Cleaning Ineterior Carpet

[2000GA]

After the stupid winter and going to school where they only use sand and not salt my carpets are brown I got my floor mats clean with the pressure washer but now the floormats are a nice gray color and my carpet is brown. Whats the best way to do this, I could take it in to get it done but i was told it would be about a 100 to get it done. I could get a pail of soap and water and scrub at it and suck up the excess with a wet/dry vac but that doesnt seem to be the right way to do it. Anybody thats done this care to enlighten me on the best way to clean your carpets.

[Licit]

After trying a few other brands like Tuff Stuff foaming carpet cleaner and BlueMagic carpet stain & spot lifter(smells horrible!) I like Prestone interior cleaner. It comes in a red can with the scubby head on the top. None of the other few brands I tried worked on my mats or carpet all that well. I had coffee stains that are almost completely gone from one use of Prestone. I also have the stupid sand for winter so I know what you mean about the floor mat(now about 90% clean). By mid winter this year I actually started to use a folded beach towel instead of the driver's side floor mat. When I got home each night I'd shake it off and throw it in the dryer. This kept the sand and crap from getting where the floor mat doesn't cover also. Mostly I'd say give the Prestone a try. First use the vac on the carpets, mats, etc. Then spray on the Prestone and allow it to foam for 10-15 minutes. Then use the scrubby top on most places especially the bad areas. Last use the wet/dry vac to soak it all up. For mats if you want to go the extra mile, take them in your house and pour scented carpet powder on them, let it sit for hours or all night. Then vacuum it up. I had comments on the good smell of my car for a month and I'm a smoker, so that should tell you about the smell. Hope this works out for you.

[VaGT]

If you have access to a Steam Cleaner with a hand attachment, that would be the best bet. I just did mine, and the carpet looks brand new again... except for a stain or two back in front of the car seat :-)

The dirty water bin was almost black... and I put cheapo $5 plastic mats over the Pontiac mats for added protection. This is also the second time I have done this. I did it last spring too.



I have a Hoover Steam Vac with a powered hand tool and a smaller manual hand tool. The motorized one is nice, but it is too big to get many of the spots, but the normal tool works great too. I think I paid something like $250 for mine. I bought it mainly for my carpet, but made sure I got a motorized hand tool for the car :D

[Vintalage]

Hmmm, my dad just bought a Hoover Steam Vac. It has an attachment that has brushes on it that spin. The brushes on it are green. I wonder if that's what you have. I need to check it out because my drivers side carpet is brown also from sand and dirt. :(

[teambeechstreet]

them steam cleaners work wonders! Thank goodness my mom purchased one a couple months ago!

[VaGT]

Originally posted by Vintalage
Hmmm, my dad just bought a Hoover Steam Vac. It has an attachment that has brushes on it that spin. The brushes on it are green. I wonder if that's what you have. I need to check it out because my drivers side carpet is brown also from sand and dirt. :(


Would be the same or very similar. Both the motorized and regular hand tool work great. I use them both since the hand tool is smaller (easier to get some spaces), and in my experience is better at picking up the water.

Some spots you can go over and over and keep seeing the dirty water flowing up the nossle... even if the carpet appears clean.


It really fluffs up the carpet too... looks great.

[2000GA]

I think my grandma has a steam cleaner with a bunch of attachments. I'm going have to call her and ask if i can borrow it

[TypeRob]

I had some bad salt stains left over from winter, and I found that a little scrubbing with a rag soaked in sunlight laundry detergent lifts the crap right out.

[2000GA]

OK heres what I did, I was at fleet farm and saw that they had of carpet and upholestry cleaner (gunk brand), Followed the directions of spraying and letting it sit for a min. then scrub in with a rag let dry then vacum. It worked pretty decent some spots I had to redo which was no biggie the carpets looked like i had the tan interior instead of gray. It even took out some stains on the floormats that came with the car. Overall I'm very pleasesd with how it turned out.

[my99gagt]

prestone works really well

[Panacea]

Bissel carpet shampooer w/the car attachments :thumbs:

[babyklr]

I did the retard shampooer method and it worked just fine! I poured some oxy-clean in a bucket of hot water, and scrubbed (not too much water) the salt stains, letting it soak where needed. Then I sucked it up with a little shop vac. Looks great and the oxy clean won't leave it sticky. Laundy soap would also do the trick, or a little in the mix wouldn't hurt.

[Gramp's GT]

I use the "pant saver" floor mats in my car during the winter. Seems to really cut down on the amount of crude that will stain the carpet and helps keep the sand off the carpet. I just lay them over the stock floor mats and come spring there is only a bit of vacuming to do.

[Panacea]

I just use pieces of carpet that were left over from the house... leave 'em in all year round. Underneath is nice and clean :)

[Vintalage]

Originally posted by Panacea
I just use pieces of carpet that were left over from the house... leave 'em in all year round. Underneath is nice and clean :)

My dad does this.

[DJCobol]

Originally posted by Panacea
Bissel carpet shampooer w/the car attachments :thumbs:

I love working 2 minutes from Bisell World Headquarters and consequently the Bissell Outlet Store. I bought my Little Green Clean Machine Pro Heat and 3 gallons of high traffic carpet cleaner for $35. :D

Between my Bissell Steam Vac and my Euraka Steam Blaster and a little bit of Oxiclean I've been able to get everything out of every carpet I've ever cleaned.

Another tidbit of advice: Once you get your carpet all clean, go to Target or whatever department store is your favorite and get a can or two of scotchgard fabric protector. This stuff makes all the difference in the world for future cleanings!

[fschambe]

I was wiring my XM receiver and sub to new pioneer HU yesterday and the wires were a little too short so I decided to run hem under the seat and the carpet... so I pulled up the carpet and there was a half inch thick layer of rubber with a lot of water on it and the back of the carpet no the passenger side... I looked around and saw no leaks... Anyone else know what I am talking about? It was rather unnerving to know that water could be hanging out in there so I blasted it with th eshrink wrap heat gun, that baby gets nice and hot (can turn paper brown and smoking rather quick) now wondering how I can prevent it from returning.