mikebai1990
New member
What products would you guys recommend for cleaning and protecting all-season rubber floormats? I was thinking of using Armor All tire foam, but I'm worried that the foam will leave a sticky or oily residue.
Protection for rubber all-season floormats?
- Thread starter mikebai1990
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Kriminal
New member
I'm pretty sure the Armor-All tire foam should do the trick. If it IS a little oily (which I don't think it will be) you can always buff it back to matt with a cloth.
Got any dashboard cleaners ? They could work as well - try it on a small area (maybe underneath) of the mat first
Got any dashboard cleaners ? They could work as well - try it on a small area (maybe underneath) of the mat first
I think AA foam would do a good job too... the only problem with it (my concern) is that it will make the mats slick, which isn't a good attribute for floormats. It's a large reason why I only wash my rubber floormats. Yea, they don't look nice at all anymore, but I don't know what to do to them - it seems any type of dressing product would make them slippery.
Cleaning them... usually APC does the trick, but before that I just used some dishwashing liquid, palmolive to be specific. spray down the mats, pour a bit of liquid on, spread/"scrub" with an old body brush, then spray off again.
I did find that what detergent you use makes a difference. Palmolive did a decent job, but there's other liquid I have... "joy" something. It sucks for cleaning floormats, I might as well be using car shampoo to try to wash it.
Cleaning them... usually APC does the trick, but before that I just used some dishwashing liquid, palmolive to be specific. spray down the mats, pour a bit of liquid on, spread/"scrub" with an old body brush, then spray off again.
I did find that what detergent you use makes a difference. Palmolive did a decent job, but there's other liquid I have... "joy" something. It sucks for cleaning floormats, I might as well be using car shampoo to try to wash it.
mikebai1990
New member
I'm worried about using a strong cleaner on the floormats because I'm worried about discoloring the mats by sucking out the "natural oils" in the rubber. With a tire, I can provide some of that protection by using tire dressing, but with the floor mats, I haven't found a good solution yet. So you guys don't think the AA tire foam will attract dirt or something like that? I like the tip of wiping down the mat after application to provide a matte finish.
Accumulator
Well-known member
I just clean mine with Griot's Rubber Cleaner (not saying it's great stuff, but it's what I have on hand) and I don't dress them at all. After...uhm..maybe six winters they're not exactly Pebble Beach Concours-looking, but they're not badly faded/ugly either and I take a form-follows-function approach with 'em.
Noting that I can be a bit serious about such stuff, I sure wouldn't use anythig that might make them slippery. Even if *you* don't mind, what if a passenger slipped and was injured?
Noting that I can be a bit serious about such stuff, I sure wouldn't use anythig that might make them slippery. Even if *you* don't mind, what if a passenger slipped and was injured?
mikebai1990
New member
I agree. Maybe I'll try the tire foam on one of the rear (less-used) floor mats. I'll buff it to a matte finish and see whether it's slippery or not. If it's slippery, that would also mean it would attract dirt and dust, which is something I'm definitely not looking for.