> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.
>
> Eric
>
----------------------------------------

Hope you have access to a garage. You'll have to soak it all with a
germicide and _then_ suck it all out with a good extraction machine. A
rainbow vacuum would do it if you can get the right extraction tool on
it. If you don't kill all the bugs it will smell forever. Once it's
sucked out, put an electric dehumidifier inside and crank it up. You
have to get it bone dry. Might mean wedging sticks under the carpet in
places and adding a small fan to force the dry air under it.

Of course you have to resolve the LEAK before you attempt any of this.
SEARCH for all the posts regard leaking tailights too.

'Curly'

 

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.
>
> Eric
>
----------------------------------------

Hope you have access to a garage. You'll have to soak it all with a
germicide and _then_ suck it all out with a good extraction machine. A
rainbow vacuum would do it if you can get the right extraction tool on
it. If you don't kill all the bugs it will smell forever. Once it's
sucked out, put an electric dehumidifier inside and crank it up. You
have to get it bone dry. Might mean wedging sticks under the carpet in
places and adding a small fan to force the dry air under it.

Of course you have to resolve the LEAK before you attempt any of this.
SEARCH for all the posts regard leaking tailights too.

'Curly'

 

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.
>
> Eric
>
----------------------------------------

Hope you have access to a garage. You'll have to soak it all with a
germicide and _then_ suck it all out with a good extraction machine. A
rainbow vacuum would do it if you can get the right extraction tool on
it. If you don't kill all the bugs it will smell forever. Once it's
sucked out, put an electric dehumidifier inside and crank it up. You
have to get it bone dry. Might mean wedging sticks under the carpet in
places and adding a small fan to force the dry air under it.

Of course you have to resolve the LEAK before you attempt any of this.
SEARCH for all the posts regard leaking tailights too.

'Curly'

 

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:

>
> Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> nasty.
>
> thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>

You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
permanently.

Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
car. About $300.

Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
air after a thunderstorm.

 

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:

>
> Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> nasty.
>
> thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>

You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
permanently.

Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
car. About $300.

Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
air after a thunderstorm.

 

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:

>
> Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> nasty.
>
> thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>

You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
permanently.

Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
car. About $300.

Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
air after a thunderstorm.

 

On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:

>
> Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> nasty.
>
> thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>

You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
permanently.

Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
car. About $300.

Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
air after a thunderstorm.

 

kwatq wrote:
> On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:
>
> >
> > Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> > smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> > nasty.
> >
> > thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
> >
>
> You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
> permanently.
>
> Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
> car. About $300.
>
> Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
> fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
> ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
> air after a thunderstorm.

hey guys, I just remembered that this car had a rear bumper and quarter
replaced last winter. I'm thinking that the body shop dropped the ball
on the seals and that's what might have caused the problem. I'm going
to call ICBC and see what my options are. Regardless, probably fix this
myself.. just a lot of elbow grease and not a lot of time.

 

kwatq wrote:
> On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:
>
> >
> > Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> > smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> > nasty.
> >
> > thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
> >
>
> You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
> permanently.
>
> Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
> car. About $300.
>
> Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
> fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
> ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
> air after a thunderstorm.

hey guys, I just remembered that this car had a rear bumper and quarter
replaced last winter. I'm thinking that the body shop dropped the ball
on the seals and that's what might have caused the problem. I'm going
to call ICBC and see what my options are. Regardless, probably fix this
myself.. just a lot of elbow grease and not a lot of time.

 

kwatq wrote:
> On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:
>
> >
> > Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> > smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> > nasty.
> >
> > thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
> >
>
> You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
> permanently.
>
> Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
> car. About $300.
>
> Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
> fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
> ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
> air after a thunderstorm.

hey guys, I just remembered that this car had a rear bumper and quarter
replaced last winter. I'm thinking that the body shop dropped the ball
on the seals and that's what might have caused the problem. I'm going
to call ICBC and see what my options are. Regardless, probably fix this
myself.. just a lot of elbow grease and not a lot of time.

 

kwatq wrote:
> On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:45:39 -0800, Dolph wrote:
>
> >
> > Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
> > smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
> > nasty.
> >
> > thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
> >
>
> You can remove the smell(s) completely, and if it's then kept dry,
> permanently.
>
> Use an ionizer, I used to have a home-sized one, that size would do for a
> car. About $300.
>
> Ask at your local fire dept. - I read that this is what they use after a
> fire where everything has been soaked and grows mold/fungus. The negative
> ions kill all mold, and leave a fresh smell something like the smell of
> air after a thunderstorm.

hey guys, I just remembered that this car had a rear bumper and quarter
replaced last winter. I'm thinking that the body shop dropped the ball
on the seals and that's what might have caused the problem. I'm going
to call ICBC and see what my options are. Regardless, probably fix this
myself.. just a lot of elbow grease and not a lot of time.

