Damp Car Issues (Fiesta sunroof drain problems)

So Its the time of year when everything is damp, cold and generally nasty. Here in the U.K., having had the wettest January in history and still more rain falling water ingress is a major problem for cars.

If you have a soft top, leaky sunroof, old motor with seals not as tight as they once were or just don't drive any distance that often your car is probably already a little damp and chilly inside.

My damp disaster this year was caused by several days of heavy rain coinciding with the pipe from my sun roof drain coming adrift. Water was just entering into the car and running down behind the pillar trims to soak the floor. I actually had little puddles in the front and rear passenger foot wells of the Fiesta. Having just spent £1700 on metal work and paint I was distressed to say the least and set about cleaning all this unwanted wetness from the car.

Now everything is fine and dandy again I thought I would share some car drying tips and a few notes on things like De-humidifiers that my research turned up.

Lets start with some basic and free tips for shifting mild damp:

So its possibly the spring and the car is damp from the winter or you left a window open in the rain etc. How to quickly get the car dry:

1. Sunshine: Park in the sunshine with windows alternately open and closed. The heat from the sun will warm up the car causing the moisture to evaporate into the air. Opening the windows lets it out of the car, then closing again to re-heat the interior and repeat. If you are lucky enough to live some where hot and dry this technique is very fast, free and environmentally friendly.
2. Breeze: Air that is dryer than the cars interior will shift moisture, just as warm dry air causes laundry on the line to dry, causes plants to loose water and drys out exposed skin. On a dry day park the car somewhere safe, open windows on opposite sides of the vehicle or all the doors and tailgate if you can, and let the wind do the work. You can look up the physics of this but simply the moving air provides energy to turn some of the water into vapour. Assuming the air outside has a lower relative humidity than the air from the car it will carry water vapour away.
3. Driving: This one is only free if you have a journey to make but by driving with the blowers and if you wish heaters on, and the windows open you can get the effects of drying methods 1 and 2 while in motion. Obviously as the energy and breeze is provided by the car you can do it on dull, still days or in the dark :-).  

The effectiveness of the above methods does depend on the local weather conditions, wont work in pouring rain etc.

What other method can you use to speed things up, the above are free, but now for the ones that cost.
For a car of immense value one would scurry off and hire a humidity controlled garage at considerable expanse. However normal people like us can do the following:

1. Heat it up: Run an extension lead (outdoor type for obvious reasons) to your car and suitably place a fan heater inside. Where possible run after midnight if you have cheaper electricity at this time as I do. Fan heaters can use some serious power so if you electric rates are high bear this in mind. Positioning the heater is key for effectiveness and safety, you need to allow some free air to circulate both to and from the heater for maximum drying performance and to stop the heater turning off every five minutes when the thermal shut off kicks in. I find lowering the front seats right down and placing a plank of hardwood across the two works well. The heater will warm the car causing the air inside to take up more water. Have a window or two open a tiny amount to allow hot moist air to escape. This is effective even in colder weather.
2. De-humidifier: As the name suggests, De-humidifiers remove humidity from the air. For maximum effectiveness in colder climates you need a "Desiccant De-humidifier". These work by passing moist air over a desiccant material so they do not need to cool the air, therefore they work down to around 1 or 2 degrees Celsius. A heater is then used to warm the desiccant and remove the water for storage into the tank, warm dry air is then pumped out into the car. Desiccant De-humidifier's are fairly expensive to buy compared to a fan heater, however they use far less electricity. Mine uses 482 watts on its maximum drying setting, compared to the 3KW that my fan heater uses.

I hope this helps you keep you car dry. As an added bonus dry cars smell better, breed less mould and bacteria, and if you go for the De-humidifier option activly kill bacteria. Many De-humidifers contain ionizers, ionized air can kill even nasty things like Salmonella so are ideal for any Sheldon Cooper type germophobes out there!