Cleaning Filthy Mats

[Anthony Orosco]

These mats from a Lexus wagon were some of the most digusting I have ever seen and normally I would of recommended the client just get new mats but they just wanted them to be as clean as possible.

 

So I used a pre-spotter from Chem-Spec and allowed that to dwell several minutes while I fired up my steamer and filled up my extractor with clean rinse water. Just before steaming I sprayed the mats down with another Chem-Spec product called "Traffic Lane Cleaner" and brushed the mats thoroughly.

 

Here is a before picture of the drivers mat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kinda disgusting eh?

 

 

 

The wet areas you see are the pre-spotter being allowed to dwell. After a thorough brushing with a carpet brush I then hit the carpets with my steamer and extracted almost immediately with only clean rinse water. I had to steam and extract each mat about 6 times until I was getting clean water up with the extractor.

 

Here are the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up view of a BEFORE of the Lexus tag. These areas can be very tricky to get clean. I had to brush the area very carefully so as to not fray the stitching.

 

 

 

 

 

Once again the area was steamed and then extracted and when done correctly the results can be amazing, like night and day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the same steps can be taken and instead of steaming just blast the mats with a pressure washer and then extract until only clean water comes up. With mats this filthy though there may be some permanent yellowing which can be seen in the AFTER picture. To further enhance the looks of the mats (and/or carpets) they can be dyed which will take care of any left over stains.

 

Anthony