Cleaning mud out of the inside (the actual INSIDE inside) of car doors

[Xiaoxiong]

As in, the cavity within the door itself, not just the interior of the car.

We have an old Vauxhall Astra estate we only use for a few very specific things, almost all on muddy, potholed dirt tracks.

I noticed the other day the passenger door was making a sloshing noise when braking - I parked on a slope, found the door drains (there are 2 per door) and they were completely clogged with mud. After about half a lake poured out of the door and down the hill, I realised there is quite a lot of mud inside the door cavity itself, and on inspection, inside the other doors too.

Is there any sensible way to clean the doors out? Otherwise I fear the drains will just clog straight up again with the mud already inside the doors.

Can I run water from a hose in one drain and out the other on a slope, or is this a terrible idea with the electrics inside the door?

Hopeful bump as I have spent the last few days watching car cleaning videos...but none of them seem to have mud inside the doors!

I didn't even know anything could get inside car doors 🤯 I'd do what you suggest. Electrics aren't going to fare well with a muddy puddle permanently inside the door so I don't see you've got much to lose.

Yes,water does regularly get in. Normal. They get blocked by mud or dirt. You should dismantle the door to clean out the cavity . Cloth and vacuum. There must be lots of Youtube about this. The first one I happened on is on 4DIYers and is titled "How to protect your vehicle's doors from rust and rot". This shows you how to get the inside panel off and how to clean out the cavity. Ideally,we would all be checking drainage holes fairly often. We don't because we don't know they exist.

PS It seems this is really common with Astras. If you Google Vauxhall Astra door drainage,there are lots of entries from people with this problem. You might find a video showing how to get your interior door panel off.

Forgot to say...if you park your car on a slope it can stop it fully draining . Best to park on flat after being out in wet conditions.