How to Clean Up Flooded Cars and Trucks

A car that is flooded is sometimes not able to be salvaged. However, if everything is sound under the hood, then you can take the car back on the road. Before doing so, you'll need to make sure that the car is clean and free of water damage.

Items you'll need:

• Wet vacuum


• Towels


• Carpet cleaning powder

1. Open all of the doors and allow any standing water to run out of the car. The quicker that you can do this, the better. The longer the water sits in the car, the harder the process will be.


2. Remove all floor mats and any other items that were on the floor of the car. Lay these out in the sun so that they can dry. Most likely, you will not be able to recover your floor mats and you will need to purchase new ones.


3. Take the wet vacuum and methodically clean the carpets and upholstery. You will need the car to be as dry as possible. Take your time; if you miss spots, they will stain and smell later on.


4. Open the car windows and allow the car to air dry for several days. This will help get rid of any moisture that the vacuum could not get rid of.


5. Sprinkle carpet cleaning powder on the floor and allow it to sit for the time specified on the package. Then, vacuum the powder up. This will help clean the carpet and also give the car a much better smell.