Yesterday I took my wife to the local hospital in pouring rain, and parked up in the car park.

Her appointment was for 4 pm but we didn't get to leave until nearly 6 pm.

While we there there was a huge downpour with howling wind which we could even hear inside the building.

When we finally got back to the car my wife asked why the passenger window was open - it was all the way down.

I must have accidentally pressed the passenger window switch on the driver's door when I was getting out. When you lock the driver's door (no remote locking), the front windows wind back up if they are open - but only if you hold the key in the lock position for a couple of seconds, which I obviously had not done.

The dashboard was completely covered in rainwater, the oddments trays and other hollows on the centre console were full to overflowing, and there was a huge amount of water on the seats and the floor. I was amazed that everything electric seemed to work, and drove back with my a*se on the soaking wet seat, still in really heavy rain.

Today, thank the Lord, it was sunny, if quite cold (for here, about 16º), so parked the car in the driveway and mopped the seats and floor as best we could with kitchen paper, and let the sun and breeze into the car for as long as it lasted.

The carpet, apart from the removable mats in the front, does not come out easily, and I don't fancy removing it as it probably won't go back nicely. There is every possible thing, including the front seats, fixed over it, but it is just starting to feel a bit less damp on the surface.

So I'm wondering - what is under ithe carpet? Is there any chance it will dry out underneath at this time of year without taking it all up? And if it doesn't how long will it take to rust through the floor?

I'm toying with the idea of driving over to Morocco to dry it out in the Sahara.