cleaning floor mats

The ones in my 02 Corolla (carpet one side, rubber on the other..) seem to hold up quite well in the regular washing machine. The other cool thing is no matter what I have spilled (once I spilled coffee) or how muddy/dingy/dirty they get, they always come spotless clean.

I've done this 2 or 3 times and it seems to work for me quite well.

I use cold water too if that matters. I let them air dry.

Sine they are nylon, you could wash them in a washing machine. The problem is that they are heavy and might cause an imbalance problem during the spin cycle, so you should be worrying about the washing machine not the carpet. I use a carpet spray cleaner and then vacuum when dry.

I never tried the washing machine.. What I did last time was brush them with laundry soap until the dirt is loose, and then rinse real good with a hose. Then I lay them out somewhere so they can drain at a sharp angle and dry out. Seemed to work pretty well. One thing about brushing.. Don't get too carried away.. Just enough to break the dirt loose. If you brush too much, too often, you risk thinning out the threads of the carpet and making semi thin spots. This is one angle the washing machine should be pretty good at. No direct brushing, so the threads should stay intact. MK

There are steam carpet machines with handheld attachments (like to do upholstery or steps). You can use one of these if you have one. Personally, some sort of scrub brush with laundry or even dishwasher soap (I bet dial liquid hand soap or the cheaper Target stuff would do the trick, too) with a scrub brush and a good rinse afterwards (if you don't have slope, hang 'em on fence) will work just as well.

You can also buy stuff in a can at your local autostore, Target, Walmart or Meijer's to clean the carpet, no doubt.

Jeff

Am I the only one who hangs them up on the clips at the car wash and washes them? I'm surprised no one suggested it. It's the only way I've ever heard of *anyone doing it actually. Amelia

A spray bottle of Resolve carpet cleaner, along with some scrubbing/ blotting, has usually worked for me on the major stains (like spilled soda or chocolate milk, and ballpoint pens). (blotting them when fresh helps, too.)

For the removable carpeted floor mats, I occasionally take them out and shake them out. Swinging them against some hard object usually helps (I used my neighbor's chain link fence, or the side wall of my previous rental apartment...)

After a good shaking to get the worst of the dirt/rocks out, THEN I'd take the vaccuum to it (or the mats to the vaccuum). After vaccuuming, I'd put them in my washing machine by themselves. (man, that water can get really grey and grimey!) Afterwards I'd lay them out to dry for a day or so, before putting them back in my car. (Don't forget to vaccuum the rest of the car while the mats are out!)

Yeah? What does your wife have to say about her washing machine being used for floor mats?

No, because at the car washes I go to, they all charge by elapsed time--too expensive to take the time to haul em out of the car, clip em up, etc etc etc.. I have my wife clean them at home. Delegation, the EASIEST method, eh?

Since you mentioned it was filthy, I would soak it up overnight on a pail of water with bleach and detergent. Brush it afterwards and hang to dry. For normal stains I just wash it off with a hose, brush and soap. I dont think a washing machine can do the job, and a filthy mat would stink up a washing machine. Its not allowed on public washers too. The best aftermarket floormat I used was the 3M Loop carpet-type matting

here's a tip, add feminine wash when cleaning... it really gets the stink out = )

Oh, oh, I won't go there!!!

Ever since I washed my gasoline-soaked coveralls in it and used hand dishwashing detergent instead of laundry detergent? Anything she wants.

They have metal ribs in them and the washing machine will ruin them.

Take them to a detailing shop and have them 'extracted', probably about $35.

Rent a steam cleaner and clean them in the driveway.

Spray them with carpet cleaner (carpet foam, etc) let the foam settle, brush them with a stiff brush and vacuum.

Or, do the above, clean them with a stiff brush, blast them with the hose and a 'jet' spray and let them dry in the sun. For the really dirty ones that would clog the extractor, we used to do this before turning the extractor loose on them...if we had to. Usually, this method got them clean enough.

You can also vacuum once they are dry, or if you have a shop vac, when wet.

here's what I do when my lexus floor mats [

] had stains: combine 2 tablespoons detergent, 3 tablespoons vinegar, and one quart warmwater. Work into stain and blot dry. After that cover the spot with a cleantowel or paper towels. When the towel becomes damp, replace it with a dryone. It is also important to keep it dry always to avoid musty smell.

I would skip the bleach, especially if you're going to soak overnight.

By the way, what's the color of your floor mats? light or dark colored? I just want to add to my reply that *I* do not use bleach as per direction on the bottle, I use about half of the recommended amount. If the bottle says 1 cup per gallon I would only use 1/2 cup. I have never soaked a auto floormat over night but I did try them on seat covers before and was effective enough to get the stains out. The seat covers were light colored and had no rubber matting underneath.