Clean Car and Truck Carpeting
A clean car or truck has clean carpeting. It's just as important to keep your car or trucks carpeting clean as it is to keep your car or truck's floormats clean. The dirty carpet under your floor mats traps smells and can make your vehicle smell musty or gross. If your carpet stays wet or damp you may also have a mold or mildew infestation that can set off your allergies and make your car the bane of the carpool. A universal absorbent car/truck floor mat protector helps prevent the buildup of water and mud between your mats and the carpet resulting in a reduction of odors and nasty micro organisms. That's just one idea. Stay tuned cause here are some more ideas, tips and products to help keep your car or truck carpeting clean and smelling like a rose.
Get Started : Get your cleaning tools together. You'll need at a minimum several old white cotton terry towels, a soft bristle brush, several clean sponges and a bucket of warm water. Remove your floormats and all trash and miscellaneous items from your car or truck. Thoroughly vacuum your vehicles floor. Pre-treat your carpeting by removing stains and spots. Now choose a carpet cleaning technique from the following choices. Once you've done a great clean job on your carpeting and its nice and dry you can sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax, baking soda or an air freshening recipe on your dry carpeting, let sit for an hour or so and vacuum up if any smells remain. Replace your clean floor mats and you're in business!
Liquid Methods : Liquid carpet cleaning methods include hot water cleaners , steam cleaners , chemical extractors and foam cleaners . This type of carpet cleaning makes you feel good because you associate water and soap with a good clean car or truck. But you gotta be really really careful! These carpet cleaners have a tendency to leave residual soap and chemicals in your carpet and that can promote the future accumulation of dirt and gunk in your carpeting and possibly cause allergy problems with your passengers. So if you select any of these liquid based cleaning tecniques for your carpeting make sure you thoroughly rinse your carpeting by repeating the cleaning process using only fresh water or steam minus the cleaning solution. A Hoover Steam Vac Hard Floor and Carpet Cleaner is a great example of a hot water cleaner that allows you to wash and rinse at the same time. Limit the amount of water, steam or chemicals you introduce into your carpeting by being judicious in the application of the cleaning solution. And remember to allow your clean car carpeting to dry really good to prevent wet feet and the growth of mold and mildew.
Dry Method : A dry carpet cleaning product, like Capture uses a very small amount of water to wet the granules you sprinkle or pour on the carpeting. Because of its low moisture requirement this method allows you to use your car or truck almost immediately because the carpeting dries quickly. It doesn't leave a lot of soapy residue and is a preferable technique for a quick cleaning. The granules in a dry carpet cleaning product breakdown oil and dirt and allow you to vacuum them up.
Complete Removal : OK, you're a radical! You're a clean freak, right? Don't want to miss a speck of dirt or grime? Then, remove the seats in your vehicle (they are usually held in place with 4 bolts) and remove your car or trucks carpeting from the vehicle. Now you can really clean your carpeting with a commercial cleaning method or you can use one of the home brew recipes I've found. In any case make sure you're qualified to remove/replace your seats and that your carpets don't shrink or get damaged during the cleaning process. And since you really need CLEAN make sure you clean your floor pans before replacing your carefully dried carpeting.
A Sampling of Products : Carbona seems to be a popular product. It comes in a spray bottle and does a good job cleaning and getting rid of smells. You can use it to spot clean or do the whole carpet. 3M Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is available almost anywhere. It's versatile, does a good job and is easy to use and you end up with a clean car.
Radically Clean : Clean Car means New Carpeting from ACC . So you get really radicalized and totally replace your dirty old carpeting with a perfect replacement from Auto Custom Carpets Inc. These guys have been around forever and can nearly exactly match the carpeting for thousands of different car and truck models. Go ahead, make ACC's day and do it!!!
Caution and Remember : Always test any cleaning product or recipe on an inconspicuous piece of carpeting, floor mat or upholstery before you clean the whole thing. Always follow the manufacturers directions on application and use of the products you choose. Good Luck and Have a Clean Happy Car!
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