Floor mat shampooing, process, pics and a few questions

M

metload1

New member
Hey,



It's really cold where I live (Midwest) and I've been dying to detail my car, but I can't... So I figured I'd take in my driver's side floor mat and clean it up a bit, in the house where it's warm. I used Woolite and my 5 HP 12 gallon shop vac to do the job. Unfortunately they didn't get as clean as I wanted them to get, and what made things worse is that the pictures don't show the difference that well. They're cleaner than they look, but still not that great. Check out the pics and I have a few questions at the end.



Process:



-Woolite, spray, rub around and let it sit.

-Rinse it off in the wash basin until I saw an improvement

-Extract with the shop vac

-Repeat (did it 3 times, the first time I didn't rinse in the wash basin though, I just got it wet with a sponge)



BeforeandAfter.jpg




BeforeandAfter2.jpg






Here's the shop vac water... yuck



IM000419.jpg




IM000418.jpg




Woolite



IM000422.jpg






Note that when I took the after pics of the mats they were still a little wet, maybe that's why the pics don't show the difference real well.



Ok, so I had a few questions...



Should I use a stronger cleaner? Or is that good enough and I just need to go through the process more than 3 times? Carpet cleaning is always something I've avoided so I haven't used many products. Paint, no problem, leather, sweet, carpet shampooing... ugh. If I had a Mytee I'd do it once a month lol. Also, is there any way to get that brown staining where my foot rests when on the gas?



Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. I feel somewhat good with my results as my mats were nasty (as shown above) and have come a long way, but I feel I could do a lot better. These mats are 8 years old (from my 99 Grand Prix) and they have only been shampooed one other time, so they are pretty beat up. They go through winter too, no rubber mats for that, that was a mistake. Another question, is the water in the shop vac so dark because there is carpet dye in there? How careful do I need to be about pulling the dye from my mats? Or is that just dirt and not an issue?



Thanks!
 
Hi. I would spray them generously with a mutli purpose cleaner, let them sit for a couple of minutes, take a stiff scrub brush with HOT water, and scrub them completely. Then power

wash them clean. Take them to a self service car wash if you have to, but rinsing witha power washer will definitly make the job alot easier. If you have a carpet extracter use that to

vacuum the water out of them. If not, use your shop vac. They look bad, so they may not come completely clean. If they don't come clean like you want them to, and I don't think they will, I would carpet dye them. That may be your best bet anyway. And no that is dirt in your vac. I hope that helps. Good luck,and let me know how you made out.

Joe
 
Gee that surprising. I've gotten stains like that out with four star pro upholstery cleaner, a scrub brushing and a pressure rinse and air dry.
 
It depens on what the dirt is, how long it has been sitting.He may get it all out. I would still

redye them just to freshen them up.
 
This is what I do on floor mats:

1*dry brush to break down and loosen up the dirt

2*prosoak and scrub spots

3*presssure wash the heck out of them

4*suck them dry

5*terry cloth towel dry



Your floor mats take most of the abuse in a car. I find that doing mats by hand doesn't get them totally clean. I just grinds the dirt into the fabric. But if you don't have access to a pressure washer, it's your only option.
 
Here is my non-extractor method for cleaning mats and carpeting.

1. Vacuum

2. Go over them with a brush on the PC at a low speed to loosen up embedded dirt.

3. Vacuum again

4. Spray with carpet cleaner or an all purpose cleaner that is safe for carpet.

5. Scrub with brush attachment on PC.

6. Vacuum
 
I use a similar process as DANASE since I don't have a pressure washer.



Vaccuum twice and get as much out as possible. Sometimes hitting them against a steel pole (I used my old basketball hoop - I made sure there no rust etc on it).



Presoak soiled stains with degreaser (I would now use folex since I have it thanks to this site!)



Next I take a half capful of liquid laundry detergeant and sprinkle some on both front mats (soiled spots may get there on spot treatment again) which have already been dampened with a spritz of water.



I spritz lightly to get some suds and scrub with a stiff brush. The most important thing is be sure to rinse thoroughly as there wiull be plenty of suds. I have found that rinsing them with a hose on stream while the mats can hang a bit is the fastest way to rinse them clean. I will also use my brush and brush the suds off.



Hang mats to dry - I use the door in the boiler room which is in the garage. IN the summer, hang them on teh clothes line and they will be dry very quick!
 
Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it.



I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was not using a carpet brush. I couldn't find one so I just used a sponge. I'm probably going to do a run to the store tonight, maybe I can pick one up while I'm there, as well as some Folex. The laundry detergent thing sounds good too, I'll be doing that as well.



Danase - What brush for the PC do you recommend? I saw that there are 4 different types with different bristles.



Thanks!
 
metload1 said:
Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it.



I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was not using a carpet brush. I couldn't find one so I just used a sponge. I'm probably going to do a run to the store tonight, maybe I can pick one up while I'm there, as well as some Folex. The laundry detergent thing sounds good too, I'll be doing that as well.



Danase - What brush for the PC do you recommend? I saw that there are 4 different types with different bristles.



Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have always used this one: Cyclo Soft Shampoo Brush
 
Sweet, thanks!



About how big in diameter is that? It doesn't say on the site. And what PC speed do you usually use?



Thanks again!
 
metload1 said:
Sweet, thanks!



About how big in diameter is that? It doesn't say on the site. And what PC speed do you usually use?



Thanks again!
Click to expand...



It is about 4". The speed varies depending on the type of carpet, thickness of carpet, and how dirty it is. I try to keep it low at about 4 to start. On the interior it is not unusual for me to use speed 6 but some floor mat carpeting doesn't like the higher speed.
 
Sounds good, I'll have to order that soon.



One more thing to add to my detailing list for this summer! lol



Thanks for the info!
 
Danase said:
I have always used this one: Cyclo Soft Shampoo Brush
Click to expand...



I have 2 of these for my cyclo and they work really really well! Just be prepared that if you use my method there will be some flinging suds! If you do these towards the end of a detail, you can even skip the shower! LOL JK, but it does fling suds! The carpets will be as close to new as they will ever get!



Danase is also a great place to do business with. It seem slike he ships your order before you even finish clicking "PAY AND CONTINUE". I have visions of him looking at the PC screen and filling orders as people put them in their "virtual" shopping cart. LOL
 
The brushes should screw into any DA polisher. I would highly recommend them. In addition to the carpet brush i have a soft brush that i use on leather and a hard brush for various things around the house.
 
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