Hey Guys. My floor mats are in pretty good condition and from what I can tell, they are a lot better quality than what you get from most auto manufacturers.

I have tried the cheap stuff you can buy in a can to "shampoo" them, but I am dissattisfied with the results... I was wondering if I can just throw all 4 mats in the laundry machine, and then dry them in the dryer?

Would this hurt the mats in any way? Any Products you guys can reccomend to me? I have also noticed some imperfections with the carpet under the floor mats and was wondering if you guys had any suggestions! Thanks!

 

I think throwing them in the washer and dryer will take out those little black gripping studs on the bottom.

Plus the rubber probably won't respond well to being twisted up.

 

I wouldnt toss them in the washer and dryer...Better yet, take them to the local self serve, put them up in the mat clips and apply some carpet cleaner, then hit them with the hi-pressure wand from a safe distance.....Make sure you have the rubber backed type or you will ruin them.....

 

washer and dryer is okay, but use oxy clean to clean them and dry on a cooler setting not hot or you may melt the rubber backing. excel details advice is good bringing them to a self serve car wash that has mat clips and shampooing the floor mats and then rinsing them off works great then let them air dry for a few hours when you get home, but not in the direct sunlight.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I tested the two rear floor mats in the washer/dryer last night and they look, smell, feel great to me! The Front mats are a lot dirtier though, so I may take your advice with the pressure wash.

 

I would never put car mattes in a dryer. However I did put my Honda Accord mats in the wash for years with no problem. I would put them in set to stain cleaner and then let them air dry. As far as cleaning them and carpet in general I finally found a product the really works. Use the Turtle Wax Carpet and Upholstery cleaner with oxyclean in it. This stuff really works and works well. I recently used it on my wifes four year old passat with great results.

 

Carpeted floor mats:
Floor mats take a majority of the wear away from the interior carpet. However, this leaves floor mats with soiling as well as oily stains. Inspect for oily stains. Use a solvent-based spot remover to remove oily stains. Spot treat really bad stains (303TM Cleaner & Spot Remover or Woolite® Heavy Traffic Carpet Foam)

Pour a small amount of cleaner onto a terry towel and wiping toward the centre of the stain to remove the spot. Clean normal to heavy soiling as described above. Floor mats may get as wet as necessary to properly clean them.

Normal cleaning- Brush loose dirt/dust with a stiff brush, lightly spray surface with a carpet cleaner (Woolite® Heavy Traffic Carpet Foam) and let the foam dwell for 5-10 minutes and then remove residue.

The rubber backing and the ability to relocate them to a warm place (not direct sunlight) for quick drying aids their cleaning. After mats are clean and dried brush to raise the fibres and apply stain guard (303 High Tech Fabric Guard) to repel grease, dirt and oil based stains and provide UV protection against fabric fading.

Use caution- if using Oxy-Clean™ is an oxygen bleach that is also a strong alkaline ( pH 10) as it may discolour or leave a ‘bleach’ type stain if not thoroughly rinsed / removed as its active ingredient is hydrogen peroxide which is considered a corrosive.

Pet hair- remove pet hair with a rubber bristle brush (Groit’s Red Rubber Detailing Brush PN 9349) or a lint roller brush and then vacuum to remove any pet hair loosened by the brush
JonM

 

Thanks man, thats some good knowledge!

 

For some reason this section didm't get pasted-

Heavily soiled- brush loose dirt/dust with a stiff brush, use a citrus-based pre-cleaner P21S Total Auto Wash 10:1 distilled hot water, let solution dwell for 5-10 minutes to enable cleaners to react, and then use a carpet extractor

 

Sometimes mats require more than just a hard scrubbing. Your best bet? STEAM. Steam is the all wonderful remover of everything and anything that has to do with dirt. I usually use my Bissel little green steam machine and go to town. First do a little bit of spot treatment, and then extract. Like TOGT says, brush the carpet fibers up again and allow to dry. If you don't own an extractor, you can bring your car to a local detailer who will most likely have an industrial one. The temperature of the water in an extactor can be up over 200 degrees and make short work of whatever dirt you may have in your mats. Always use a stain protector afterword to make future cleanings easier!!