cleaning car mats
Hey finally a question that I have some expertise in..
(I own a couple of Stanley Steemer franchises)
Short of hiring a pro I suggest the following.
If you are dealing with just "dirt that you are tracking in"
the best method is as follows:
**Take the mats to a self serve car wash.
**If available clip the mats to the holders on the wall.
(if the clips are not available the floor will work)
**Using the soap setting spray them down good.
(starting at the top of the mat and work downward)
**Then turn to rinse and make really sure that you remove all of the soap.
**Hang to dry. You can also put fans on the mats to make them dry quicker.
99% of all carpet is made from synthetic materials. So the water will not hurt the carpet. With the above method you are actually flooding
(technical term titration)all of the foriegn materials out of the carpet.
The keys are not leaving a soapy residue in the carpet as it will resoil rapidly.
And not using a method that just grinds the soil deeper into the carpet without actually removing the dirt.
**If you encounter oil,grease or other petro based spots that the above method did not remove you can take a white towel and put a little lighter fluid or paint thinner onto the towel and then gently rub the stain starting from the outside of the spot working your way inward. Do not just pour the aforementioned products directly onto the carpet. After this step use the pressure wash method listed above.
Finally you might be surprised at how inexpensive a professional cleaning might be if you take your car to their shop. We typically only charge approx.
$60 for front and rear seats,carpet and mats on a car. Call around and ask.
Scott
