Hello all,
84 euro S2, A/T transmission.

I have been reading alot on here about cleaning the carpets, as i am wanting to do this as part of my spring cleaning project.
It seems people are have good luck with putting them in the washing machine. Cause i can say cleaning them in the car just aint cuttin it.
I can see how the washing machine would work well for the little pieces, but mine in the trunk and the floors for example have that sort of straw backing that is kind of coming apart in places. Do you remove the backing totally before putting them in the washer ? Doesnt the washer destroy the straw backing. ? What's the process ?

 

I did put mine in a washing machine, and I did remove the backing. Not to hard to do, then I took off the binding and got some soft black foam to replace the straw backing. The results were very good. I have a linen interior as well. Bottom line is that I was very happy doing this, took about a week to sew the backing on, did it by hand. Just got some good needles.

 

That 'straw' camel hair whatever it is has to go .... What a mess it makes as its deteriorating..

Not sure about the floor, however the carpet inserts on the doors and center column can be carefully removed from the backing fiber board and washed, then using brush on glue (That 3m yellow stuff) reapplied. There was a thread about it, seemed to work out well (And on my list of planned things to do for the car that are cheap)..

 

I am very curious about the new foam backing. Where did you get it ? How is it sewed on right through the top of the carpet and through the foam ?

 

I got it from Donnie.. he's Griffinroydonald on this board. I have not seen him in a long time. I was able to sew right through it. here are some pics. the first image shows the top of the carpet. the second shows the backing sewn in. the last image are your choices. The black foam is what I used. I don;t know where to get it, but I was lucky. The carpet pading below it can be gotten at any home store, just go and look for solutions.

 

The "advantage" of the washing machine diminishes with the larger, easily removable and backed carpet sections. These sections are more easily cleaned in the driveway with the garden hose. Still need to do as much as you can without heavy brushing, as that rips the fibers loose from the loops. Since you can rinse pretty thoroughly and use a wet-vac for extracting at each step, it's OK to use harsher chems like Simple Green if you need to go after grease and such. Regular liquid Tide is still the first weapon I pull out for this duty. Apply it directly to stains and heavily-soiled areas, and add just a little water to get the enzymes working. Let the detergents do the work. Then wet-vac, rinse, repeat, until there is no foam at all in the rinse water.