Cleaning rugs.

[SAmadei]

This ends up being a shout out to the guy who impresses me the most with his detailing... DF... Help Me! ;-)

So I have a handshake deal on a '97 Tahoe. Tan leather interior. Rug is a frigging disaster. Its not really ground in too much, but it looks like a series of spilled sugary drinks and lots of dirt stuck to that.

I have a Spot Bot, but I'm not sure it can get into all the nooks and crannies with it. How would you handle it? It would not bother me to remove the carpet, but I would be a bit afraid that getting it to fit back in would be a PITA.

[Drew Dowdell]

see if you can just get a replacement piece on Ebay or something... if it's that bad

[SAmadei]

Well, I don't think its terminal. I've seen worse stains that won't come out, like rust or oil. I think this will mostly clean up IF I could... well... put the rug in the washing machine. ;-)

[G. David Felt]

I had a friend that brought over a car he had loaned to his nephew for a few years. There was just about everything ground in and he had tried to use a rug doctor to get it all out but still looked bad.

I took the time to remove all the trim pieces so that the whole carpet could be pulled out of the auto. Trust me this did require removing seats. I then bought commercial carpet cleaner and laid the carpet out on the driveway, covered it in commercial carpet cleaner and use a stiff brush with my own arm power to scrub the whole carpet. I then covered the carpet in more cleaner and let it soak in the sun for about 30 min. Then took a hose with a strong nozzle and hosed it out. Only a couple places needed a second treatment but over all it cleaned right up and then I hung it over a ladder so the water would drain out and let the sun dry it. Once it was dried, reinstalled into the auto. No need to fear about changes as the auto carpets even with their pre-formed areas seem to hold their shape really well and it looked almost like new on the inside.

[SAmadei]

Well, I figure removing seats is 12 bolts... Center console, 4. A half dozen seat belt anchors and the door sills and I figure the carpet should be out.

[Intrepidation]

Oh boy, carpets! What sort of tools do you have at your disposal?

For cleaners, i would try 303 Products 30551 Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner

If possible, removing the carpet from the Tahoe would be your easiest way to clean the whole thing, especially if its really bad.

Spray it down with a cleaner like 303, then after letting it site, use water and a brush to agitate the dirt and lift it free. If you have a steam vac, use that, or use a shop vac to suck up all the loose dirt, then a pressure washer. Rinse and repeat until clean. Let fully dry.

[SAmadei]

After the Bissell SpotBot, I have various vacuum cleaners and the garden hose.

I do have a industrial strength steam cleaner, but it hasn't been used in years and logistics prevent me using it (its the size of a Tata Nano convertible.)

I think my supermarket still rents carpet cleaners.

Do an fancy car washes have steam cleaning tools?

I usually fix the cars and dirty them up, not clean them.

[Intrepidation]

Some car washes do have cleaners, by their vacuums. You could try that. You could also try the the rental Rug Doctors from the store. They do have a wand attachment you could try.

[Z-06]

DF Thanks - that 303 product is great.

[SAmadei]

Is 303 best found at supermarket, hardware or auto parts places?

I have a couple big car washes near me... I guess I should check out what they have going on.

Edit: Only appears to be sold via marinas near me... going to be tough to track down.

Edited December 19, 2013 by SAmadei

[Intrepidation]

Have you ordered from amazon before? I use them all the time, especially where I live now...all that's around here is a Wal Mart, a grocery store, and the parts store. If you can, I'd just get in through them.

[SAmadei]

Ah. Of course, I order from amazon, but I prefer the instant gratification of picking up local.

Hell, I've started ordering "online" at Autozone/Advance to pick up local (actually, the local Autozone will delivery to me) because I can use those awesome checkout promo coupons... like "huge50" at Autozone saved me $50 on a $175 order recently. In any case, I get online pricing AND instant gratification. ;-)

[Intrepidation]

With Advance, try using "TRT30"

I live in a small town with not a whole lot to offer as far ash shopping goes unless I travel 35-40 minutes in any Cardinal direction, which is massively inconvenient. With Amazon prime I'll see my items within 2 days, which is excellent.

[SAmadei]

Oops, actually, 'huge50' works with Advance, not Autozone. I'll have to check out TRT30, as I usually don't hit $175.

Even though I live in a fairly rural area of NJ, I am lucky to have about 8 auto part chains within 10 minutes at the primary house and 5 within 20 minutes at secondary house.