What to do after your car wades through water
After wading through water, the first thing the car owner needs to do is open the hood to check if there is any trash, plastic bags, or leaves floating into the engine compartment.
The reason is that the engine compartment is often not sealed at the bottom, so wading in water can cause debris to get stuck in this position. Therefore, it is necessary to remove debris to prevent rats from damaging the engine compartment and to prevent fire and explosion.
Check engine and engine compartment
The engine is the heart of the car, so make sure it is healthy before starting again. Open the hood and observe, if there is a lot of water in the air filter, engine or oil tank, there is a high risk that the car has water in the engine.
To make sure your car's engine is in good working order, test it by starting it in place and looking for any sudden acceleration or loss of power or strange noises. If you notice anything unusual, check the dipstick for water in the engine oil.
If you observe the dipstick and see that the engine oil color is similar to coffee with milk, the engine oil is contaminated with water. In this case, you need to change the oil, new filter, open the spark plug and start the car to push all the water inside out, then use the air nozzle to blow dry, reinstall and start the car to force the water inside the engine out.
In addition to engine oil, drivers need to check other fluids such as brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, and check if the air filter is wet.
Check the brakes
When driving through flooded areas, the brake discs can get wet and cause the brakes to stick if the car is parked overnight and the handbrake is pulled. To prevent this, the car owner can find a dry place such as a garage and continuously brake while moving to let the brakes dry before parking. This will dry the brakes to prevent brake lock.
The electrical system also needs to be checked carefully. Water can seriously damage the electrical and electronic systems in the car, causing chain damage. When soaked in water, the electrical system can short circuit, rust the joints or affect the signals, buttons, controllers of equipment such as car lights, entertainment system, electric seats, speakers, etc.
Check components such as fuses, control boxes, and vehicle lighting systems for damage. If there is a problem, disconnect the battery and call for help immediately.
Interior Check
After removing the car from the flooded area, check the interior because if water gets into the interior, it will cause rapid destruction. Soft parts of the car such as the carpet and seat cushions are always the components that are heavily affected, because they absorb and retain water very strongly.
Therefore, the next thing to do is to clean the carpets, seats and leather and fabric areas inside the car because these are places that are prone to mold and unpleasant odors if soaked in water and not dried. Therefore, you need to use a clean dry cloth to clean. After cleaning the interior, you should open the windows slightly to create ventilation and dry quickly. You should switch to using rubber mats during the rainy season to avoid mold.
Finally, don’t forget to check the spare tire area. If you see water, dry it immediately. If water is left in this area for a long time, the metal parts of the spare tire and other tools will rust and be damaged.
