Water Ingress Q&A

Question: "Will my car dry out on its own if I have the heating on?"

Answer: There is practically no chance of your car drying on its own because it is unlikely you noticed the leaks until the car was already full of water. And it can be a lot of water! Please watch the video below to see how much water is in a leaky car. You should make some effort to dry your car yourself or have it done professionally because water left in a car will lead to rust, electrical problems and mould.

Question: "The floor is wet in the back of my car. The carpets are soaked through."

Answer: You might think it's safe to assume the leak is somewhere in the back of the car, and it well might be, but you have to remember that water will always end up at the lowest point. Carpets on many luxury cars are very thick, and although they might not feel wet on the surface, the thick foam underneath could be soaked through, and it only shows at a lower point at the back. This is why we use a 28 point check where we inspect the whole car to find the leak, we can then decontaminate and dry the car. 

Question: "It hasn't rained for weeks, why is the floor of my car always wet?"

Answer: Once rain water leaks in, the only way it can find its way out if through evaporation, and here in the South East of England it rains more than it shines. And you would be surprised how much water is under your carpets. The foam that covers the front floor area can be six inches thick in places, and we have on occasions pulled ten litres out of a car. The only way to dry your carpets is to first make sure you have found and fixed ALL the leaks, then lift the carpet and dry it using hot air blowers and dehumidifiers.

Question: "There is heavy condensation in my car and a damp smell. Today I found the carpets were wet. I went through a car wash and didn't see anything leak." 

Answer: It is very rare to see water dripping down or running down a window, it could be something like a broken or blocked connector on a drainage pipe. It is not uncommon that the first people realize that water is getting inside their car is when they smell that damp, swampy odour. It is not only important to find and fix any leaks, but we need to get did of that smell which leads to mould, which can be harmful to your health. This is why we decontaminate your car with anti-microbial and then thoroughly dry the car. 

Question: "I have had my car back to my local garage four times to find and fix the leaks, but my carpets are still wet."

Answer: The problem, especially with older cars, is that whatever is causing the leak in one place, could cause leaks all around the car. If the rubber, seal and grommets have got to that age where they are shrinking or crumbling, then you could have multiple leaks, and sometimes the only way to fix them is each in turn. And you do need to dry the car out once you have found a leak because they generally won't dry out without help. How are you going to know if you still have a leak if the car is still wet from the last time?

We fix leaks with a process, which begins with our 28 point inspection. We then give you a report and if you give us the go-ahead to proceed, we will fix the leaks and test the car. We then dry the car and give it back to you.

Question: "I fixed a leak, but my car is constantly damp and smells like a swamp."

Answer: Cars seldom dry on their own. If you have a economy small hatchback or town car, the carpets might be thin, and it may dry with time, but most cars have thick foam carpet underlay which can hold a lot of water. You will need to lift up the carpets or remove them completely to dry them. But if your car smells, it's best to treat this while the car is still wet. We use antimicrobials and antifungals to get rid of mould spores, which can make you quite ill. Those damp odours in your car are something you should take seriously... more seriously than the actual leaks.

Question: "I have a leak somewhere. How much is it going to cost?"

Answer: We have absolutely no idea! No kidding, we never know what we are going to find until we start looking. At one extreme, it could be that the car has been in an accident sometime in the past, which means that the dashboard needs to come out and the bulkhead re-welded. Or it could be one standard size rubber grommet causing the problem. That's why we offer this service. We put your car through our database check, our 28 point check and if that fails, we keep looking until we find your leak for an inclusive price. From there, we provide you with a report and if possible an estimate, so you know where you stand. If it were just a loose grommet, we might not charge you anything for repair. Prices for drying, decontamination and odour removal vary depending on the scale of the problem. 

Question: "I fixed a water leak, now my electric windows don't work, could water be the cause?"

Answer: It isn't enough to find and fix the leak, you really need to dry the car; otherwise you have a damp environment that cause corrosion and electrical problems. Drying the car is an essential part of the process.

Question: "My car has a leak I want you to find, but I'm the other side of the country."

Answer: That's no problem. We are situated next to a hotel, and we can get you a special deal. Or we can have the car collected and delivered. We provide a wide range of unique and specialist services, which mean our customers travel to us from all over Europe.

Question: "How long will it take to find and fix my leak?"

