need to dry car seat right now!

July 31, 2008 6:45 PM

Need advice on drying out car seats quickly.

Left my rear car window open about 2" today. Massive thunderstorm came through, with apparently horizontal rain. Rear car seat is damp. (Not a child's seat, a normal seat.) Leaving on a road trip tomorrow morning at 5 AM with three passengers. I already vacuumed it. I'm going to leave it in the garage with all the windows rolled down tonight. What else can I do? Should I leave towels on the seat?

posted by goethean to home & garden (10 comments total)

Soak up as much as you can with towels. Open both rear doors and aiming a fan set on high to blow across the seats. The moving air will help evaporate the water quicker. I would think leaving towels on the seat would not allow the air flow necessary to dry them.

I would bring some towels on the trip to sit on. Good luck.
posted by JujuB at 6:57 PM on July 31, 2008

Drying out car seats quickly is hard. Finding ways to comfortably sit on a wet seat is easier. Maybe a towel with something waterproof on top of it.
posted by winston at 7:00 PM on July 31, 2008

I leave my windows down all the time and I've had to deal with this a few times. I use those vacuums at those do-it-yourself car wash places, they're way more powerful than your standard home vac. I usually febreze the crap out the car before and after the vacuuming too. Like Juju said running a fan over the seats tonight is a good idea, and the towels would probably just get in the way.
posted by BrnP84 at 7:05 PM on July 31, 2008

I second the above posts.If you don't ge tthem dry overnight, your next challenge is to set a waterproof barrier and some towels so at least you can travel without damp bumbs. You're best friend is a really sunny day and your side windows left slightly open IMO.
posted by Frasermoo at 7:45 PM on July 31, 2008

You're best friend is a really sunny day and your side windows left slightly open IMO.

Try a sunny day, but leave the windows up until it gets really hot inside, then roll them down or better yet roll them down and drive. I have had similar situations before and they should dry out fine. Towels for your passengers first thing in the morning would be a nice touch until you can get the seats dry later in the day.
posted by TedW at 8:06 PM on July 31, 2008

Borrow or rent a squirrel cage furnace fan. Don't use heat.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:06 PM on July 31, 2008

I'd use a wet/dry vac on the seats - pull the filter from the vac so it doesn't get soaked, and then schlurp as much wetness from the seats as you can. Then I'd take some towels and use them to blot the seats until they didn't pick up any moisture. Finally, I'd leave the windows down and possibly the doors open for max ventilation, after parking the car in the sun.
posted by zippy at 8:36 PM on July 31, 2008

Put a crevice tool on a blow dryer jam it under the seat, set on low and have some coffee.
posted by hortense at 9:39 PM on July 31, 2008

I've driven convertibles for years, and yes, I've left the top down, and yes, massive thunder storms have rolled through leaving literally two inches of standing water in the car. The solutions are as stated above, but with more gusto:

1. Soak up as much with towels as possible. This involves leaning on the seats with towels, to really push down into the upholstery.

2. Put the car in the garage and turn on as many fans as you can get ahold of, blowing in all sorts of directions. Think wind tunnel levels of blowing air.

3. Get up early and repeat with the towels. If water still comes up, try a blow dryer.

4. It's possible that you won't get it all out overnight, and a towel on the seat will get wet from the pressure of your friend's ass on it in very little time. So you'll need to put something waterproof down first, then a towel on top of that (because the towel is more comfortable to sit on than something plastic).

Best of luck.
posted by Capri at 10:10 PM on July 31, 2008

If you use waterproof barrier to sit on, just remember to remove barrier EVERY moment that seat is not being sat on, so seat continues to dry out and doesn't get moldy and all yucky.
posted by marsha56 at 1:29 PM on August 1, 2008