randomarrival

I've currently got the seats out of our car and I looked into replacing the carpet and insulation/sound dampener but decided to put that off for now. It's the original carpet and it's still in pretty good shape.

What are your recommendations for a thorough cleaning while the carpet is still in the car? I'm hesitant to use a carpet cleaner because I'm not really excited about water soaking down through the insulation when I clean it. I suppose I could run a dehumidifier but I'd still like to hear what some other folks have done in the past.

Thanks!

djcrook73

if water soaking is a concern and you already have the seats out, i would remove it and clean it out of the car and wet vac as much moisture out as possible then finish the drying in a warm place then re install it. they do sell foam type carpet cleaners that work ok with a scrub brush and is safe to do inside the car and just vacuum clean. if it's bad you are only going to get so much out of a cleaning, but always vacuum the hell out of it before you use any cleaner it makes it a smoother process. im lucky, i work in a body shop so if i have one worth cleaning i just bake it in a spray booth at 165 degrees after a good wet vac and it's mint. another alternative is giong to a reconditioner who has an extractor which is like what the carpet cleaners use, it might be worth the money to avoid the time and moisture concerns and with the seats out it may be pretty cheap.. there's my two plus cents as i have cleaned many a carpet with mixed results depending on the stains. dave

rroth01

When I was 15 I had a small reconditioning business.
I buffed and waxed Airplanes Boats and Cars .
Burnt most of the cars .But I was Cheap.
I used Hot water and Clear Ammonia.
The Smell dissapates and will even neutralize Cigarette Smoke.
If you use Soap of anykind it will turn into a Dirt magnet.
Most soaps cause static.They do not use De Ionized Water in thier product.
Similar to washing your hair with shampoo and not getting all the shampoo out.It creates Static.
Static will pull back in the dust and dirt.
For some reason the Ammonia also enhances the color.
Hot Water and Scrub Brush and a Shop Vac.

RAMBOW

I would find a guy with a truck mounted carpet cleaning company- They use industrial steam vacs- Nothing cleans like steam does.

I'll bet for $40 or a couple cases of beer he'd be happy to do you cars carpet. It'd only take a couple mins.

Better still if you can meet him at a job when he's already got his stuff setup- bring the carpet with you and lay it on the ground.

It'd be like free money to him.

randomarrival

I completely forgot about these guys - that sounds like a good option!

If I leave the carpet in the car, should I be concerned about any type of moisture resting in the car? I assume steam should work just as well on an old carpet?

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

Allan R

Have you looked into Chem Dry? Available at Home Depot and it works. I've had great results with it. Not expensive either
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/stai...guisher/983270

Olds442redberet

There is a product by Blue Magic called "Carpet Stain & Spot Remover". I hae ben using it for years now with great results. I have removed red cool-aid stains, grease and oil stains ETC with this stuff. It is available at WalMart, and most auto parts stores such as AutoZone.

randomarrival

Just to clarify, my carpet specifically doesn't seem to have any stains in it (luckily mine is black) but I'm just looking for the best method to get the whole thing cleaned/refreshed.

Olds442redberet

I use the Blue Magic stuff regularly. It will leave the car smelling clean and new.

OLD SKL 69

I used Meguiar's Bissell carpet cleaner with excellent results. I had some stains but even the areas that were not stained seemed to really look much cleaner and brighter. My car is in the garage, so I could leave the windows down so it could air dry.

RAMBOW

As with any water based cleaning, it will need to dry- but basically they shoot steam out- then vacume the water/moisture & dirt back out- so just allow it to dry throughoughly and you should be golden.

If you really wanted to be careful, you could lift up the front & rear carpet sections after they are done and put some blocks or something under it to allow air to flow all around.

If it were me i'd just remove the carpet from the car. Its fairly easy to do with original carpet as it has taken a "set" and will go right back in place.

That way its easy for them to clean it and easy for it to dry out completely.

Convince the MRS that you need to have the carpets at home cleaned- There are always deals to clean 3 rooms for $100 or so (you can't tell me your wife wouldn't like that) then see if the guy will just do it for you while hes there (lilely would for a rack of beer). 2 rocks with one stone, and the wife is happy too!

D. Yaros

Back in the day, circa 1960's, there used to be carpet cleaning product called Glamorene. It short of looked like damp saw dust. The dampness was from the cleaning chemicals used to treat the substance. The product was sprinkled on the carpet, scrubbed with a brush and then vacuumed. Seemed to work pretty darn well, as best as I can recall.

Suspect the product violates EPA regs and is not available today?

jfb

I have not looked at the other ideas but here is a proffesional way to do it from the shops i have worked at. 1 completely vacuum very thoroughly very very so.2shampoo with a very good shampooer and pick up the water many more times then put down. 3 including if you have carpeting there the trunk last. 4 crack the windows at least or leave them open in a garage for a few days until dry,this will get rid of any possible mildew problems. do not forget to check the trunk last and also doubly scrub all stains beforehand and let them soak for about 15 minutes before shampooing. I have worked with some excellent detailers in the past and present i hope this helps you.

chrisbroad

Other ideas i also won't prefer because getting it done from carpet cleaning shops is great. They leave no stain on the carpet and do it well.

EricBlair

Always call professional cleaners for carpet cleaning. The professional cleaners have access to the best cleaning material, necessary tools and expertise for the job. But if you want to do it yourself, you would need a good carpet cleaner and the extraction or cleaning machine.A professional can help you in choosing the right cleaner for your carpet. http://www.arearugcleaningnyc.com/ give you a right suggestion for carpet cleaning.

Fun71

I think since it's been 9 years since the original poster asked, he has figured it out by now.

oldcutlass

Look for a detailer that has a thermal extractor.