Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

[JWD]

Afternoon all,

at some point over the last week 2 litres of water which I keep in the Deli in case of cooling emergencies, found its' way from the squash bottle where it usually lives, to the mats, carpets, wheel arch covers and the underlying foam . I had noticed a slightly "foosty" smell over the last couple of days but had put it down to a pair of boots which were in the beasty ! It wasn't until this morning when the smell was truly awful I decided to investigate further and that was when I discovered the empty squash bottle......     .
To say I'm impressed at the absorbant qualities of the carpets is a bit of an understatement! I'm also surprised at how heavy captains' seats are!

So, having removed the aforementioned seats, carpets, etc, how on earth do I dry them and remove the terrible smell :? ?

do I hang everything up and leave them, then apply several bottles of "Febreze", or is there any other way doing it?

Any (sensible ) suggestions welcome, as were hoping to get away with the caravan this weekend and I'm sure the kids won't be too happy cargo - strapped to the roof of the Deli!

Cheers,

John.

[Google]

[safetyman73]

John
      I had the same issue a few months back i had to wash mine due to the dog vomiting in the back. i let them drip dry in the garage for 24hrs then i went to my local laundrette they have some jumbo tumble driers i put them in there don't fold it roll it up and put it in the drum then unroll so it goes round the drum. i then put them on a low heat and waited. 3hrs later and £30 they were dry and smelling fresh.

You may get away with the tumble drier and some of those smelly drier sheets but mine had to be washed due to the vomit from the dog.

HTH
     Eddie
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http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk

[strangerover]

In the past I have jet washed carpets with the karcher... (works a treat ! very good results)

then let it dry on the line !
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Regards
Mark

[Mystery Machine]

Hi John,

When all the carpets in the Mystery Machine were submerged and soaked in sewage contaminated water after helping out in the floods last year, I hired a professional/industrial carpet cleaner for a day (they actually refunded me the money when they heard why I needed it and what the motor had been used for!!) and I gave the carpets a good deep clean/disinfect/wash out 'in-situ' because the front section of carpet can't be removed without disconnecting the cool box from the AC system! Within hours of leaving the floods the interior was smelling pretty rank (aka made me feel sick with the stench!) and I thought I was going to have to bin the complete interior - carpets, seats, side panels & mats because the water got onto all of them! Luckily the carpet cleaner worked wonders.... :D

You won't need to do this part because yours is clean spilt water.

In order to then dry them out I just put a de-humidifier in there and closed the doors/windows. I'd leave it running overnight, remove it in the morning to use the motor for driving around in during the day and put it back in again that evening/ovenight.

Within four days/nights the carpets (and felt underlay) were completely dry and no nasty damp smells.

I happened to have a de-humidifier in the garage anyway, but if you ask around, someone you know has probably got one you can borrow. They really do work a treat! I must have emptied about 15 litres of water out of the drain tank over the four days! The carpets were bone dry by the end.

Best of luck,

Bruce.
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'93 L300 Mystery Machine (Now in the hands of a new owner)
'94 L300 Mud Monkey (Post Apolcalyptic Edition )

[JWD]

Cheers for the excellent replies guys, much appreciated !

As things stand, the carpets and foam underlay are hanging in my dads' garage and are dry to the touch.

Not sure what reaction I'd get from the local laundrette, so I'll hang fire on that one, cheers Eddie !

Unfortunately the weather up here has been absolutely pants this week, so trying to dry things outside has been a non starter. My dad seems to think they're stinking out his garage, but I can't smell anything - maybe I'm becoming immune to the smell .

The intention is to re-fit them tomorrow, but as I'm due offshore again on Tuesday, they may have to removed again if they still smell and I'll have to try something else when I get home.

Cheers,

John.

[chrisfoster1971]

My wife told me that putting bicarbonate of soda ( cooking stuff ) onto a carpet area with a bad smell will get rid of it..

We have tried it when the kids have spilt milk etc and found it works wonders.
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100% BIO DIESEL ! Well not quite at the moment

My Delica Album

[JWD]

Great tip there Chris, will defo remember it for the future if I need it !

It just makes you think though; who the heck first thought of pouring bicarb on a smelly carpet :? ?

I actually fitted everything back in this morning, so we'll see if the smell comes back over the next couple of days.

Cheers,

John.

[chrisfoster1971]

I think it was that pair of women kim and agy that mentioned it one time so she has just told me...

She is now digging out another something to do with lavender and another home baking powder.
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100% BIO DIESEL ! Well not quite at the moment

My Delica Album

[Lewis]

http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/utilityroom/cleantips.htm

HTH
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