PDA

View Full Version : Carpet cleaning?



1984rampage
01-12-2009, 06:04 PM
So, the carpet in my car looks ok and I would rather spend the couple hundred bucks for something else besides new carpet. What is the absolute BEST method for completely cleaning and restoring old carpet?

glhturbo1985
01-12-2009, 07:36 PM
rent a professional carpet cleaner (vacuum type) for twenty some bucks a day and invest in some top line carpet degreaser to let soak, and then top quality cleaner as a rinse. Worked wonders on Gray carpet.

Cost... about 60 bucks and three hours (including travel to and from local cleaner)

BF/STOCKER SPIRIT
01-12-2009, 09:22 PM
Sounds Good! Glh

A.J.
01-12-2009, 09:57 PM
I use "Simple Green" in a spray bottle and a scrub brush. I then suck it out with my carpet shampooer with the hand held attachment. I only use water in the shampooer so no residue is left in the carpet to attract dirt.


and then top quality cleaner as a rinse.

When you wash your hair do you rinse out the shampoo with soapy water or clean water?

A.J.

gkcooper
01-12-2009, 10:55 PM
If you want your carpet to be as clean as absolutely possible you may find that what I do works for you too.

1. Remove seats and trim
2. Remove center console
3. Pull complete carpet out of vehicle and throw it in the bed of your pickup
4. Go to a local carwash, I am lucky because I have one right across the street
5. Soak the entire carpet with pre-soak
6. Wash the carpet with high-pressure soap until everything that washes out is as white as the soap, then flip it over and repeat
7. Rinse
8. Rinse again
9. Hang the entire carpet across the chainlink fence in your backyard or on a sloping driveway for a hot summer day
10. Reinstall

While you are add it, wipe down the floorpan with 409 and some paper towels and then roll on some sound deadening mat

You will never get it any cleaner. I just did this with my '92 IROC R/T and my carpet looks absolutely new. My Dakota was a parts runner truck in it's former life and it had the filthiest interior that I had ever seen. It came clean, but was stained beyond cleaning.

I have also washed seats the same way.

Believe it or Not

A.J.
01-13-2009, 01:24 AM
If you want your carpet to be as clean as absolutely possible you may find that what I do works for you too.

1. Remove seats and trim
2. Remove center console
3. Pull complete carpet out of vehicle and throw it in the bed of your pickup
4. Go to a local carwash, I am lucky because I have one right across the street
5. Soak the entire carpet with pre-soak
6. Wash the carpet with high-pressure soap until everything that washes out is as white as the soap, then flip it over and repeat
7. Rinse
8. Rinse again
9. Hang the entire carpet across the chainlink fence in your backyard or on a sloping driveway for a hot summer day
10. Reinstall

While you are add it, wipe down the floorpan with 409 and some paper towels and then roll on some sound deadening mat

You will never get it any cleaner. I just did this with my '92 IROC R/T and my carpet looks absolutely new. My Dakota was a parts runner truck in it's former life and it had the filthiest interior that I had ever seen. It came clean, but was stained beyond cleaning.

I have also washed seats the same way.

Believe it or Not

I did that when I worked for a junk yard and they had a diesel heated pressure washer. That works pretty good if you want to take out the interior.

A.J.

supercrackerbox
01-13-2009, 01:52 AM
When I redid the interior on my Charger this past summer, I took the carpet out and spread it over a pair of sawhorses and attacked it with Resolve, Oxyclean, some soft bristle scrub brushes, and a Shop-Vac. I was unable to get the major rust stain from the driver's section, but it stays hidden by my floor mats. Everything else looked 1000 times better.

Anonymous_User
01-13-2009, 02:07 AM
I've got one of those Little Green steam cleaning machine thingy's from Walmart. If you do not want to pull the carpet, it is ideal. It isn't as powerful as a rental unit, but it saves money in the long run not having to rent one all the time. Then you also have it for around the house, too.

JohnnyIroc
01-17-2009, 01:34 AM
i wanna clean my grand caravan it has coffee stains all over the front i dropped a cup one day but
i dont wanna pull it out...
i have one of those carpet cleaners and it has the hand attachment or whatever
would that work good?
or any better method?
also how could i get burns out i got some in the daytona first owner smoked a pipe

JohnnyIroc
01-17-2009, 01:35 AM
there nothing big just little ash spots very few
and not all the way threw it

glhturbo1985
01-17-2009, 12:12 PM
I'd try the carpet cleaner for the coffee stains. Just leave a day or two for the carpet to dry if possible. (doors open and battery disconnected.)
I don't really have a suggestion for the burn in your Daytona. If there was gum, or something tacky stuck to the carpet, warm water and some cleaner would eventually help lift it out if you used one of the vacuum attachments to lift it. Maybe try to clean it ane possibly stain the area where the burn is to try to camoflauge it in. I think this would depend on what color your carpet is and how noticeable the hole is.
Good Luck.

