dr bob

I like ScotchGuard on the rugs of driven cars. The carpets have to be really clean or new when you apply the stuff, because it does pretty much seal in whatever's in the fibers already. I also caution folks who might consider using it on linen or th etrue champaigne-colored interiors, because it will affect the color slightly. It will also affect the finished nap, making it less 'fuzzie' especially if overapplied.

I need to find a gallon bottle of this stuff, so I don't go broke and have my spray-can finger afll off at the same time. K's 4Runner is in dire need. She drove a TofR Honda for a few months, during which time the 4Runner was chip-fixed, clayed and waxed, interior sanitized and detailed, and her worn/filthy mats replaced with new. The Honda went back last week, so this week she christened the clean mats by bringing home a load of soggy bags of chicken manure for her garden project. The light beige rugs now have a new color and fragrance, which she will live with for a few days before she mentions them to me. Film at 11...

dr bob

I suppose the scrubber is OK so long as you don't actually touch the carpets with it. They do more damage than good. Remember the label from the Woolite foamy carpet cleaner? Spray it on, agitate it lightly with a soft brush, let it dry completely, vacuum the residue. The idea is to let the foam do the work of lifting the stuck dirt out of the fibers so the vacuum can grab it. The brush stands a bigger chance of grinding dirt further into the fibers than it does lifting it out. Think about it.

Here's an amazing reality; Virtually all of the stuff tracked into the car carpets is water-wet when it come in. Grease and road tar are exceptions, along with gum. But almost all the rest of the dirt that makes carpets dirty is water-soluble or at least lifts out with water. So your first weapon on dirty car rugs is a combo of water in the spray bottle and the wet-vac. Vacuum first. Then compressed air blowgun across the nap to raise dirt particles that are buried deeper than the vac wants t grab at the first pass. Vacuum those elevated particles out. Repeat until no more loose stuff comes up. THEN (and no sooner...), a little of the spray bottle on places where there is water-soluble stuff staining the rug. Vacuum is right behind the water spray. Do this a few times, and -maybe- agitate with a soft brush some as you work. Brush lightly and vaccum the nap as it dries. If there are still some soiled areas that just didn't come clean, try a dilute solution of the ZEP ammonia-free window cleaner concentrate in distilled water, about 10% solution. Same drill as before. Follow that with a few water-and-vacuum passes to get the detergent out.

I --really-- like the results from regular Tide in the washing machine. If there are serious oil stains, I do a first wash with simple green to get the oil out, then do a normal wash with Liquid Tide as described previously. Removing and reglueing the pieces is a fraction of the effort required to do a serious cleaning with pieces in place, and the results look a whole lot better and last longer too.

Stromius

+1 on the washing on a gentle cycle. I had good results on washing my stuff including console cards (removed, reglued after). Nearly new afterwards. I had to remove the front seats for the tunnel carpet obviously but a weekend to get clean carpets was worth it.