Carpet cleaning question

[robertoa1a]

I did a bunch of work on my '96 ex over the last few months and now it's time to clean the grease and dirt out.

In the past I have cleaned the carpet with an aerosol that kind of smeared the dirt and made the carpet absorb everything. I'M thinking of renting a steam cleaner from a grocery from the grocery store to pull the dirt out but I don't want the entire truck to smell like a wet dog forever. I don't want it to smell like a chemical plant or flowery either.

Any advice?

 

[alohamonte]

How dirty are we talking here?

I used a can of foaming carpet cleaner from the auto part store. The canister has a built on brush. So you scrub and apply foam at the same time.

 

[jlsparky7]

Dawn dish soap, a bucket filled with water, a scrub brush, and a vacuum that can suck up water.

 

[Interstate]

I often use a small carpet cleaning wet vacuum. I think its called a Bissel green machine. It has 2 containers (1 for clean water/detergent water, other for dirty water) and you have a button to spray clean water down then vacuum it up. http://www.bissell.com/Products/c/PortableDeepCleaner/Category.aspx is a link for Bissell's website to give you an idea what i'm talking about. They work really well give your carpet a brand new feel.

 

[robertoa1a]

Thaks! I like the idea of a wet dry vac. The carpet doesn't look real bad but it has some grease and dirt in the normal areas. I want to get as much of the 13 years of funk out of it as I can.

I'm trying to get it to look as good as it runs now.

 

[wpurple]

for quick cleanup of spots, I find that "Resolve" works very well.

 

[Heavymentill]

Take the carpet out and power wash it.

 

[robertoa1a]

You are provably right about taking it out. If I ever go that far I'll replace it though. I'm thinking about something involving a vacuum for now. My first attempt was scrubbing it at the car wash. Their vacuums were junk though.

 

[Steeda90GT]

I always use laundry detergent, like ALL or something. Put it in a bucket with HOT water and scrubbed the carpet, then I use the wet/dry vac to suck everything up. Works great and leaves your car smelling like fresh clothes

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

Back when i worked at the carolina springs auto spa we just used really foamy soap and water and scrubbed with a brush. The big thing that helped tho was using out pressure washers on em lol then vaccum clean. U got a pressure washer? lol

 

[my98nnj]

I always use laundry detergent, like ALL or something. Put it in a bucket with HOT water and scrubbed the carpet, then I use the wet/dry vac to suck everything up. Works great and leaves your car smelling like fresh clothes

That actually works really well!

I have a professional hot water extractor from my detail business.
190 degree hot water and a little chemical is da bomb.
Carpets come out really clean and dry within a hour or so.

The laundry detergent, liquid Tide, and a shop vac does work excellent.
Soap it up, wet it down good, scrub it, use your garden hose, then suck it dry like a cheap **** on a Friday night and let it dry over night.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I pulled mine out last summer. Honestly- it's as easy as using cleaners and machines. The seats and console are all just easy to get to bolts, then toss it in the back and go to the quarterwash. Clip it to the floor mat holders on the wall, and wash it with the powerwas wand. Mine came out awesome, and I let it dry in the sun for a day and it was good as new. It's (removing the seats) also the only good way to get all of the crud off that accumulates around the mounts for the seat rails and posts. Pick a nice warm sunny day so you can dry it out good, preferably a Saturday- then you can let it sit Saturday and Sunday as well.

 

[robertoa1a]

I like the way this is sounding. thank you.

 

[C-mon]

I detail Peterbilt trucks as a small side job and we use a product called Xtra-Duty cleaner or something to that effect. It does wonders! Those trade in trucks are DIRTY when we get them to clean up and so far, that spray has tackled everything we've thrown at it. I haven't seen it available at Autozone or anything but it does the job really well, and it has a spearmint scent. I use that to clean my Explorer and it does really well. It's worth a look up in my opinion. I can get the actual name if anyone really wants to know.

 

[wcjeep]

I own a commercial grade steam cleaner. The dirt that came out of the Explorer was impressive. I ended up having to pull the seats/center console/carpet. It doesn't take that long to pull carpet. My unknown smell ended up being melting licorice filled candy. The candy was melting on the transmission tunnel.

I pressure washed both sides of the carpet. Even with thorough steam cleaning I had dirt coming out of the carpet. The next day was high local temps. Both sides of carpet was dry by the time I got home from work. I propped the carpet across the metal cyclone fence. Before reinstall I laid down aluminum backed insulation. I also blocked off the gaps in the center console to prevent any further candy intrusion.