supercrackerbox
01-17-2009, 03:05 PM
If it's a very light surface burn, you can sometimes trim the singed ends off the fibers to make it less noticeable.

amoparx
01-17-2009, 05:00 PM
I agree with gkcooper. You can't get it much better than that. Myself, I hung carpet a couple times from the railing of my deck. This way as I sprayed water on it all the built up sand ran down and off the carpet. I don't care how much water you spray on carpet, the fibers hold the dirt and sand. You need to hang it and rinse a long, long, long, long, long time.
It drys nice and fast this way too.
One thing I've done in the past in my Shelby Daytona was to take a 5 gallon bucket of really soapy water. Dump it on the floor and take a scrub brush and go at it. I had the water about 2 inches deep. This works nice. Then you just keep rinsing and using a shop vac to pull out the water. Over and over again to get the soap out. The carpet is rubber coated on the back side and the water doesn't really go through. But even if it does, the floors in a lot of our cars aren't nearly as dry as you think. You can always lift a corner of the carpet and put a fan on it if you need too. But for a fast cleaning, that works very well.

Directconnection
01-17-2009, 07:05 PM
This is the "Be All... End All" method.

Been there, done that several times as I have had some nasty carpets in my cars from years of abuse.

1st thing to get is "Pink Stuff" that comes in a 1-gallon black jug in the shape of windshield washer fluid. The label is white and pink and you can find this at NAPAs around here in Maine.

Dump about 10% to 20% into a bucket and add hot tap water. Find yourself a stiff bristle brush and soak the brush in the mixture, and sop it onto the rug, here and there. be liberal, but no need to totally soak the rug, either. Now, scrub in circles or whatever and the foam will turn from white to brown... scrub real good. Use your shop vac to suck up all the wetness, and repeat the area. On a really bad area, you'll need to do it 2-3 times. Upoholstery... 1-2 times is all that's necessary. This has removed black axle grease from my seats on my Shadow (gray) when I put my dirtbike's wheel in the back... and removed years of old stains from spilled drinks. In my gray interiored Intrepid, I spilled a spaghetti take out dinner all over the console and rug.... this took care of it, too.

Works alot better than simple green, and smells alot better too (smells and feels like dish soap...)

Ondonti
01-18-2009, 06:32 AM
I am going with the rental. 2 summers ago i worked doing portable carpet cleaning and cleaned my own car. The nasty water that came out was a site to see. Didnt require removing anything.

I used an acid rinse/neutralizer which stops soap from attracting dirt if you didnt quite get all the soap out. Thats standard procedure on light shades of carpet (and my Spirit is Tan interior).

Ondonti
01-18-2009, 06:32 AM
I am going with the rental. 2 summers ago i worked doing portable carpet cleaning and cleaned my own car. The nasty water that came out was a site to see. Didnt require removing anything.

I used an acid rinse/neutralizer which stops soap from attracting dirt if you didnt quite get all the soap out. Thats standard procedure on light shades of carpet (and my Spirit is Tan interior).

Ondonti
01-18-2009, 06:32 AM
I am going with the rental. 2 summers ago i worked doing portable carpet cleaning and cleaned my own car. The nasty water that came out was a sight to see. Didn't require removing anything.

I used an acid rinse/neutralizer in my rinse which stops soap from attracting dirt if you didn't quite get all the soap out. Thats standard procedure on light shades of carpet (and my Spirit is Tan interior).

This is how you know you did a good job.

http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh426/ondonti/No%20racing%20tonight/IMG_1940.jpg

CSXVNT461
01-18-2009, 06:42 PM
I like the car wash meathod first to get it really clean , and remove the "yuk" factor. Then if you want to get it looking new there is nothing better than a steam cleaning to really make the fibre's sparkle like new. A good tip to remove stains is to use regular Dawn dish soap and an iron. Make a strong solution of Dawn and water make sure it has a good blue tint to it. Apply the solution to the stains and lay a damp white rag over the area then hold a hot iron on the rag for 10-20 seconds. This will steam the stain up into the rag, repeat until satisfied. For really tough stains you can also add a bit of ammonia to the solution, but try this on an unseen spot first to make sure it doesnt bleach. This method works awesome and will remove red Kool-Aid from white carpet !!