Answer: Our initial service usually takes us about three hours, after which we will usually know what the problem is or have a pretty good idea. Sometimes our report will narrow it down and recommend further investigation. Sometimes you need to strip out quite a lot of the car in order to pinpoint a leak, and we can't do this unless you have already decided to go ahead with the work, which many people do. We do provide a full report, but we also send a video, and we will often do this while we are doing the inspection. At this point, many people tell us to get on and do the work. Unless the car needs to go to a dealership, body shop or windscreen company, or we need to wait for parts, we can get on with the repairs. On some cars, drying can be done overnight and this is enough, but on some cars with thick carpet underlay it can take up to three days to fully dry.  So, usually, it takes 3 to 5 days to complete the work.

Question: "I think I need a new convertible roof, water is getting into my car, but I can't see where."

Answer: Don't go buying a new hood just yet. A fabric hood has a rubber membrane inside which is waterproof and seldom perishes to the point that it leaks unless you have a very old car. It's far more likely that water is getting in around the windows or where the roof joins the windscreen. If rubbers are split or deformed, this can cause your car to leak. Water could also be getting in under the hood because it isn't draining away properly or is running down the hinges.

Bring it to us for an inspection, and we'll pinpoint the problem. It could save you a lot of money.

Question: "What is the 'anti-microbial' part of the service for? What has that to do with finding a leak?"

Answer: Rain water is full of contaminants, including mould spores. They will certainly find something in your car to grow on. It's true they are in the air all the time, but because your car now has a leak, it provides the perfect sheltered, damp environment for mould to grow. It's most likely that you will see it first on your seat belts because you touch those a lot and leave dirt behind. If you have kids, there is a high chance there are lots of areas in the back where traces of food provide places for the mould to grow.

And if mould and fungus can grow, bacteria can too. This can all turn into a health hazard, and many customers who bring cars to us with leaks complain that they have had a cold they can't shift or had chest infections. So we start off by fogging your car with an anti-microbial, antibacterial disinfectant which makes the car safe. 

We do it when we first get the car because then it's safe for us to work on, but also, if it is full of water, the disinfectant gets into the water and gets everywhere the water is. 

Question: "I have a leak in my car, the carpets are wet and the car is full of water. Can I claim on the insurance?"

Answer: Highly unlikely... however, if you had a crash and the insurance arranged for repair, or you have a windscreen replaced under windscreen cover, and either of these repairs were done poorly and resulted in a leak, then you would have recourse somewhere. They will usually pay for you to get your car valeted. The valeters will shampoo the carpets and spray around some air freshener, and that just isn't good enough. The car needs to be properly decontaminated and dried.

Question: "I have a convertible car and I don't have a leak, but I left the roof down and my car got soaked. The leather upholstery has been effected. Can you do anything?"

Answer: Yes, making cars like new again is something of a speciality of ours. We do everything from leather connolising to paintwork correction and speciality coatings. Many of our water leak customers have to make the decision to have the work done or trade the car in. If they decide to keep the car, many of them think it's worth giving it a makeover and making it good as new. Take a look around our website, we do a lot more than rain water leaks. 

Question: "My car is only a few years old, and it's already leaking. Isn't this a manufacturer's fault?"

Answer: If your car is still within warranty, you can certainly contact the dealer and ask them to fix the issue which is causing your car to leak. However, garages and dealerships are seldom equipped to decontaminate and dry your car. But you can give them a try. 

Question: "What do I do if I find water leaking inside my car?"

Answer: If you do have a leak, it is essential to deal with it right away before it causes other problems such as mould or condensation disrupting the electrical systems. We have an article about what to do if your car has a water leak on our blog.

Question: "How soon can you fix my leak?"

Answer: Leaks are serious business, and we think you should get them done as soon as you can. Should you bring your car to us in the summer, then we will get it booked in as soon as we can. In the winter, it rains a lot, so we sometimes have a lead time of several weeks. However, once booked in, you can leave your car with us early. We might be ahead of schedule, in which case we can make a start finding your leak. 

Question: "I left the window open on my car over the summer, and it rained. The car smells pretty damp and the leather is stained."

Answer: The combination of water and heat from the summer can make your car smell a bit. I would think it likely that it might dry out on it's own, but now you have the bacteria in there which causes that smell. The car can be decontaminated, cleaned, and that should probably fix it. As for the leather, you could try putting on a good quality leather conditioner; otherwise the leather can be recoloured, but try conditioner first.  (We don't sell leather conditioner).

