Spilled powerade all over the rear seat.

[paulnotpaul]

Took a road trip yesterday with some friends, and one of them spilled a good amount of powerade on the rear seat. If i put my hand through the seat crack and feel the back of it, it's still soaked a day after. Looked into taking the seat coushin off but the thing looks super complicated to take off with all the hinges it's got. Seats are the cloth ones.

Besides stuffing the back with paper towels to suck up the liquid, has anyone gone through this? I'm hoping that it dries and I don't have to worry about it!

 

[CX5_Pete]

Get some clean damp microfiber towels with a bucket of water, dab and rinse the towel in the bucket until the water is clear. Then dry. Finish off with some baking soda to absorb any stink then wipe off and vacuum. I haven't tried it yet, but if the rear seats are easy to remove I would do it with the seats out to make sure I get a thorough cleaning. This is the method I use to clean vomit. If it's good for vomit, I am sure it's good for Powerade. Good luck.

 

[paulnotpaul]

Thanks!

It looks like a bit of a b**** to remove the bottom seat cushions: http://am.mazdaserviceinfo.com/mazdaesi/index?page=detail_pagelet&id=SM331341&actionPrint=print

Looks like i'd have to take apart the whole rear assembly with hinges and all kinds of crap to get them off.

EDIT: Actually found another guide on how to remove just the seat cushions. Might not be that big of a b**** after all, just 4 bolts. http://am.mazdaserviceinfo.com/mazdaesi/index?page=detail_pagelet&id=SM194507&actionPrint=print

Problem is that I don't think the foam in the cushions will dry off any time soon and stay damp for a long while unless i take em out and dry them.

 

[BambooBen]

One night last week I got woken up by a major thunderstorm rolling through. The next morning I walked out to the Mazda and realized I had left the sunroof open all night. I have leather seats but everything was still pretty soaked. First good news is I have the maxi-spider floor mats, so all that water just got poured out. Then I took a box fan with an extension cord and put it on high with all the doors and truck and sunroof open and left the car in a sunny spot (in my apartment complex even). It helped that it was a breezy day. But within 2 hours it was mostly dry with just a few damp feeling spots. I kept moving the fan around to concentrate on certain areas for about 2 more hours and it was dry.

Just for backup I put a damp rid hanger in the car:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
You can get those from most any grocery store or lowes or home depot, and they are awesome. I use them all over the house too, like one above the litter box to dry it out and keep smell adsorbed.

It didn't suck up any moisture after a couple days so I'm good. Give it a try....................

 

[Ride92]

I haven't looked but the rear seats can't be that complicated to remove. It might look like a daunting task at first but I suspect a few bolts removed from the hinges and the whole rear seat would come out. It's a shame the rear seats don't flip up and out of the way. I think your best bet is to try to remove the seats, and use an extractor or something like a little green carper cleaner, at least a wet dry vac to try to suck up as much of the gunk as possible. Those sugars in the powerade will not be good to sit for very long. Try something like Meguairs APC D101 to spray and use a stiff brush to release the dirt. then vacuum up. If you don't have a vac or extractor, use a lot of towels to soak up the mess and use the APC to clean then blot dry.

 

[freys]

Piece of cake to take it out. 4 bolts 14mm lifts right out.

 

[Buddywh2]

....

Problem is that I don't think the foam in the cushions will dry off any time soon and stay damp for a long while unless i take em out and dry them.

I thought the seat cushion foam was mostly, if not all, closed-cell foam meaning it won't absorb liquid? That being the case, only the upholstery cover and padding behind it absorbed liquid. I'd get hold of an upholstery or spot carpet cleaner, the kind that power sprays in a hot water/cleanser and then vacuums it right back out, e.g., Bissel's 'Little Green Machine'. Use a quality upholstery/carpet detergent made for this application (spot check it first, following label instructions). If was good and truely soused as you say you probably should process it twice, once with plain hot water. The plain water would be second if the power-aide had a chance to dry out first.

To dry out: open car doors and aim a fan across the wet spots. The detergent will have provided the necessary ingredients to prevent a mildew (and it's odor) from developing.

 

[CX-5um]

Any confirmation if the electrolytes seeped into the gas tank and if so any increase in mpgs?