Questionable Use Case #1: Ramen Noodles as Desiccant &... Ant Attractor?
There might be a reason we've always done it that way. Or not done it that way. E.g. using pasta to dry out your rain-soaked car.
Here on the Gulf Coast of Florida we’ve had a lot of rain over the last few months, i.e. two hurricanes (Helene and Milton), plus a lesser-known local downpour that dumped a massive amount of water on my house, yard, and vehicles.
After this mini-storm hit, it was evident that my beloved* TL was less-than-waterproof, and that the floor and carpet were absolutely soaked. This also set off a chain reaction of electrical and other issues, resulting in two battery changes, plus an alternator swap in the parking lot of AutoZone. Things appear to be stabilized as of now, but during this time I thought that the TL was finally beyond the point of economic repair since the electronics were (probably) fried and the sunroof wasn’t properly sealing.
I’ll get to the solution (and ant incursion) shortly, but let’s go through my troubleshooting steps to fix the TL. Each step is labeled as 1, 2, or 3 as correcting a primary, secondary, or tertiary problem. Some solutions were more effective than others.
Towel and shop vac carpet (2)
Vinegar to correct mold (3)
Vasoline on sunroof seal (1)
Clean sunroof drain holes (1)
Ramen Noodles–keep reading (2)
Replace Battery (3)
Replace Battery (3)
Charge Battery (3)
Alternator Replacement (2)
Fuse Check (3)
A bit of an argument about wasting money fixing the A/C when the car was apparently on its last legs (2)
After much wringing of hands, rectifying the root of this problem was actually quite simple. The sunroof has a pair of drain holes that can and did get clogged. If that happens, and there’s a lot of rain, any excess water that gets past the seals goes into the interior of your car.
Broadly speaking, I assumed there was a large and more complicated issue at play before considering the simple fix. We’re all familiar with the device that is broken because… it’s not plugged in. While that particular situation may elicit a knowing chuckle, don’t assume there’s not an equivalently simple solution to your challenge.
New Batteries, New Alternator
Durning this month-or-so of troubleshooting, I replaced the battery. Which died. I then bought a charger, which really killed the battery. I finally replaced the battery (again) and alternator–in an Auto Zone parking lot–after barely making it there with multiple warning lights on. This seems to have fixed the electrical issue, which apparently was caused by water intrusion–a second-order effect of a simple blocked drain plug.
A lot of vacuuming dried out the carpet somewhat, but there was still some moisture in the car…
And Then There Were Ants
Since ramen noodles soak up a copious amount of water when microwaved, it would follow that–like salt, rice, or even those little desiccant packs that say “do not eat”–one could use this pasta as a good, economical water absorber.
What I didn’t consider is that ants love ramen noodles–unlike the THROW AWAY DO NOT EAT packs generally used for moisture absorption. Many of these little hormigas entered my car in the following week. Many of them died in the ensuing conflict. Not a great bargain, especially since they bothered passengers while driving.
We’ve Always Done it That Way
Often you’ll here the adage “that’s how we’ve always done it” in certain scenarios, such as how widget X gets put together with screwdriver Y on a manufacturing line. And often you’re correct to question that wisdom.
However, if you’re going to make changes, especially when you want to try something unconventional, consider that there might have been a non-obvious reason it’s always been done that way. You never know what kind of tribal knowledge (e.g. lack of ant attraction) is contained in simple everyday habits.
Conversely, if something seems more difficult than it should be, perhaps there’s some hidden-in-plain-sight trick or procedure that you just don’t know about. Cleaning that–literal or proverbial–drain hole before water entry could make your life much easier!
*Or at least be-liked-enough to not buy something new for the relatively infrequent times that I drive it.
**Per this YouTube video, after my neighbor Bob mentioned something about a drain plug and how a video helped him fix his water-in-door problem