Question: "I had my windscreen replaced, and it leaked, making the front of the car wet on the carpets. The windscreen company has now refitted the screen, but my car still has wet carpets, smells damp and is not satisfactory. They have offered to send around a mobile valeter to shampoo the carpets, but I don't think this will get the water out."

Answer: We don't think that valeting the car would be enough either, at most it will suck surface water out of the carpets but not remove the water under them. It is not good to have dirty rain water sitting in your car, aside from the health issues, we recently heard of a fellow who needed most of his electrics replaced including the wiring loom after water got into it. Needless to say, this got very expensive, far more expensive than drying the car out properly in the first place.  

Question: "Why is my car floor wet when it rains? The carpet is sopping on the passenger side."

Answer: There are numerous ways water can be leaking in to the front. A leaky sunroof, through the doors, badly fitted windscreen or even through the bulkhead. We often see the same problems over and over again, but sometimes we are surprised, so you can never tell the exact cause until you investigate. We test all these areas, and it's not unusual to find more than one leak, for example both doors leaking. That why our Leak Detection Service is tailored the way it is, and why we won't try to diagnose your problem over the phone or internet.

Question: "Should I just wait till summer to get my car fixed, so it will dry out on its own in the warm weather?"

Answer: It is unlikely your car will dry on its own. On most cars, those carpets are pretty thick and under those are often box sections, so there could be a lot more water in your car than you imagine. Some people have even reported that they can hear it sloshing around when they drive around corners. It is not unusual for us to extract ten litres from even average cars. And besides, the water can cause other problems such as mould which can be harmful to your health and electrical problems which can be expensive to fix. So it's best to address any leaks right away and get us to properly decontaminate and dry your car.

Question: "I think my car has the same leak that you show on one of your videos, how do I repair it?"

Answer: We cannot give DIY advice, and it would be irresponsible to do so. Damp cars are full of mould and bacteria, and so you are facing that health hazard before you even start repairs. There are a lot of electrical systems within a car, and with the advent of electric and hybrid cars, the voltage and amps could be enough to cause shock or fires. Many of the areas that are affected by leaks contain airbags, which are essentially explosive. So there are far too many risks associated with leak repair for us to offer DIY advice. 

Question: "This is the second BMW I have had with leaks. Is leaking a common problem on BMWs?"

Answer: It's a common issue on all cars. Drainage holes get blocked, rubber and plastic parts perish or harden, clips and grommets come loose. To us, it seems worse on some cars than others, but it can be hard to tell. Do we see more leaks on one car because those cars have lots of leaks, or because there are lots of those cars? Having said that, there are definitely some known problems we keep seeing, but BMW wouldn't be in the top ten of leaky cars. 

Essentially, all these problems tend to appear when a car is around seven years old. This is the age when sealants dry up, rubber plastic parts shrink, harden, crack or break. And because all of those parts are of the same age, they all tend to perish at roughly the same rate, so your car may spring multiple leaks around the same time.

We may find that in a car, the door membrane and rear air vents are leaking on the driver's side. It may be that these have perished slightly faster than on the passenger side because of the way the car is usually parked, with the sun falling on the diver's side. We would also recommend replacing the door membrane and rear events on the passenger side too because it is likely they will begin to leak soon.

Question: "If my windscreen is leaking, who is responsible?"

Answer: If you had a windscreen refitted recently, and it's leaking, you should contact your windscreen company. Our service provides a report, photos/videos showing our findings, so you can take this to them as evidence. If you haven't recently had a screen refitted but bought the car from a dealership, you could also appeal to them to do something. 

Question: "The dealership says I need new rubbers, but this still leaves my car wet. Can you give me a quote for the work just to dry it?

Answer: We have a system. What typically happens is that you pay £150 for an inspection. We do a 28 point check, plus checking all the points which are known trouble areas for your make and model of car. At the end of this we will have found at least one leak, we provide you with a video report, written and an estimate.

A lot of our customers have told us that they go to the dealers/mechanic, and they say, "It's the rubbers", they fix that and yet the leak persists, they go back again and have something else fixed, and then they find a leak somewhere else. It is not unusual for customers to tell us they have been back to the dealership 3-4 times, so our system aims to eliminate all this messing about.

