So you can make your own home-brew Febreze with a little (like a teaspoon...) of fabric softener in a spray bottle of distilled water. It coats and seals the fabric strands to hold in whatever it is that's making the smell. Not something I recommend for things that can actually be cleaned, but a decent workaround for really tired smells in fabric upholstery after it's been cleaned in a conventional way. Real steam-cleaning (not the hot-water-and-detergent soak and vac) does a fabulous job if you have that available.

 

The OEM backing used on some of the carpet is a rubber/jute combination. Its imported from Germany, is available, and is relatively expensive.
A pre-cut set made as replacement would run more then a couple hundred dollars and would require new binding.
Then you're faced with removing the stitching and binding from the old carpet, washing the carpet, and then sewing on the new backing and new binding.

Ready made seat foam is not available but replacement foam can be sculpted. This is an area one should tread carefully as there are many types of foam with varying features and characteristics(make up, density, etc). And sculpting foam requires much the same talent as sculpting with any other medium.

 

For the guys who run their Sliverknit through the washing machine, what happens to all that glue on the back?

 

After a steam clean and defunkization, an Ozone Generator (watch your plastics) can do wonders to defunk. My 91 smells like a baseball glove (in a good way) and any musty odors are gone.

2 shots for 2 hours a week apart.

 

What steam cleaner device you guys use?

 

I own one of these. I just de stenched my carpet on my 84. Be prepared the smell is enough to make you puke.

http://www.ladybugsteamvapor.com/

 

I need to be collecting royalties on this.

 

More likely that you would get a "cease and desist" letter from their lizard-loafered-larry.

 

That Steamer is the greatest cleaning machine I have ever owned. I've used it for steam cleaning the carpets(gets all smells out), cleaning the leather seats(be careful not to overheat the leather) and even blast the engine and get the brake dust off the wheels and calipers. Nothing is too tough. We have a house full of animals so we invested in this thing a year ago after much research. A great investment if you have tough cleaning to do. You will be amazed at the cleaning products you no longer need. Just tap water.

 

I have a steam presser - that is, a boiler, a long tube and a head to press against fabric. I'm going to give that a try.

My car has the "damp basement" smell. A flavor expert once told me that our noses are more sensitive to this chemical than any other. It's produced by some fungus or bacteria that likes cool, dark, damp places. Perhaps just a day in the hot sun would help. Car facing north, of course - I'm not risking a crack in the dashboard.

 

The carpet itself is incredibly easy to un-stink, just by washing it in the vintage Maytag. Pieces need to be flat and pile-side out when spinning, gentle/delicate on the wash intensity. I use an enzme-enhanced laundry detergent (tide unscented) in warm water, and 'stop' the wash cycle shortly after it starts to let the enzymes do their job for a while before continuing. The 'extra rinse' option is a good idea too. The pieces are carefuly laid out on towels to dry.

The not-so-easy part is that the carpet needs to come out of the car for this, unless you have a Really Big Maytag. Removing and cataloging all the old carpet pieces, then cleaning, drying, and reinstalling is slighly more effort than installing one of Rob Budd's kits, but lets you keep the exact original carpet in the car. For many who don't particularly value originality, complete replacement with current-technology paterials makes a lot more sense. You get to replace all the padding regardless.

My good friend Rob E has a Honda minivan that's used as a community shuttle van to hauls his kids and their local friends to school, afterschool events. the liquor store and the pool hall. Cloth upholstery, and the rugs. When the insides get too small from infant detritus and effluvium, he uses a steam cleaner to get all that plus embedded food and other organic materials out of all the soft parts. It even takes milkshake residue (new or used...) off of hard surfaces pretty well, I hear from others. There's a lot to be said for a real steam cleaner!

That said, real steam cleaners are not cheap, and by the time you get to really usable sizes they are as dangerous as they are expensive. Consider that 120º is about the most you'll want to touch without saying 'Ouch!' Barely boiling water is 212º at sea level. Good steam cleaners offer superheated steam at 300º+, and are a really serious hazard for burning. They also require you to sop up the crud and dirt manually, usually in [very hot] towels that have the steam passing through them. Steam won't get the sources of stink out of carpet padding, although it can kill most organic sources like mold and mildew in place.

New carpet is sounding like a really good option right about now, isn't it? Add to your Christmas list for your winter project enjoyment!