1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Mildew smell from wet seats

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by odub, Jan 1, 2011.

  1. odub

    odub Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2010
    20
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    During the recent So Cal rain storm, water leaked into our 2004 Prius from at least three points (to make a long story short, when we brought home our Xmas tree, we forget to take the ties out of the door frames. Oops).

    Water soaked into the front passenger seat and both of the rear passenger seats (didn't seem to get in the carpets though). I vacuumed, blotted and then tried a hairdryer to get as much moisture out (plus a night w/ the windows open in a garage) but now, a few days later, the mildew smell is pretty obvious once you open the door.

    Any suggestions? The two leading ones I've researched would either be:

    1) Baking soda overnight + vacuum (w/ or w/o a vinegar treatment included)
    2) Liquid enzyme treatment, similar to what you'd use to get pet stains out of carpeting.

    Anyone have experience/success with either approach? Thanks.
     
    #1 odub, Jan 1, 2011
  2. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    7,663
    1,038
    0
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I can't advise on spot treatments. It will of course help to dry everything thoroughly, so keep the defrost ON (which will encourage the AC condenser to run frequently) and set the temperature as high as you can stand. If it's not raining or otherwise too humid outside then turn off recirculation (the idea is to bring in outside air when it is less humid than the inside air; notice that if the car was shut OFF with defrost ON the system will default to no recirc the next time you start the car). Leaving the windows open while in the garage will help.
     
    #2 richard schumacher, Jan 1, 2011
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)