Any opinions on when I should start soaking the leather with leatherique rejuvenator oil? Should I go through the hassle of removing the seat skins, or do you think it would dry out well enough with them in place?

[HarryD]

Shane,

Sounds like you are on the right track. When my home flooded from brown water from a toilet, Servicemaster came out (insurance company sent them).

To dry out my home and prevent unwanted odors they:

Put a dehumidifier in my bathroom that flooded.

In each room, they set up giant blowers to get air moving.

They removed all of the damp carpets,

Everywhere it got wet they sprayed some type of "stuff" to kill the odors/mildew growth.

Within 5 days I was dry and no odors.

I would think the same plan would work for you.

Get/rent a dehumidifier and a big fan.

You might want to call Servicemaster in your area to see if they can give you some low buck help.

Hopefully this will work out.

[mgibrace]

Go to a boat store and get one of their dehumidifier sets. $10-15. I had a 944 that got wet over a month and the guages stopped working. Hand dried and put a dehumidifier in and everything worked. Takes a while, but really sucks up the moisture. The car will need to be closed up to work best.

There are small heaters that will put out low temps also available at the boat store.

I'm pretty sure no real damage has been done.