jim21070 2 Posted October 1, 2006 Got back from a blast in the GTi this evening and noticed a puddle in the drivers footwell. Despite the rain I thought it was a bit excessive so had a closer look. It was warm and blue The heater matrix has sprung a leak. I only replaced it two years ago Question is, what detrimental effects is antifreeze in a 40% solution likely to have on the carpets? I've cleaned up as best I can in the dark but wounder if I should give the carpets a good wash in fresh, warm water when I replace the matrix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faz85 0 Posted October 1, 2006 I dont think the effects will be too detrimental, anti-freeze is mainly alcohol based, and is a solvent, so it may affect the colouration of your carpets, if left untreated. Probably give it a good dose of water to dilute it. that should prevent any lasting damage to your carpets i would imagine. hope this helps Faraz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
de Noir 0 Posted October 1, 2006 No. Antifreeze just evaporates without trace but needs much more time for it than water. I had heater matrix leakage too, there was about half an ainch of fluid in each footwell. Just make sure to dry it thoroughly, washing with water wouldn't do harm too. Me, I had to pull the whole carpet out to do it, because it happened in winter, rendering evaporation impossible. Specialist chemical cleaning would Ie IMHO the best thing to do, also fixing the awful smell antifreeze leaves in the carpet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites