Dampness

[elliotw]

Hi guys

I just had my Porsche complimentary check on my Boxster. The servicer came across a problem with the blocked drain pipes. They have now cleared the drain pipes, however, the sponge underneath the carpets behind the passenger and driver seats is damp.

Clearly this needs to be remedied ASAP for two reasons - (1) the car will end up smelling of mould by the time the summer comes and (2) the electronic control unit (ECU) is under the passenger seat and if this gets wet I will end up with a higher cost of repair.

Porsche quote me £1,150 to fix this. What this involves them doing is taking the seats out, removing the carpet and drying with a dehumidifier. I can't see how this should be so much, as it's a little bit of labour and then using them as a glorified car park. Oh, and they said if the ECU does not need to be replaced, that will save £300 or so...so I guess that's an £850 job if the ECU is not replaced.

Has anyone come across this problem? Any suggestions? I was thinking of buying a portable dehumidifier for £150 and putting in garage and letting it dry that way. Although, I have no idea how easy it is to take out the seats and the carpets (and put them back in).

Any advice?

E

 

[Robin M]

I am sure others will tell you differently but I wold put a heater in the car and open the windows and heat the inside until it dries or go with the dehumidfier. All cars get damp inside due to otside temperature chnages so they are made to 'dry out' as they are being used now- its called airconditioning! Or run the car with the airconditioning on and the heater turned up. Dry round the ECU with a hairdryer asuming you can get to it without removing the seats.

 

[colinbythesea]

10 years ago I had a business drying out flooded houses for Insurance companies, my recommendations would be:

If you have a garage then leave a fan heater in the passenger footwell blowing under the seat set on COLD. Leave a window open or the roof down. This moves the moisture saturated air around the damp area and moves drier air in to take out more moisture. A bit of heat might help but it would increase your electric bill and would be dangerous to leave unattended. If you can take out the passenger seat then do so. Do this every time you garage the car until it's dry. You will know it's dried out when you no longer get condensation inside the car when it's left on a dry day. Just because the carpet feels dry doesn't mean it is.