Cleaning Interior Mats and Carpets

[DADamascus]

My friend who is a knowledgeable curator/detailer for a 100+ private car collection and custom rod designer-builder helped me detail my 1988 560SL. It looked amazing. He cleaned the Palomino interior carpets and mats (front mats were purchased from the dealer two years ago for about $70) with Castrol Super Clean. He swears by the stuff for that and other detailing uses, both inside and out. The mats weren't that dirty to begin with and looked great when we were finished; however, within a week of very light use, the mats were dirtier than ever. I felt that perhaps the Castrol Super Clean may have removed a "natural" ability to withstand dirt build-up. He disagrees. What should I be using to clean the mats and carpets? I didn't see any threads on the subject. Thanks.

[brandlj]

The Castrol super clean must be diluted with water for things like carpet. Spraying it from the bottle and then cleaning the mats has left a lot of soap in the mats and they will pick up the dirt from your shoes and it will stick to the soap that is stuck in your carpets. This happens all of the time at my place of business if the carpet cleaners do not extract the soap from the carpets after they clean them. In one week they will be black again. Take your garden hose and spray the mats and carpet ( after they have been removed from the car) and you will see lots of soap foaming up on the suface. Rinse and rinse until you get all of it out.

Then take clean towels and dab the carpet and mats, turning the towels over and over and all of the dirt will come up onto the towels.

When I clean my carpets, I spray a light coating of 409 on them and dab them with towels until they are clean.

Too much soap just attracts dirt .

Good Luck

John

[DADamascus]

Thanks John. Yup I sprayed it right on the carpets and mats and good; but I don't recall ever washing it off afterward so that's probably the problem. I'll rinse them all well and see what happens. Thanks again.

[dolebludger]

For what it is worth, I first use an upright vacuum cleaner on the mats, then steam clean them with a device called a "Steam Buggy" which directs steam to a scrubber head. This can be used in conjunction with various carpet and upholstery cleaners, as may be needed. Then, I use a high powered wet shop vac to remove any excess moisture and (if necessary) allow to dry in the sun or in the house in the winter. It has worked well so far.

Thanks,
Richard

[Richard Jordan]

I use my Hoover rug cleaner to clean the carpets in the cars. I use the 4 inch wide adapter. Spraying hot water/soap lifts the dirt and immediately gets sucked up.

[torkydzl]

I have had great results using aerosol brake cleaner on carpet stains. I have been told that it contains an ingredient also found in the 'dry cleaning' process. Don't know how true that is, but the results are incredible, from basic dirt to tough tar stains. Plus it dries quickly. No wetting with water. Just spray it on the stain and wipe with a clean white cloth. Repeat as needed. Not harmful to carpet nor have I experienced any bleeding or bleaching of any OEM MB or aftermarket carpets.........as long as they haven't been redyed. And its cheaper than most carpet cleaning products.

[dolebludger]

I always avoid using any detergent or soap when cleaning carpeting --- whether in my car or home. Professional home and office carpet cleaning companies have pretty much gotten away from soaps and detergent. Unless TOTALLY rinsed and removed from the carpet (darn near impossible) the scum and residue they leave promote re-soiling. Some of these professional cleaning people use steam only, and some combine this with carbonated water.

Thanks,
Richard

[bill streep]

Where's Sami when this question comes up? He owns a carpet cleaning company.

[dolebludger]

Yes, I'd like to hear from him too! This was "car wash and wax week" at my house, as it (according to the weather forecast) is the last warm week we're going to get for a while. One of my jobs was to clean up our Ford pickup, which is a working truck, even though I try to keep it from looking like one. There were stains on floor mats, carpet, and the cloth upholstery. All I can say is that I used my "Steam Buggy" and it worked with very little effort. And this truck was DIRTY! I guess I'm kind of "sold" on steam cleaning on carpet and cloth car interiors. I know it won't get out every kind of dirt and/or stain, but I've yet to encounter one of these.

Thanks,
Richard

[Ferdman]

Richard, KYW-TV in Philadelphia recently reported on local carpet cleaning services and concluded that those using steam cleaners did the best job. Your experience is right on target.

[Eva89]

I clip my mats to the wall at the car wash and pressure wash them - with soap first, then with water only until all the soap is rinsed out. That seems to work best for me.

[Sysco Kid]

Where can I find a set of 300td mats with logos?

Michael
1984 300tdt

[dolebludger]

Eva89:

I did much the same thing once when I had really mud- encrusted mats. Except I didn't use the soap. Just pressure washed with clear water, used a wet vacuum on them, then steam cleaned with my Steam Buggy.

Thanks,
Richard

[Eva89]

Sysco Kid:

There is a guy on ebay that sells OEM Mercedes mat sets for around $90/set. I bought a set off of him for my 300 SEL and they were perfect. His ebay name is ppmc4.

[Ferdman]

Caliber Motors (800-252-6877) sells floor mats for $78 (at least for a 1991 300CE) plus shipping. They are a MB dealer in Anaheim Hills, CA.

[H-townbenzoboy]

Where can I find a set of 300td mats with logos?

Michael
1984 300tdt

Performance Products should have them for about $90, but remember, as a MBCA member, you get 15% off.