 

Dolph wrote:
> Matt Ion wrote:
>
>>Dolph wrote:
>>
>>>hey folks..
>>>
>>>I live in wet vancouver, bc. My wifes car, a 98' civic dx hatchback,
>>>decided that somewhere on the body to allow a lot of water in. Probably
>>>over a period of 1.5 weeks of heavy rain, there was enough water in the
>>>entire car to fill the spare tire compartment up to halfway of the
>>>spare tire and flood the driver and passenger cabin space with enough
>>>water that the ground is squishy.
>>
>>WHAT??? It never rains in Vancouver! It's LIQUID SUNSHINE!
>>
>>(Speaking from a relatively-dry Pitt Meadows here...
>>
>>
>>>Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
>>>smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
>>>nasty.
>>>
>>>thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>>
>>Brutal.
>>
>>Well from experience with my last Accord, I can tell you the most likely place
>>the water is coming in is through the hatch area - it trickles down into the
>>spare tire well, accumulates there, and then sloshes forward and down under the
>>back seats and onto the floor every time you brake. If you check, you'll
>>probably find the back seats are pretty wet too.
>>
>>Can't offer any real suggestions of how to dry it out or get rid of the smell,
>>but as for finding the leak, start with the seal around the hatch, and also make
>>sure the tail light fixtures are in tight and well-sealed (the other common
>>place for water to get in).
>
>
> exactly what I was thinking.. your right about the braking.. that's
> what's happening.. the rear of the seat is wet and the particle board
> was not.. I'm going to attempt to get the car dismantled and dry and
> then get my wife to hose the car and see if I can see where the leak is
> coming in. The car was parked on a slight upward slope.. so that might
> be something to think about. Hopefully I can sort this out.

The trick with the hose is to start at the bottom and work your way up - if you
start at the top and the leak is further down, the run-down water may still leak
in and give you a false idea of where it's coming in. If you work your way up
SLOWLY from the bottom, you don't necessarily need to see exactly where the
water comes in, you just need to note WHEN it starts coming in, and correlate
that to how far up the hose is.

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.

Very likely, especially if it's one of the rear panels that wasn't re-sealed
properly.

 

Dolph wrote:
> Matt Ion wrote:
>
>>Dolph wrote:
>>
>>>hey folks..
>>>
>>>I live in wet vancouver, bc. My wifes car, a 98' civic dx hatchback,
>>>decided that somewhere on the body to allow a lot of water in. Probably
>>>over a period of 1.5 weeks of heavy rain, there was enough water in the
>>>entire car to fill the spare tire compartment up to halfway of the
>>>spare tire and flood the driver and passenger cabin space with enough
>>>water that the ground is squishy.
>>
>>WHAT??? It never rains in Vancouver! It's LIQUID SUNSHINE!
>>
>>(Speaking from a relatively-dry Pitt Meadows here...
>>
>>
>>>Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
>>>smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
>>>nasty.
>>>
>>>thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>>
>>Brutal.
>>
>>Well from experience with my last Accord, I can tell you the most likely place
>>the water is coming in is through the hatch area - it trickles down into the
>>spare tire well, accumulates there, and then sloshes forward and down under the
>>back seats and onto the floor every time you brake. If you check, you'll
>>probably find the back seats are pretty wet too.
>>
>>Can't offer any real suggestions of how to dry it out or get rid of the smell,
>>but as for finding the leak, start with the seal around the hatch, and also make
>>sure the tail light fixtures are in tight and well-sealed (the other common
>>place for water to get in).
>
>
> exactly what I was thinking.. your right about the braking.. that's
> what's happening.. the rear of the seat is wet and the particle board
> was not.. I'm going to attempt to get the car dismantled and dry and
> then get my wife to hose the car and see if I can see where the leak is
> coming in. The car was parked on a slight upward slope.. so that might
> be something to think about. Hopefully I can sort this out.

The trick with the hose is to start at the bottom and work your way up - if you
start at the top and the leak is further down, the run-down water may still leak
in and give you a false idea of where it's coming in. If you work your way up
SLOWLY from the bottom, you don't necessarily need to see exactly where the
water comes in, you just need to note WHEN it starts coming in, and correlate
that to how far up the hose is.

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.

Very likely, especially if it's one of the rear panels that wasn't re-sealed
properly.

