Car Floor Mat
Cleaning Stains on Car Rugs
There are some disasters that seem to happen in slow motion. You see the car in front of you stop suddenly so you hit the brakes and watch out of the corner of your eye as your still pleasantly warm tall latte cup titters for a few seconds and then with the grace of an Olympic swimmer divers out of the holder onto your carpet. While vanilla isn’t a bad smell in the coffee shop it will start wearing on your nerves very shortly as you wonder how on earth you can ever get that stain out of your carpet.
Finding cleaning supplies
The great thing about your car’s carpet is that most are made expecting some abuse. With any luck at least some of the damage was taken by the floor mat. Take out the mat and exam it. Don’t make the mistake so many make by washing the mat with the lawn hose. To clean the mat you will need a good size sponge and some strong cleaner. Any automotive store will have the type of cleaning supplies you need for both the mat and the carpet. For the really horrible stains such as the coffee, you might consider a small portable deep cleaner like the Bissell Spotbot.
Getting to the scene of the crime
Take off the mat and clean it thoroughly using the sponge and cleaner. You will want it not only to look clean, but try to eliminate as much of the odor as possible. Left locked up in the car any lingering smells from the mat will saturate the car if you spilled coffee, milk, or if someone was ill while in the car. In cases of strong odors make sure nothing is left un-cleaned and understand everything has to pass the smell taste before you close and lock up the vehicle. Leave the mat someplace where it can dry out for at least 12 hours.
Carpet cleaning
Here you can use paper towels to soak up any remaining moisture from the spill. Use the paper towels until you do not see any moisture spots on them when you pick them up. If you are using the Spotbot you will need to go over the entire carpet on the side of the stain with the nozzle very slow to draw out the last of the liquid or other staining material. Don’t panic if the area still seems darker in places the first time you go over it. You might need to use a brush to gently loosen any stubborn stains or sticky spots. Keep up the back and forth motion over all of the carpet until no sign of the stain remains. If you're using a regular cleaner and a scrub brush you will need to do the same cleaning of all the carpet in the area of the stain.
Here too let the smell test be your guide and don’t stop expending elbow grease until no lingering odor remains.
Photo Credits: engnr_chik
Originally posted 2010-05-08 11:41:54.