So our inspection is the route we recommend because when cars get to a certain age, they tend to develop multiple leaks, and it's best to try and catch them all. (You will notice that if you look at our videos, many of the cars are 7–15 years old).

You can understand that if the door rubbers are perished on the passenger side, the rubbers on the driver's side are the same age and likely to be close to the same condition. So we would recommend doing both sides, if indeed it is the rubbers... I would also be suspicious of the door membranes, and some cars tend to leak at the welded seams. Alternatively, if you have already had the dealership fix the leak, and you are confident it is fixed, we can dry your car. Even this can be difficult for us to quote without seeing the car, but our 15-hour overnight dry is probably be a good first step.

Question: "How do I know you have fixed my leak? I have been back to the dealership three times, and they have always charged me for something, but my car is still full of water."

Answer: If you use our services, we will dry your car and if it stays dry, then we have fixed your leak! About every one in ten comes back because it's still leaking, I'm afraid that's the nature of the business. If it does, then either our repair didn't work or you have more than one leak. So we will check our work and if we were at fault, we'll put it right. 

When we do the inspection, we check all the known problems on a car, plus all the obvious possibilities. This usually gets us to at least one leak, and if not we keep looking. We guarantee we find at least one. But once we find one, we don't keep looking unless there's something to indicate we should. It's a bit like when you lose your keys, once you find them, you don't start pulling up the floorboards looking for more. Time is money, and we have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise we could be there for days looking for leaks that don't exist.

So there is a bit of trial and error involved. If you are one of those one-in-ten people that comes back with a second leak, we don't have to start from scratch as we have already checked the usual points of entry, and we will dry your car for free.

We don't like to see you coming back disappointed, so we try to get it right first time. 

Question: "I took my car to my local garage, and they fixed the leak, at least I think they did, but my car is still wet and smells damp.

Answer: It's very possible they did fix the leak, but the car won't dry out on its own if there was a lot of water in it, which there usually is. People often don't figure out that all that condensation they have suffered for months is a leak until the carpets are damp, which means the floor pans have already filled with water. We can dry your car, we are set up for it. That should solve your damp problem and now, if the car gets wet again, you'll know for sure there's another leak. 

Question: "I have a convertible hood on my car and I have a leak, how much will a new roof cost me?"

Answer: I wouldn't jump to conclusions, it is very rare for cabriolet roofs to need replacing because they leak. Underneath the fabric which you see is a rubber membrane and these are usually very hard-wearing. Unless your car is very old, it is unlikely to need a new one. It's far more likely that drainage holes are blocked or the rubbers that that seal around the windscreen and doors require some attention. Often a good clean is enough to stop the leaks, otherwise replacement rubbers, which are far cheaper than a new roof.

Question: "Why do you insist on replacing with new parts? Wouldn't it be cheaper just to seal it up?"

Answer: Once you have sealed something up, that's pretty much permanent. If for some reason you need a part removed at a later day, your mechanic may well just cut it out then fix it back in when he's done, giving you another water leak. Besides, we have found that some of the manufacturers identify that their parts are prone to leak and improve the design or use better quality materials. 

However, sometimes it is just not worth ordering a part from halfway around the world if it's just a sheet of clear plastic or a rubber grommet, which is much like so many others. We try to do what's best for the customer.

Question: "Can I fix this leak myself?"

Answer: You can, but keep in mind we have created a whole service around this, largely because it's work that other professionals really don't like doing. In fact, most of them hate it. It can frustrate the best of us. On the other hand, your local dealership or mechanic is trying to make a living and time is money. You can spend as much time as it takes tracking down your leaks and not worry about running up a bill. Sometimes a fix is actually very simple and easy, it's finding it which is the hard part, so you could find and repair the leak yourself and then bring the car to us for the bit that everybody struggles with... drying the car. 

Question: "My local garage doesn't seem to be too enthusiastic about helping me with my leak". Is this a bad sign?" 

Answer: It is not a favourite job of local mechanics. We often find the ones in our area refer them to us. It's all about diagnosing the problem(s) and you don't always get it right first time, in fact, typically you don't, which can mean angry customers shouting at you when you are trying to do your best. When you add to this that they generally aren't set up to dry cars, many of them would rather be doing something else.  

