left window open. Rain came in.

2500hd2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Location
nj
TDI
'12 passat se
Hello Guys,
Last night I left my drivers side window open.
I took out all of the water in the foot wells, and now it is just damp.
Are there any drain plugs that I can open?
I am also using a water remover for basements, it is a bag that sucks up the water. Later today I will put some baking soda in the car.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Mark
 

no-blue-screen

TDI Nut
Joined
Feb 9, 2006
Location
Maryland
TDI
TDI
Do you have access to a wet/dry vac? Like a shop-vac or similar? You can usually get most of the water out that way....I don't know if I would put baking soda in the carpet. Maybe someone else has some more ideas.
 

Jason D

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Location
St. Louis
TDI
06 Graphite Blue 5 speed
no-blue-screen said:
Maybe someone else has some more ideas.
Don't leave the window open.:p

Actually, if you could park that thing in a garage and not roll the windows up for a few days and keep the air circulating that would be best. Leaving it locked up tight outside in the sun is going to be a mold/must pit.

Maybe get a dehumidifier and plug it in and leave it in the car with the windows rolled up?

Pulling the carpet is probably best but could be a real pain in these cars (I haven't done it myself).
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
The shopvac is a good start. If you had standing water in there, then you should pull the carpets so the padding can dry out.
 

2500hd2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Location
nj
TDI
'12 passat se
Thanks for your help. Now I have a horn gremlin.
It goes on and off while driving. So I pulled the fuse. I will put it back in when everything dries up.
Mark
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Windjammer said:
Turn on the A/C & leave in on recirculate. Keep the windows closed & let the A/C do all the work.
Yep. This will circulate the warmer, moist air across the condenser where the vapor will condense back into water and be drained out the drain tube.
 

Bob S.

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
Shop vac. If you have a small dehumidifier, place it in the car, roll up the windows & turn it on. Alternately, perhaps this is just the excuse you need to take a road trip to the South West.:)
 

Bob S.

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
Windjammer said:
A/C is a dehumidifier.
Yes, but is requires long drive hours or even longer idle hours to do the same thing that a simple, small, 110vac unit plugged in via extenstion cord could do when closed up in the stationary car while the owner is doing other things.
 

DieselDavid

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG
Yep. This will circulate the warmer, moist air across the condenser where the vapor will condense back into water and be drained out the drain tube.
Close. In an air conditioning system humidity is removed from the air at the evaporator coil. You know how humid air converts back to water on the outside of a cold glass of something, drips down the sides of the glass, and leaves a nice puddle on your kitchen table? The same thing happens in the car's air conditioning system - humid air on the cold evaporator coil converts back into water and drips onto the ground under the car.

In most air conditioning systems and most refrigerators, the refrigerant cycles in a closed system between a liquid state and a vapor state, moving around by means of a compresser. The evaporator coil absorbs heat and the condenser coil releases heat. The refrigerant goes into the low pressure evaporator coil where it evaporates into a vapor, absorbing some heat. Then it goes to the high pressure condenser where the vapor is compressed and condenses back to a liquid, releasing some heat. There are other ways to move heat around and make people comfortable but I don't think they are used in vehicles at this time.
 

DieselDavid

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Sep 6, 2005
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG
Trust me, most of us don't want to work on our own air conditioning systems. Often the evaporator, drier/accumulator, thermal expansion valve, condenser, and hoses are in areas that aren't easy to access. And we need to have the right size o-rings dampened with the correct refrigerator oil for the connections, and those connections have to be perfectly airtight. We also need good gauges and a strong vacuum pump. Luckily the leak detection methods are pretty good nowadays. My advice for when we have air conditioning issues: grab the car keys, the credit card, and drive to the dealer or to an independent service garage so they can do the job.
 

DieselDavid

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Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG
Getting back on topic, to remove water from inside the car I'd blot up as much as possible using old bathroom towels. Then I'd try to get the remaining water to evaporate as quickly as possible...
  • ...in cold weather by driving and making the inside of the car toasty hot with the windows partially open.
  • ...in hot weather by driving and running the AC with recirculation with the windows closed.
 

Stirer

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Feb 23, 2003
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
TDI
Jetta 2003 Platinum Gray GLS
I'm with the shop vac then dehumidifier crowd if you leave the carpet it. But you may need to just remove carpet and padding and let that dry separately to be certian it is dry. Good luck.
 

Doc_Oc

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Location
Orangeville, Ontario
TDI
03 Golf TDI
whitedog said:
Yep. This will circulate the warmer, moist air across the condenser where the vapor will condense back into water and be drained out the drain tube.
I don't think this will work. If you want to defog your windows and use recirculate they will never defog. That's why if you put the knob on Window, the recirculate buton is deactivated.
I might be wrong, as the Dog's explanation makes sense.
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
weedeater said:
The shopvac is a good start. If you had standing water in there, then you should pull the carpets so the padding can dry out.
This is the only complete solution, I'm afraid. The pad will very likely mildew over time regardless of heroic efforts performed :(
 

2500hd2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Location
nj
TDI
'12 passat se
Can you tell me more about the rain sensor?

Does anyone have a part number for the padding on the drivers side? I don't mind spending time on getting the car back to new.

Thanks for all your suggestions and they have worked. The carpet is dry and the pad seems ok.

Thanks,
Mark
 
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Bob S.

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
2500hd2 said:
Thanks for all your suggestions and they have worked. The carpet is dry and the pad seems ok. Thanks, Mark
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Keep a fan running & or a dehumidifier for a bit longer to really dry it out. Leave the windows &/or sun roof partially open when the car is parked to let the remaining moisture evaporate. If it really bothers you, purchase & place some desiccant matierial in the car. Just do what you can now to accelerate the moisture removal.

Believe me, yours is not the first car for this to happen to. It should not be a problem, even in to long term. It is far less damaging than spilling a cup coffee w/ sugar & cream, soft drink, sports drink, juice, milk, formula, food stuff, french fries, etc, or having having the cooler leak when it is filled with bait, fish or crabs.

Keep an eye on the switches in the door, they may give problems eventually. Just dry it out now.
 
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