Musty Smell Under Cargo Liner of 4Runner

[Linzandkara]

My car smells musty, and I pulled up my weathertech liner to find that the bottom of the liner was wet along with the the carpet itself. Does anyone know what the cause of this could be? Is the liner trapping moisture over time that slow seeps through the cargo hole or is the moisture unrelated to the liner? Any help is appreciated.

 

[philsey]

Guessing your rear window was not closed all the way at some point...

... or, I suppose it's possible you have a leak at the rack mounting points - have you changed the rack?

How does the ceiling look? ... any stains?

 

[Linzandkara]

I have not changed the mounting racks. I suppose it's possible I left the window open and the resulting water was caught under the weathertech liner, but I have no recollection of ever leaving it open. Do you know the best way to get rid of the smell?

 

[Quatre Coureur]

First make sure its bone-dry. Second, make sure its CLEAN. Lastly, use something like Febreze or Renuzit. If either of those two don't work, try Ozium. Good luck.

 

[philsey]

Never had this problem. Perhaps take it to a detailer?

If I were to DIY, probably I'd scrub the carpet with something that is low suds and smells good. Then I'd wet-vac it real good. Park it with gate open and put a fan on it.

First tho, I'd take it through a car wash a couple times and sit in the way-back to see if something's leaking.