a/c drain hose

[treed2 at wsu.edu (T. Reed)]

Alright, just when you thought you'd seen the end of my a/c related posts, 
here's another:

I've had a little bit of a funky smell at times (no, it's not me) in the 
interior since getting the a/c working. Since it hasn't been raining, this 
must be the result of condensation forming on the evaporator and dripping 
in to the heater box.

I know there's a little drain hose on the passenger side under a cover, so 
I took the cover off today and sure enough.. it's plugged with leaves and 
crap. I was unable to get it unclogged, but that concern was preempted 
when I noticed that the hose is actually ripped at the base where it 
enters the floorpan. It looks like the water has actually been running 
down the hose and in to the floorpan, where it gets soaked up by that 
belly button lint blanket thing under the carpet and produces funk.

What is it with Sciroccos and water collecting in the floorpans!?! I 
thought I was through with that when I sealed up the windshield leak a 
couple years ago.

It looks like I could replace it with a pretty standard rubber hose from 
the auto parts store.. but I'm wondering after feeling around if it's even 
replacable.. or if VW just perma-glued it to the chassis? Anybody know?

In that case I might have to run a smaller diameter hose through the 
existing one, then have some kind of an size adapter where it hooks to the 
heater box. Hmm..

Before anybody says RTV, I think the rips are too bad to repair. The tear 
goes almost 180 degrees around the hose and the rubber around it feels 
rotten. Plus it's under all that carpet and padding.. which I don't really 
feel like removing.

Oh yeah, and got any tips for clearing debris out of the tube? My fish 
tape did nothing except bottom out on the soft, springy crud inside.

-Toby