Question: "If I use a car cover and get the car dried out, can I bring it to you in the summer?"

Answer: You could do, but we strongly advise against this. The car will be very unlikely to dry on its own. You really need to get those carpets lifted, suck out the water and dry the car with blowers and dehumidifiers. Otherwise, the car will remain wet.

You are probably already experiencing condensation and a damp smell. Putting a car cover over it will just increase the condensation and warmth while making the car nice and dark. You will be creating a mould farm.

So stay away from car covers, but by all means, keep the car garaged and make serious attempts to dry the car if you can. 

For the record, we are not fans of car covers. We sometimes use light, breathable ones, inside our workshop, but even these can cause problems. Heavy car covers used outside have a whole host of problems and are generally more trouble than they are worth.

Question: "Can you guarantee to make my car waterproof?"

Answer: No, we cannot. It isn't supposed to be waterproof like a submarine. In fact, it has lots of holes in it so that it can breathe, so that air can get in and circulate. There are holes where wires pass through bulkheads, there are holes that seemingly have no purpose, where wires would pass through if your car was a different model or left-hand drive. There are holes for access to parts that supposed to be serviced. There may be holes where there shouldn't be holes because some urchin fitted parking sensors or upgraded the speakers without regard to the consequences.

There are literally hundreds of places water could get into your car, but usually, it doesn't. But you might find you park on a slope, or drive along at a certain speed, and suddenly water which is usually channelled away from points of ingress suddenly doesn't.

We can diagnose and fix these problems when they appear, but we can't do is go around your car blocking up every conceivable point of ingress.

Question: "I have already fixed the leak in my car, it was just a blocked pipe, but my car is wet and won't dry. Can you dry my car?"

Answer: Yes. We are happy to just do the drying part. 

Question: "My car smells damp, the smell is getting very strong. But I don't have wet carpets, and I can find no sign of a leak. Where is the smell coming from?"

Answer: It's probably under the carpet. There is often foam padding under there which can be up to five inches deep, so if you have a slow leak, the water could have been collecting there for a long time but hasn't yet saturated the foam and raised to the level of the carpet.

There is a slight possibility that something got spilt, or your air conditioning unit is leaking, but these generally lead to a different kind of smell. The best thing to do is pull the carpets up and find out what's going on underneath, then we can determine if it's a rain water leak or something else. 

Question: "I drove through a ford when the water was too high and flooded my car. Can you help?"

Answer: Yes, we have done many of these over the years, usually through insurance companies. Give us a call, and we can talk about it. 

Question: "My carpets are wet, but it feels soapy and there is a sweet sticky smell."

Answer: That sounds like it might be a coolant leak. You should take that to your local garage, as they should be able to track down where it's coming from. Unfortunately, coolant is designed not to evaporate, so drying out your car will be harder, and it's likely it will need to be washed out. You could always give us a call.  

Question: "Can you guarantee that you will find and fix my leak?"

Answer: No, we really can't. We wish we could, but cars are complicated things with hundreds of places where water can get in. If you buy our services, we will guarantee that we will find at least one leak, we may even find multiple leaks, we can't guarantee that we will find them all on the first try or that your car won't develop more leaks in the future. This is a diagnostic process, and sometimes it takes longer than the three or so hours which we spend on your car during our inspection. Sometimes you have to fix the leaks you know about before you can find others. It is a bit like trying to find a hole in a submarine that has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. You might be able to see the big hole in the side of the hull, but until that is patched up, and you have the sub in dry dock, you aren't going to know about the leaky hatches.

It is I'm afraid very common that when a car gets to a certain age, problems which cause one leak in one place cause leaks in other places too. For example, rubber grommets and seals begin to leak, these are not expensive to replace or refurbish, but sometimes they are not obvious or even missing. So we just have to go through a process of elimination.

Question: "Do you replace leaking screens?"

Answer: We don't, but we know somebody who does. If you have had a screen fitted which leaks, you may have recourse with them, likewise if you bought a new car from a dealer, you may be able to take it back and get them to correct it. Otherwise, it can be refitted. It might not be as expensive as you think as you probably won't need to buy a new screen, you are just paying for the refitting. The question is, is it really the screen that was leaking? We don't know until we take it out. If you suspect you have a leaking screen, you may want to call us for a chat.