Stopping damp / absorb moisture

[harley_Husky]

Firstly i'd like to wish you all a very merry and healthy christmas my dear fellow Ab'ers.

Now to my question.

I've an American car which i unfortunately only get to drive a couple of times a year ( i work 7 days a week .... ) and have noticed that the inside of the car is quite full of moisture - on the inside of the screen etc as the car lives on the drive.

Is there anything i can put in the car to absorb some of that moisture ??

I was thinking along the lines of maybe a loaf of bread, for a couple of days etc. Can't really go to the expense of a de-humidifier etc and would prefer something 'natural' if poss.

Many thanks all and best wishes.
Eddie

[Lil O'lady]

Harley, if you think about this logically there are three steps to take: first, mop up and dry inside with dry rags, and if any water is soaked into carpets etc vacuum it up with a wet n dry vac. Secondly, establish where the water is getting in from - leaky window seals? hole in the floor? As long as this fault persists it will be wet inside the car. Lastly, when storing the car unused, keep it insulated and dry - eg snuggle it in an old duvet and cover that in waterproof tarp, if you don't have a carport or garage.
Course, the ideal is a heated garage. Which simply means a dry garage with a low-watt bulb left burning or a little oil-filled radiator on in wiinter, doesn't have to be fancy.
But I think if you leave a loaf in there you'll get a lot of mould and pong.

[chrisrob]

Use silica gel? When the sachets get damp, they may be 'recharged' by putting in a hot oven for a couple of hours.

[harley_Husky]

Hi there you two and thanks for the ideas.

One of my 'T' tops has a tiny leak ( one or two small drips on the passenger seat ) so i see your point totally. I've actually just been on the drive firing up the beasty..... Ah the sweet song of the V8 ..... ( looks longingly at the sky for the dizzy summer months .... and realises that i'd still be on-call for work HMMM ! ) and put the AC on.

Covering up would be a great idea which i shall have a look into via the car magazines, but short term the SILICA GEL sounds interesting.

Do you think i could buy maybe a pot of the stuff ...??

Thanks again peeps.
Eddie

[chrisrob]

You can get some here:
http://www.thepackagingstore.co.uk/products.as p?subcatid=325&gclid=CPuxmqPizJcCFUog3godDkGVn Q (expensive) or here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SILICA-GEL-DESICCANT-600 g-BAGS-moisture-remover_W0QQitemZ350142121655Q QcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Packaging_Materials?hash= item350142121655&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparm s=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318 (quite a bit cheaper).

[harley_Husky]

Nice one.
Thanks friend - I'll invest.


Much regards
Eddie

[theprof]

EDDIE51 is right - silica gel is a non-starter for this type of application.

In laboratory situations there a loads of things that act as dessicants, which is what you want. These including such things as anhydrous calcium chloride and molecular sieves.

However, I've got a mad idea that might be worth a try. The non-clumping varieties of cat litter are made from a mineral called zeolite. Zeolite can absorb large amounts of water from the air in a fairly short time. Before use though, you'd have to make sure that the car was as dry as possible inside first and you might have to renew the cat litter fairly often. If it's pure zeolite, you could probably dry it in a low oven and re-use it. If the cat litter doesn't seem to absorb the water, it's not made of zeolite.

[weeal]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burdens-Moisture-Absor ber/dp/B000W4BFA8

These ^ moisture boxes with absoring crystals are good for small spaces like a car, they do collect quite a lot of moisture then you empty the box out and put in new crystals. You can get them in loads of places - Lakeland sell them and hardware shops.

[theprof]

i've just remembered that we've used desiccants from a company called Cole Parmer in the past. Here's a typical page on their website ( the stuff is not cheap) but other desiccants are available too on the website:

http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/Catalog/product_vi ew.asp?sku=2445000

[harley_Husky]

Bless you all. Kitty litter sounds like a great cheap idea.
The car is fairly new ( 1998 ) but unfortunately i do it no favours by only doing around 50 miles a year.

This all should spur me on to build that garage !!!


Merry Christmas Everybody & a healthy happy new year. !
Eddie

[terambulan]

Store boxed washing powder - will absorb damp, smell nice and can still be used in w.machine.

[Blackthorn]

The item Weall refers to can be found in Pound shops and is a convenient size for the car, I got one for the same problem and it lasted about 12 weeks. You cannot refill this one however, you just bin it and get another one.