Hurricane water in carpets-help!

Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Location
FL
Vehicle(s)
2017 EX-T Coupe
Hi all. Just survived hurricane Ian down in swfl. Was able to save my Car, is running with no issues except my carpet is flooded! I have been air/towel drying as much as possible (no power yet and limited cell service). It is starting to smell a bit and I am ofc concerned about mold. I was told there are drain under carpets and in trunk which Iā€™ll try to access.

What else can I do to help speed up the drying process? Going thru insurance is not an option (worried about them totaling it even if it runs perfectly.) or where can I eventually buy or go to a shop to replace the carpets? Not too concerned about price as itā€™s cheaper than a new car. please and thanks in advance.

Honda Civic 10th gen Hurricane water in carpets-help! 1BBBD250-B03D-4847-94F1-13A0F4451C99


Honda Civic 10th gen Hurricane water in carpets-help! 4252B210-A281-479A-ACC1-2A8BCD83E50A
 

86salmon

It's Hedley, Hedley Lamarr!
Joined
Sep 26, 2018
Threads
31
Messages
3,186
Reaction score
5,443
Location
Chucktown, SC
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic si sedan, 2001 Nissan Frontier
Build Thread
Link
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Have you pulled your seats and carpet up? They will be easier to air out of you take them out

You can add sound dampening while the carpet dries šŸ™ƒ
 

partialprint

Senior Member
First Name
Partial
Joined
Jan 4, 2017
Threads
27
Messages
251
Reaction score
94
Location
FL
Website
music.apple.com
Vehicle(s)
2017 Civic Hatchback Sport
Country flag
Yea im in naples and had no flooding luckily but I would get as much of it out as possible. Use a fan or something and park it in direct sun. If anything you may just need to get it detailed after and use one of those soap vaccums but remove as much of the water as possible that u can in the meantime.
use anything you can to your advantage
 

Ja87sm

Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Aug 20, 2022
Threads
4
Messages
42
Reaction score
12
Location
Ct
Vehicle(s)
18 ex-t 6mt
Country flag
I havenā€™t dealt with this personally, but if it happened to me Iā€™d probably do thisā€¦ Iā€™d disconnect the battery.. then I would use a carpet shampooer to extract as much water as you can. Then remove the seats and carpet. Do more removal, while itā€™s still wet, shampoo it all and extract. Let it air dry. While everything is out of the car, unseat every electrical connection that made contact with water.. clean the contacts and use dielectric grease on them Unless itā€™s a o2 sensor. While everything is out, youā€™re also going to want some sort of fan going to dry out what you canā€™t see.

anyone with more experience what do you think?
 

logan5

Senior Member
First Name
Keith
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
176
Reaction score
116
Location
Forest City NC
Vehicle(s)
2020 Honda Civic Si Coupe
Country flag
The only true way to remove the water and restore the carpet is to remove the seats, and remove the carpet. Clean the carpet and inspect everything in the car for damage. Find the high-water line and use that to find any wiring or other items that can be damaged by water.
 


dem2757

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
170
Reaction score
121
Location
MD
Vehicle(s)
2018 FK7
Country flag
I would personally use insurance. They'd probably write it off. You've got water in all the nooks and crannies around the floorpan that should've never been wet.
Yea insurance totals for a reason when you get water that high. Once it starts to corrode you will constantly be chasing electrical gremlins. The carpet pad is already ruined, the carpet is ruined, the car will begin to have mold spores growing at a crazy rate if you leave all of that in their.So sorry for your car being flooded!
 
OP
OP
EX-Terrestrial
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Location
FL
Vehicle(s)
2017 EX-T Coupe
I would personally use insurance. They'd probably write it off. You've got water in all the nooks and crannies around the floorpan that should've never been wet.
Is there a way to use without them totaling it? Make a claim about water damage, etc. Really canā€™t afford or want a new car. I worked my ass off to get this oneā€¦And what insurance will pay out/the difference isnā€™t worth the hassle of trying to find anything if/when places open anytime soon. Rather just use money to pay for damage myselfā€¦.
 


steemed.beans

Member
First Name
Johnson, Hugh
Joined
Sep 17, 2022
Threads
1
Messages
31
Reaction score
22
Location
Woods
Vehicle(s)
2019 civic coupe sport manual
Country flag
Just a heads up: that isnā€™t just water.