Vigo
01-20-2009, 02:24 PM
gads triple post! ^


1. Remove seats and trim
2. Remove center console
3. Pull complete carpet out of vehicle and throw it in the bed of your pickup
4. Go to a local carwash, I am lucky because I have one right across the street
5. Soak the entire carpet with pre-soak
6. Wash the carpet with high-pressure soap until everything that washes out is as white as the soap, then flip it over and repeat
7. Rinse
8. Rinse again
9. Hang the entire carpet across the chainlink fence in your backyard or on a sloping driveway for a hot summer day
10. Reinstall


i actually did this at home, with a spray attachment on a garden hose and 2 spray cans of engine degreaser. It worked AWESOME. fence and all.

tokmik
03-04-2009, 02:35 PM
A carpet cleaning business is rather detailed. I'm not sure of your experience, but you'll have to know a lot about stains and how to properly treat them and such, also what best to use on what types of carpets. The ones connected to vans are much more convienent for doing a lot of houses throughout one day. As far as "best", you're not really comparing apples to apples if you're talking about a basic smaller one coming from a department store. Scottsdale Carpet Cleaning (http://www.carpetcleaningcoop.com/providers-Scottsdale-AZ.html)

jory
03-04-2009, 11:28 PM
I've hosed carpets down with good results. The water that runs off the carpet is black and nasty for a while. Then I let it sun dry on the roof. Good and cheap, and it works well with some soap :thumb:
Be careful when using a scrub brush though, it is easy to wear spots out if you scrub too hard.

tokmik
03-09-2009, 11:58 PM
I can't say that this is the best but it worked out for me a long time since then, just use the traditional baking soda solution thing and you can clean old carpets and you can still spend a couple of bucks for anything.


Carpet Cleaning Service (http://www.carpetcleaningcoop.com)

jeffreyfrog
04-27-2009, 04:32 AM
In the past I have used Stanley you-know-who ... they arrived on time, treated my antiques with respect; when replacing the furniture they put down little pads that were easily removed the next day; the carpet was clean, fresh and ready for a dinner party within six hours. There are other companies that use the same system, I would ask friends and neighbors for referrals or ask the company for references from recent customers. Look for a company that has been around for a few years. Make sure the company is insured for any damages to your property. Also, ask if their workers are bonded and experienced. Carpet Cleaners. (http://www.carpetcleaningcoop.com)

raccoon
04-27-2009, 04:42 AM
lawl, dinner parties and antiques.
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14127&stc=1&d=1240822168

JohnnyIroc
04-27-2009, 09:55 AM
In the past I have used Stanley you-know-who ... they arrived on time, treated my antiques with respect; when replacing the furniture they put down little pads that were easily removed the next day; the carpet was clean, fresh and ready for a dinner party within six hours. There are other companies that use the same system, I would ask friends and neighbors for referrals or ask the company for references from recent customers. Look for a company that has been around for a few years. Make sure the company is insured for any damages to your property. Also, ask if their workers are bonded and experienced. Carpet Cleaners. (http://www.carpetcleaningcoop.com)

does this guy know this is about cleaning car carpets?
why did he make an account just to say that?

raccoon
04-27-2009, 12:48 PM
he's not human, don't worry.

shrapnel
05-09-2009, 08:58 PM
Honestly, I know you said you did not want to do this, but just get a new carpet. Why bust your a** removing seats, console, etc. and spend hours scrubbing, rinsing, and drying a beat up carpet? I have redone two interiors and yes they are work, but there is no subsitute for a new carpet. Especially at shows.

black86glhs
05-09-2009, 09:07 PM
I just cleaned mine today. A half bottle of Pro 409 degreaser, a scrub brush with softer bristles, and a hose. It didn't turn out too bad for a carpet with over 170,000 miles on it. I do agree if it is for show, new is the way to go.

1984rampage
05-11-2009, 09:39 PM
Honestly, I know you said you did not want to do this, but just get a new carpet. Why bust your a** removing seats, console, etc. and spend hours scrubbing, rinsing, and drying a beat up carpet? I have redone two interiors and yes they are work, but there is no subsitute for a new carpet. Especially at shows.

Yea I actually tore out my entire interior and cleaned the carpet real good to realize its still stained and torn up soo I think Im going to get new carpet and respray the interior panels and then my interior will be almost PERFECT!

Where does everyone get new carpet? And what color is the closest to stock?

aaroni
06-22-2009, 05:14 AM
It's easy to see why carpet is one of the most popular flooring choices in the nation. It looks great, feels soft underfoot, and it's inexpensive to install. The problem with carpet is that it requires a fair amount of maintenance to look good and to reach its full life expectancy.I recommended THE DRY CLEAN SPA.:thumb:

stitcherbob
06-22-2009, 11:54 AM
New carpet is available from:

http://www.accmats.com/Products/Flooring/Material.aspx

I use their products all of the time....nice material and fit

135sohc
08-12-2012, 10:57 PM
This thread is becoming a spam bot target, it is being closed.