 

Dolph wrote:
> Matt Ion wrote:
>
>>Dolph wrote:
>>
>>>hey folks..
>>>
>>>I live in wet vancouver, bc. My wifes car, a 98' civic dx hatchback,
>>>decided that somewhere on the body to allow a lot of water in. Probably
>>>over a period of 1.5 weeks of heavy rain, there was enough water in the
>>>entire car to fill the spare tire compartment up to halfway of the
>>>spare tire and flood the driver and passenger cabin space with enough
>>>water that the ground is squishy.
>>
>>WHAT??? It never rains in Vancouver! It's LIQUID SUNSHINE!
>>
>>(Speaking from a relatively-dry Pitt Meadows here...
>>
>>
>>>Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
>>>smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
>>>nasty.
>>>
>>>thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>>
>>Brutal.
>>
>>Well from experience with my last Accord, I can tell you the most likely place
>>the water is coming in is through the hatch area - it trickles down into the
>>spare tire well, accumulates there, and then sloshes forward and down under the
>>back seats and onto the floor every time you brake. If you check, you'll
>>probably find the back seats are pretty wet too.
>>
>>Can't offer any real suggestions of how to dry it out or get rid of the smell,
>>but as for finding the leak, start with the seal around the hatch, and also make
>>sure the tail light fixtures are in tight and well-sealed (the other common
>>place for water to get in).
>
>
> exactly what I was thinking.. your right about the braking.. that's
> what's happening.. the rear of the seat is wet and the particle board
> was not.. I'm going to attempt to get the car dismantled and dry and
> then get my wife to hose the car and see if I can see where the leak is
> coming in. The car was parked on a slight upward slope.. so that might
> be something to think about. Hopefully I can sort this out.

The trick with the hose is to start at the bottom and work your way up - if you
start at the top and the leak is further down, the run-down water may still leak
in and give you a false idea of where it's coming in. If you work your way up
SLOWLY from the bottom, you don't necessarily need to see exactly where the
water comes in, you just need to note WHEN it starts coming in, and correlate
that to how far up the hose is.

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.

Very likely, especially if it's one of the rear panels that wasn't re-sealed
properly.

 

Dolph wrote:
> Matt Ion wrote:
>
>>Dolph wrote:
>>
>>>hey folks..
>>>
>>>I live in wet vancouver, bc. My wifes car, a 98' civic dx hatchback,
>>>decided that somewhere on the body to allow a lot of water in. Probably
>>>over a period of 1.5 weeks of heavy rain, there was enough water in the
>>>entire car to fill the spare tire compartment up to halfway of the
>>>spare tire and flood the driver and passenger cabin space with enough
>>>water that the ground is squishy.
>>
>>WHAT??? It never rains in Vancouver! It's LIQUID SUNSHINE!
>>
>>(Speaking from a relatively-dry Pitt Meadows here...
>>
>>
>>>Regardless.. I don't think that I'll ever be able to get the mildew
>>>smell out of the car now.. smells like old hockey equipment.. pretty
>>>nasty.
>>>
>>>thoughts/comments? thanks in advance.
>>
>>Brutal.
>>
>>Well from experience with my last Accord, I can tell you the most likely place
>>the water is coming in is through the hatch area - it trickles down into the
>>spare tire well, accumulates there, and then sloshes forward and down under the
>>back seats and onto the floor every time you brake. If you check, you'll
>>probably find the back seats are pretty wet too.
>>
>>Can't offer any real suggestions of how to dry it out or get rid of the smell,
>>but as for finding the leak, start with the seal around the hatch, and also make
>>sure the tail light fixtures are in tight and well-sealed (the other common
>>place for water to get in).
>
>
> exactly what I was thinking.. your right about the braking.. that's
> what's happening.. the rear of the seat is wet and the particle board
> was not.. I'm going to attempt to get the car dismantled and dry and
> then get my wife to hose the car and see if I can see where the leak is
> coming in. The car was parked on a slight upward slope.. so that might
> be something to think about. Hopefully I can sort this out.

The trick with the hose is to start at the bottom and work your way up - if you
start at the top and the leak is further down, the run-down water may still leak
in and give you a false idea of where it's coming in. If you work your way up
SLOWLY from the bottom, you don't necessarily need to see exactly where the
water comes in, you just need to note WHEN it starts coming in, and correlate
that to how far up the hose is.

> I'm thinking of air drying and then perhaps spraying with some
> deoderizer and perhaps some other cleaners.
>
> One thing that makes me curious is that the car had a bumper and side
> panel replaced last winter.. I think this might be related.

Very likely, especially if it's one of the rear panels that wasn't re-sealed
properly.