You have minerals, raw sewage, chemicals; all of that is now in your car.

The only way to properly clean that is to get it somewhere dry and gut the interior, give it a serious interior/exterior cleaning and replace it with a non poop soaked one; you can try to steam clean everything and wipe down all the interior metal but salt has a tendency to speed up corrosion, not to mention any other reactive minerals/bacteria trapped in the carpet/pads and metal crevices.

Go through insurance, if you miss your chance to get this damage covered you are going to seriously regret it in the future.

Never mind all the electronics that are probably submerged in said poop water.

Just because it runs does not mean you will not have problems in the future related to this flooding.

The market is still strong, I bet insurance would pay out like $25k for that car. But if you ever try to sell it keep in mind flood damage is pretty easy to spot. Without the insurance pay out you are taking a loss by keeping the car.

I have a tonic yellow civic coupe so I feel your pain, just know some of these rare colors are hitting the secondary market and arenā€™t impossible to find.

Electrical problems might not appear right away but companies love to run wiring along the floor and it looks like the water mark on your interior is quite high.

Iā€™d start browsing the national listings and take my money, flood cars are risky business.
 
Last edited:

CopperPeacock

Senior Member
First Name
Brianna
Joined
Jan 6, 2021
Threads
5
Messages
486
Reaction score
1,136
Location
Houston,Tx
Vehicle(s)
'18 MSM FC3
Country flag
Yeah, not only do you have to pull the carpets, you'd have to remove/replace every soft part in the entire interior even if it didn't get submerged. The grossness will evaporate and stick to anything it can. You'd pretty much have to steam clean any hard parts.

As was mentioned a lot of the interior electronics are also below the water line and can't be repaired, only replaced. The engine/drivetrain has to be drained, cleaned, redrained, refilled, watched, boots and seals replaced, AC gets replaced cause the compressor submerged, alternator got submerged, every major harness has to be replaced. You'd be surprised how many of the sealed systems in your car AREN'T watertight.

I tried reviving my 99 Eclipse GS-T after the May Day floods a few years ago and was forced to give up because a lot of the parts just can't be bought. Ended up getting scrap value for it because flud.

My F-150 had to get a new driveshaft and rear end because water got to the diff during Harvey.

However, my former coworker had her focus almost totally submerged during a random flood and her insurance fixed it. Took them 2 years to get it back to her only for it to get flooded AGAIN less than a month later from Harvey.

Houston sucks lol
 
OP
OP
EX-Terrestrial
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Location
FL
Vehicle(s)
2017 EX-T Coupe
Update: I tried to wet vac earlier in addition to air and towel drying the previous few days. Unfortunately it really doesnā€™t seem like enough and I do not have access to the tools to remove seats.

As other have mentioned and I didnā€™t realize I would have to replace pretty much every component carpet and below, etc. Iā€™m pretty heartbroken honestly since Iā€™ve put so much time, learning and energy into my own first car that I was able to afford on my own. If it is not safe to drive anymore I will not try. I guess I will make a claim to geico and hope for the best. I will be looking for another Civic for sure.

***If any one happens to know a lot about insurance, please reach out as I have additional questions before I go ahead and make a claim. I have GAP as well. Thanks again in advance.
 

partialprint

Senior Member
First Name
Partial
Joined
Jan 4, 2017
Threads
27
Messages
251
Reaction score
94
Location
FL
Website
music.apple.com
Vehicle(s)
2017 Civic Hatchback Sport
Country flag
Charge it to the game. If u have any performance parts put stock back on n put them on tour new civic hopefully it all works out snd u get something nicer.
Sponsored

 


 


Top