Salt seeping up through floor

All I know is I did this to my 4Runner and it still has a tobacco/sheep asscrack smell. Hit the insides of the rocker panel drain holes. And that was in fall Maryland weather that hit like 85 tops.

 

I'll have to give it a sniff, if it's bad I will use 3m rust foghter-i on the inside. It's like a liquid wax like stuff.

 

Just for shits and giggles, would you mind giving it a lick and letting us know for sure?

 

If I lick the carpet my wife will be really jelleous...

 

So I did figure this one out this winter. I figured it out a few months ago, but I am finally getting around to reporting my findings.

The salt is coming from my floor mats. I have a very steep driveway, so my truck is always parked going up hill. In the winter the snow that melts off my boots pools up in the floor mat, then when I park on the driveway all that water flows to the back edge of the mat and just overflows over the edge in one spot, then goes down the carpet onto the floor boards. I now keep a towel rolled up and placed right at the back of the floor mat (near the anchors) to soak up any water that is there before it builds up enough to spill over.

Its super annoying to have to keep a towel rolled up there, but I guess its what I have to do till I can design either a full floor vinyl cover or get taller floor mats.

 

I had a similar issue, but about 10x more salt. I bought weathertech mats for this past winter.

 

Salt creep is pretty much impossible to stop if you live in a area that salts roads a bunch. Just rub it off and then clean it off. Saltwater hobbyist for many years.

 

I think mine was so little because I remove my floor mats every week and wash them in the shower (winter time only) Summer I spray them out every month.