Damp car interior (thanks to my mechanic!)

bledd · 10 Jan 2011 at 11:06

http://www.caravanaccessoryshop.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=2152

CaptainRAVE · 10 Jan 2011 at 11:25

bledd. said:
http://www.caravanaccessoryshop.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=2152

That is brilliant

- have been having major condensation issues in my SLK, this will certainly help.

Would still like help with my previous question though

phil675 · 10 Jan 2011 at 11:46

When I had my headgasket etc. done, the mechanic managed to leave an oily rag and a metal clamp sort of thing inbetween the washer bottle and the side of the car. I didn't notice for a while, lucky it didn't fall in to any moving parts !

lordrobs · 10 Jan 2011 at 12:18

If it is really damp I would strongly suggest using a wet vac or carpet cleaner in there. Not only will it help with the mould that will be starting to slowly form in the carpets and upholstery but it will probably remove more moisture than it introduces drying it out a bit in the process.

Clarkey · 10 Jan 2011 at 12:19

CaptainRAVE said:
A dumb question - but would you set the temperature to cold or hot with a/c on? Never thought about this before.

Hot of course, cooling it down isn't going to help moisture evaporate is it

CaptainRAVE · 10 Jan 2011 at 12:21

Clarkey said:
Hot of course, cooling it down isn't going to help moisture evaporate is it

So with the a/c on does it give you a boost to heat, or simply help dry out the air?

Incidentally, how much more petrol will the car use with the a/c on?

WhiteCobra · 10 Jan 2011 at 13:12

When I had a leak in the boot and it ran forwards and drenched the carpets, and some of the rear seats, I just plonked a electric heater in the car with the windows cracked open to let the moist air escape... Worked a treat

WhiteCobra · 10 Jan 2011 at 13:13

Also a tray of salt is good at absorbing moisture, we use it on our caravan when it's closed up over winter

griffo_001 · 10 Jan 2011 at 16:26

CaptainRAVE said:
So with the a/c on does it give you a boost to heat, or simply help dry out the air?

Incidentally, how much more petrol will the car use with the a/c on?

"Air conditioning" is a catch-all for the system the controls both the temperature and the humidity of the air:

The first aspect is to set the humidity of the air at the desired level (Low humidity will allow you to sweat more effectively, cooling you down, high humidity will feel sticky because you can't sweat because the air is already mostly saturated with water vapour, so none more can evaporate into the air)

The second is to heat the air to the desired temperature. Lowering the temperature is complicated so we'll gloss over that seeing as its not relevant to this

When the hot, low humidity air is passed into the car the water in the car will evaporate into the air due to the heat, raising the amount of water vapour in the air, and thus the humidity. When you recirculate that air through the A/C unit the water will be removed and the process repeated

Put simply the A/C will dry the car by removing the water, but you need to heat there to make the water evaporate into the air in the first place.

As for the amount of power it will sap, it will vary system to system, I've seen 5% thrown about as a figure, but not any real evidence for that

Dup · 10 Jan 2011 at 16:29

bledd. said:
http://www.caravanaccessoryshop.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=2152

Thanks for that, bought a couple for my MX-5 while it's sat leaking on my drive. Ran it yesterday but still a bit damp and my cover is in the post. Damned rain

CaptainRAVE · 10 Jan 2011 at 16:38

Thanks for the info. An interesting read and a good way to get the water vapour out of my car

Domo · 10 Jan 2011 at 22:00

I can't believe how helpful you lot are on this forum! Thanks for all your suggestions. Two hrs of driving today with climate control set to 22C and lowering the windows every 10-15 mins has got things drying nicely. I guess the key is letting the vapour escape.
Nightmares of mould and mildew have since faded!
Thanks guys