Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 11:10 am, by: Callum Finch(Sigeneat)
I want to say how impressed i am at what a little time, a little effort and $8 can do!
Over time, like everything, your floors _WILL_ get dirty (that is, unless you like to keep your car in a bubble for display only!). Sand will get stuck deep below the sucking power of a vacuum, dust and dirt from the bottom of shoes will brown up your drivers mat, and the general wear and tear of driving will also cause the fibres on your drivers side mat to... flatten!
...At least thats what was happening to mine! =P
Enough was enough! Yesterday over lunch i stopped in to the local Supercheap and picked up myself a spray can of Kitten Interior cleaner. Basically, its one of those carpet shampoos that foam up when sprayed on a surface. I went with Kitten because the Midland supercheap doesnt like to stock a range of products, my only other choice was some random brand i have never heard of (stick with big brands imo >.> ).
I get home at 4:30pm and begin work. Ol' Henry (strong sucking vacuum from UK) did is job cleaning out all the surface dirt from pretty much anywhere i could stick the nozzle in my car.
As i wanted a very thorough clean, i also removed alot of the plastic guards around bolts etc inside the car and threw them to the side for cleaning later, also giving me the chance to suck up that dust and dirt that hides in those cramped places.
Next it was time to break out the shampoo! The factory Soarer mats total 5x pcs. Two for the front, 3 for the back (one in the middle). I put the windows down, turned up the radio and got to work. The directions on the can say to spray onto a surface you want cleaned, leave for 30secs, and then wipe off with a damp cloth. Being an efficient little munchkin i thought that if i work on two separate mats at the same time then i will not spend a single moment picking my nose waiting for that 30secs.
Got to work, sprayed on one mat, then the other, then wiped off the first mat and sprayed some more on the next section, then the same process for the second mat. My production line was roaring!
2hours later (including time taken for vacuuming) and i was finished. For those tougher stains i used a scrubber which came with the shampoo which worked wonders. I was also impressed to see that some bubblegum that someone managed to traipse into my car came off with a couple minutes of scrubbing love! After i finished shampooing each mat it was a little damp so i hung over a rail outside to dry off a little. Each mat turned up cleaner looking and fresher smelling than before, even the already visually clean ones! I was over the moon.
What excited me the most though, was how my grubby drivers side mat cleaned up. I have the unfortunate disadvantage of working at a private "upperclass" high school which thinks gravel carparks are cool. Long story later, very grubby drivers mat! Orange dust, lots of dirt, ugk! Every couple of days i find myself shaking the mat to try and keep the crap out. Even banging my shoes together before i get in to loosen the dirt off doesnt work =\ *sigh* So anyway.. My drivers side mat came up looking just as good as the others! Despite a slight brown tinge they were perfectly clean! Not only did they clean up very well, the foaming action of the shampoo had lifted the carpet fabric to its former glory (many a year of resting your heel on mats flattens out the fibres).
Unfortunately, the spray can only allowed me to clean my mats. It ran out before i got a chance to work on the other sections of exposed carpet in the car. However, due to the incredible success i experienced i will be at it again next week.
I also noticed that the shampoo was raising the dirt which was trapped deep below the surface of the mat, dirt that the vacuum was unable to suck out. Bonus!
Thats my happy little story! I wont mind if the cleanliness only lasts a couple weeks, 'cos its so easy to clean its just a matter of doing it again!
Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 12:31 pm, by: Jeff Hogan(Hoges)
lol nice write up callum! i dont think ive ever heard someone get so excited about carpet, but good on ya! i think ill have to give my matts a go with that stuff.
Robert Hayden Moderator Victoria UZZ32, UZZ32 Supercharged, JZZ30 '92, JZZ30 '95, UCF11 Celsior 1990
Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 04:55 pm, by: Robert Hayden(The_boss)
Callum, next time spray a little bio degradable truck wash (I use CT18) at a 10 to 1 mix ratio. Spray straight onto carpet mates with spray bottle. Let soak for 30 minutes then hit them hard and strong with a pressure washer.
