Clogged drains don't only occur at home...they can occur in your car too.  We originally published this article about a year ago, but based on the ever-growing crop of damaged vehicles we are seeing here...it's time to print it again.

Every vehicle made has drains built into them, which allows water to run off, down or through the body or chassis. When these drains become clogged the water from rain or even just washing your car will slowly begin to fill the drain tubes and eventually spill over into sensitive areas of the vehicle including the interior. Over time, the water will pool in low spots of the chassis or body of your vehicle and begin to damage electronics and even cause rust from the inside out. Most of the vehicles made in the last ten to twenty years have a majority of their computer controls, relays, and other electronics mounted under the interior carpet. Most of those electronics are under the front seats, which is usually the lowest point of the interior and the spot where water will begin to collect first. When these electronics are damaged by water, the car is usually totaled by most insurance companies. Regulations with most insurance companies dictate that any water damage to major electronic components will result in declaring the affected vehicle a "total loss". This is because once water has entered the electronics, the vehicle will continue to experience electrical failures even if the component was thoroughly dried out. While this may sound like a rare thing to occur, it is actually quite common. In fact, in the last couple months alone we have had over 20 vehicles that were brought to our shops be declared total losses.  All these losses were due to water damage to expensive electronics from clogged drains. You read that right, clogged drains caused more than 20 vehicles to be declared "total losses". Even if your electronics aren't damaged, damage may still occur to your carpet resulting in mold and mildew that can never be fully eradicated. Most of today's vehicles have heavy duty carpeting with thick jute backing attached to the carpet. Water absorbs into the carpet and the backing and soon after, mold begins to grow. We have tried every possible remedy like removing the carpet to allow it to dry or using a multitude of chemicals on the carpet, but nothing ever totally removes the odor nor the potentially harmful mold.