Air movement in the garage

[UTH]

Is there any logic behind this idea, or a total waste of time?

Since my Evo 6 is currently parked up in a bubble and has been for a long time due to extensive rust, awaiting the funds to restore, I'm now very paranoid about my other cars rusting.

Parking up after a drive in the rain in my garage, I'm aware that the car (Focus RS Mk2) will be sitting in very still air, so the drying process is going to be rather slow, so of course I'm worried it'll be starting to rust!

Would there be any point in having a small fan pointing underneath the car to get some air moving around? Or will that do absolutely nothing. Not a heater of course, just something creative some movement?

[Master Of Puppets]

Won't do it any harm to try, but the more worrying thing would be parking it up after driving on salted roads, no amount of air
movement will prevent the corrosion from that stuff.

[braddo]

It will absolutely help. Think about how clothes dry so much better outdoors than in (when it's not freezing!)

[911Spanker]

I'm never sure that parking a car when it's wet/in winter directly in a garage is a good idea unless it is properly ventilated/heated.

[AlexIT]

UTH said:

Is there any logic behind this idea, or a total waste of time?

Since my Evo 6 is currently parked up in a bubble and has been for a long time due to extensive rust, awaiting the funds to restore, I'm now very paranoid about my other cars rusting.

Parking up after a drive in the rain in my garage, I'm aware that the car (Focus RS Mk2) will be sitting in very still air, so the drying process is going to be rather slow, so of course I'm worried it'll be starting to rust!

Would there be any point in having a small fan pointing underneath the car to get some air moving around? Or will that do absolutely nothing. Not a heater of course, just something creative some movement?

I would install something like that:
https://steinberg14.co.uk/products/steinberg14-160...

Ideally you should place a grille on the opposite side of the garage.
This would help you also keeping other stuff in the garage free of moisture

[UTH]

Master Of Puppets said:

Won't do it any harm to try, but the more worrying thing would be parking it up after driving on salted roads, no amount of air
movement will prevent the corrosion from that stuff.

Yeah the thought of salted roads makes me shudder.
I'd guess that the vast majority of car owners don't actually do anything about washing the underside of their car after driving on salted roads though, so I'm hoping it's not a guarantee the car will fall apart because of this? And luckily we do have a VW T-Cross as the family wagon, so on the whole I should be able to avoid the Focus being subjected to much salt.....

[Keypad]

What else is in the garage?
If it's otherwise empty, could you not just leave the door open?

[UTH]

AlexIT said:

I would install something like that:
https://steinberg14.co.uk/products/steinberg14-160...

Ideally you should place a grille on the opposite side of the garage.
This would help you also keeping other stuff in the garage free of moisture

Being a bit dumb, where would that fan actually go? Under the car?

[UTH]

Keypad said:

What else is in the garage?
If it's otherwise empty, could you not just leave the door open?

Two cars in there, but a door straight into the house with general public walking past all day every day, so not really an appealing option.

[Haltamer]

Some kind of fan dehumidifier for the whole garage might be a good bet if it's otherwise relatively well sealed from moisture?

One with a timer, i.e. slap the "on for 6 hours" button as you walk indoors?

Most portable AC units can run in a dehumidifier mode if you set them up with the exhaust hose disconnected, which would get the air moving around, dried out, and keep it turning over until next summer too

As for other prevention measures,
I highly recommend ACF50 (Very popular with bikers) / Corrosion Block, the slightly thicker formula.

I usually try to get around the full engine bay, and suspension areas / underbody each year - It's made for hosing into jet engines, so just warm up and spray liberally - it'll burn off anywhere it doesn't need to be and keeps things like hose clamps / buried bolts etc. in a much better condition than they would otherwise be.

Similarly, on the underbody / Arches, I can't remember the last time I had to deal with stuck bolts when working on any of my own cars - They all look nice and tidy compared to some of the others too, despite driving around on salted roads.

It's not as robust as a full dinitrol-style coating I'm sure, but given it works with just a rinse-clean and spray-on and is thin / "Penetrating" fluid, it's easy enough to top up if you feel it is needed.

And last one - Pressure washer underbody sprayer attachments are pretty useful and can be had quite cheaply.

[Lostsole]

Lanogaurd or some type of under seal protection.

[Baldchap]

Something like this is the best long term solution to the garage moisture levels.

Obviously scale up or down to reflect your garage size.

https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/p/ecor-pro-d...

[UTH]

Haltamer said:

stuff

Dehumidifier could be a good shout, because yes I think the garage is fairly well sealed - at least for a place built in the 60s. Although now that I've said that, other people might take one look and tell me it's not well sealed at all, what am I worrying about.

In terms of corrosion spray, given it's a Focus RS that might have some value, would spraying a load of that all over the place have an effect on value?

And good shout on the pressure washer attachments, I might have a think about one of those for the odd occasion I do have to drive it on the salty roads.....

[UTH]

Baldchap said:

Something like this is the best long term solution to the garage moisture levels.

Obviously scale up or down to reflect your garage size.

https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/p/ecor-pro-d...

Hmmmm, yes, that's quite the step up from the cheap and cheerful fan I already own that I was just going to let blow some air under the car.....

[Haltamer]

UTH said:

In terms of corrosion spray, given it's a Focus RS that might have some value, would spraying a load of that all over the place have an effect on value?

It goes on totally clear, so once it's all on there's a tiny smidge of oily residue - It doesn't "set" or leave any visible trace really in my experience.

Wouldn't expect it to do anything to value either way, except keep it less crusty - so probably good things?

[UTH]

Haltamer said:

UTH said:

In terms of corrosion spray, given it's a Focus RS that might have some value, would spraying a load of that all over the place have an effect on value?

It goes on totally clear, so once it's all on there's a tiny smidge of oily residue - It doesn't "set" or leave any visible trace really in my experience.

Wouldn't expect it to do anything to value either way, except keep it less crusty - so probably good things?

Gothca, I was picturing nasty black or silver goo that I tried putting on my Evo many years ago.

[Baldchap]

UTH said:

Baldchap said:

Something like this is the best long term solution to the garage moisture levels.

Obviously scale up or down to reflect your garage size.

https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/p/ecor-pro-d...

Hmmmm, yes, that's quite the step up from the cheap and cheerful fan I already own that I was just going to let blow some air under the car.....

A fan doesn't reduce the moisture content in the garage, unfortunately.

[AlexIT]

UTH said:

AlexIT said:

I would install something like that:
https://steinberg14.co.uk/products/steinberg14-160...

Ideally you should place a grille on the opposite side of the garage.
This would help you also keeping other stuff in the garage free of moisture

Being a bit dumb, where would that fan actually go? Under the car?

Through the wall venting to the outside.

[UTH]

Baldchap said:

UTH said:

Baldchap said:

Something like this is the best long term solution to the garage moisture levels.

Obviously scale up or down to reflect your garage size.

https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/p/ecor-pro-d...

Hmmmm, yes, that's quite the step up from the cheap and cheerful fan I already own that I was just going to let blow some air under the car.....

A fan doesn't reduce the moisture content in the garage, unfortunately.

Good point. I guess I was hoping it was a case of "well, it's better than nothing...."

[UTH]

AlexIT said:

UTH said:

AlexIT said:

I would install something like that:
https://steinberg14.co.uk/products/steinberg14-160...

Ideally you should place a grille on the opposite side of the garage.
This would help you also keeping other stuff in the garage free of moisture

Being a bit dumb, where would that fan actually go? Under the car?

Through the wall venting to the outside.

Ahhh ok, I'm with you. That might be beyond me, so will maybe look into getting that done by a pro.