Driving in water

A note to the wise.  If you must drive in water please remember:

The faster you go the more water is splashed up into the engine compartment and could be ingested into the engine and ruin it.  Then you will stall.  If the water is rushing across the road you will no longer be going forward and could be swept off the road.

Even just a large puddle on the road can damage your vehicle.  If you must go through water go as slowly as you can to avoid splashing it into the engine compartment.

I grew up in South Dakota.  In the spring thaw when the snow melted off the fields it would rush across the road maybe just 2 to 3 inches deep.  We never tried to go across.  Ever.

Once your vehicle gets swept off the road into the ditch flooded with water, it is junk, and you yourself are in a serious emergency situation of saving your life and those with you.  Stay away from the water at all cost.

Even if your engine does not stall and no damage is done to the mechanical workings of your car, water can still get into the interior and you may not notice it for several days.  Then it is too late.  The mold that will grow most likely will total your car.  You will not be able to get within 10 feet of it without getting a headache.  I have cleaned out mold from flood cars and it can take days of work and in the end I wonder if it is worth the effort.  Or the headache.

Where does the mold come from?  From all the spills, trash, and junk that has collected over the years and was not completely cleaned up.  Even a well kept car will grow mold.  No one can completely clean up spills that find their way into crooks and cranny where no vacuum cleaner can go.

So far, over 90 percent of flood cars that have been brought to me this week and last are totaled.  And that is an insurance industry standard.  One of the shops in the area is reporting 1 out of 1 flood cars towed to them have been totaled.

Stay out of the water.