Give them buggery, don't be afraid to get the nozzle right down into the pile.
They will come up like brand new.
Foam cleaners are fine but nothing like really getting it out.
When you get serious, pull out the carpet, lay it on a concrete floor and get into that in the same way.
You will be amazed.
Hang the carpet to dry with the pedal end hanging down.
Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 07:34 pm, by: Morgan Cross(Morgan)
Or, take your car to a car cleaning place at a shopping centre like I did, I payed $80 to get the all the carpets / seats / roof shampooed / steam cleaned...
I swear, the car smelt / looked NEWER than new. Best money I've spent.
Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 08:03 pm, by: Alan Carter(Alky)
My other half hired a carpet steam cleaner as a subtle hint to get me to clean our lounge carpet. A little lateral thinking got me hauling the mats out of the car and giving them a steam clean as well. Worked a treat - they were damp afterwards and I just left them in the sun to dry. Result = sweet-smelling mats.
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand 1991 UZZ30 GT4.0 V8
Friday, November 11, 2005 - 01:59 pm, by: Ben Folkes(Ben05)
Excellent this is what i needed to hear. Its been on my list for a while to take the carpet put and give it a decent wash but wasnt sure what was required. Rob, what truck wash was it that you used, is CT18 the brand name? And also how long, with good weather, would you say it takes for the carpet to dry? Thanks
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - 07:24 pm, by: Paul Bernasconi(Pauli)
i;ve used yah standard indoor carpet cleaner on mine as well as meguires carpet cleaner,both gave me the same finish but the indoor cleaner was only 3$ rater than 15.
Sunday, November 20, 2005 - 07:03 pm, by: Nathan Stewart(Nathan)
ive tried the kitten foam cleaner stuff too. it worked well, but.... what i really found worked was a little bit of ordinary laundary powder in a bit of warm water and a scrubing brush. give it a scrub and they came up bright as bright can be!
Monday, November 21, 2005 - 07:28 pm, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
When I was in Greece (Athens) outside the flat was the garage/car wash that was as noisy as fcuk. Couldn't sleep with the windows shut - too hot- and couldn't sleep with the windows open -too noisy as they had this big noisy water blaster going 24/7 cleaning car mats. They'd pull the mats out onto the concrete and give them what for with the water blaster -couple of seconds - then leave them to dry, not long in the Athens heat. Customers must've been happy with the results, taxi drivers mostly.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 03:57 pm, by: Matt McGowan(Gigantor)
Just on this topic, i gave my carpets a good scrub this morning, - i used dishwashing liquid mixed with warm water and a good scrubbing brush, worked a treat. Stains that were really old and dark have come out fine. I still want to get them steam cleaned to make it all perfect but for a simple DIY job i was impressed, didnt need to buy any "car carpet cleaner" at all. Personally i think apart from leather or paint care products, alot of car care products are often just overpriced household cleaners.
Just make sure theres no bleach in whatever you use!
Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 01:56 pm, by: Charles Landwehr(Chucklandwehr)
Yep, had a grotty mechanic grease up the drivers mat with his boots. Did the truckwash thing, with high pressure cleaner. Clean, but still not totally clean. Used "Solvit" an organic citrus based cleaner, wiped it on, and gave the mats a bit of a brush with a nail brush, then vacuumed dry. So bloody clean, they looked brand spankers.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006 - 03:51 pm, by: Charles Landwehr(Chucklandwehr)
Spray cans of dye, are generally for vinyl, and carpet, as well as some fabrics. Choose very carefully, and spend a few extra dollars if necessary. I have had very good results with VHT in the past.
Tru Fit Moulded Carpets, may be receptive to a bulk purchase. They will have to find a wrecked Celsior/LS400 and remove the floor pan. They actually use the floor as a mould. Fit will be excellent.
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