Ed Hall Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 The heater core on my 1993 Allante suddenly burst the other day while I was driving it and dumped several gallons of radiator antifreeze on the floor boards within minutes. I was able to limp to a Home Depot to buy a connector. I joined the heater hoses together, added several gallons of water and continued on my trip. However, what was a prestine interior now reaks with horrible chemical odors. We are experiencing 95 degree weather in beautiful Los Angeles this weekend so I'm thinking that this would be a good time to clean the carpet out. Anyways, I'm thinking of dumping several gallons of soapy water onto the floor boards and vacuuming it out with those vacuums you find at do it yourself car washes. I attached a picture showing that kind of vacuum. Is it alright to use this type of vacuum to suck out water? The last step would be to use a small amount of bleach to kill any bacteria and suck the remaining water out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marika Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 The heater core on my 1993 Allante suddenly burst the other day while I was driving it and dumped several gallons of radiator antifreeze on the floor boards within minutes. I was able to limp to a Home Depot to buy a connector. I joined the heater hoses together, added several gallons of water and continued on my trip. However, what was a prestine interior now reaks with horrible chemical odors. We are experiencing 95 degree weather in beautiful Los Angeles this weekend so I'm thinking that this would be a good time to clean the carpet out. Anyways, I'm thinking of dumping several gallons of soapy water onto the floor boards and vacuuming it out with those vacuums you find at do it yourself car washes. I attached a picture showing that kind of vacuum. Is it alright to use this type of vacuum to suck out water? The last step would be to use a small amount of bleach to kill any bacteria and suck the remaining water out. Wet vacuuming may be your only option. Ask the owner of the place if the vacuum can handle water before you start. Watch out for the amount of bleach you use. Standard disinfecting is 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of warm water so don't get carried away. Watch out for any wiring running under the seats too. Good luck. If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Spread cat litter or auto-store absorbent material on the spill, then clean up with rags, then rinse and wet vacuum. Bag everything as toxic. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 I would not even try to do anything with the carpet installed in the car. No matter how you dilute the antifreeze and remove as much fluid as possible, it will take forever + one day for the carpet and padding to dry. And during that time, the floor pan will be exposed to a damp environment. I experienced the Seville trunk leak problem several years ago and the carpet and padding were dripping water. Forunately, that piece of carpet is easily removed. I propped the carpet in the sun for two full days and followed that with 3 more days inside an air conditioned house before the carpet and padding was 100% dry. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Yup, I'd remove the carpet. Shampoo it and dry it before reinstalling it. Also wipe down the floor board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Does anyone know if it is safe to suck out water using those do-it-yourself vacuum cleaners. The place I'm thinking is not manned so I cannot ask. I would hate to break it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPreston2001 Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Yes those do-it-yourself car wash vacuums can handle water. Just clean it real good and try to suck out as much as possible. I dont know how well they are at removing liquid but its worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 What I would do is go to my local grocery store and rent a carpet cleaner with the hand held furniture wand. I would either do the carpet in place or remove it and do it on the ground and hand it out to dry. Use very hot water in the cleaner. I love those carpet cleaners.. This happened to a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago with his 95 Eldorado, he said it made a loud bang when it blew.. he called me for R&R instructions (note to self, change my heater core before it blows, ) Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Thanks for all the suggestions. I agree with BodybyFisher that renting a carpet cleaner is the way to go. I used a Bissell on my 88 Eldorado several years ago and it worked good. The powerful suction sucked most of the water out. The carpet was very dirty and it came out very clean. Anyways, today I changed out the heater core on my Allante. It was an easier job than on the Eldorado because there was better access. Afterwards, I drained the radiator and filled it back up with 1-1/2 gallons of full strength antifreeze. The capacity is 3 gallons so 1-1/2 gallons of antifreeze should have brought it to 50% concentration. I then went to the do-it-yourself vacuum station and soaked down the carpet and used plenty of dishwashing soap. I worked it into the carpet then used the vacuum to suck it all out. I then used plain water to remove the soap. The last step was to soak down the carpet with plain water mixed with a small amount of bleach to kill bacteria. I then did the final vacuum and sucked as much as I could possibly get out. It did not suck nearly as well as the Bissel so I used a towel to soak as much as possible out. The final step was parking my car in the hot 95 degree California sun. We are experiencing unusually hot dry weather and by evening, the carpet was almost dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 by evening, the carpet was almost dry. I'd still be worried about moisture (and eventually rust and mildew) between the carpet and floor board Ed. I would at least pull the kick plate on the passengers side and peel back the carpet for a day in that 95 degree weather (darn you) and let it dry out good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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