There is just something satisfying about having a clean car, not just the exterior, but the inside as well. Who would not appreciate a squeaky-clean car floor and the interior space smelling fresh?
Anyway, regardless of how careful you are, spills and dirt build-up are likely to happen. Whether by you or your passengers. Of course, you can find the perfect floor mats for your car to collect all the dirt and spillages but you will have to clean them up at some point as well.
We, therefore, want to take you through the process of cleaning your car floor mats. Now the car mats can be made from rubber or cloth and we are going to cover the cleaning process for both.
Table of Contents
Cleaning Rubber Car Floor Mats
If you live in colder climates where it rains and snows often, these will make the perfect option as they dry faster and prevent moisture from damaging your car’s interior.
The only downside to rubber mats is that they do not absorb spillages.
Anyway, here are the steps for cleaning rubber mats.
Step 1: The first thing you want to do is remove the mats from your car’s floor. This is because you will need to wet the mats and you do not want any of the water inside your car.
Step 2: The second step involves whacking the mats to remove debris. You can do that on a wall or any other solid surface.
Step 3: Next, you want to hose the mats down using water. This will effectively dislodge any crumbs or loose dirt. Be sure to only wash the stepping surface and not the underside that touches your car’s floor.
Step 4: Apply some soap or detergent (preferably liquid) to the mats and scrub using a rag. This should remove any grime easily.
Once, you are done hose the mats down with water again.
Step 5: Your rubber mats are now clean ad ready for drying so hang them out on a coat hanger or railing to air dry.
Cleaning Cloth Car Floor Mats
These are a little harder to clean than rubber ones particularly if they are already wet. They may even have stains or an unpleasant smell.
That is probably their biggest downside. Once, they get the smell, you must live with it until you are ready to clean the mats.
Here is what you need to do to clean them though.
Step 1: Just like with rubber mats, the first thing you need to do is take these out of your car because you do not want to get detergent or water in the car.
Step 2: Use a vacuum cleaner to suck any grime or dirt out. Do this on both sides of the mats. After that, you want to sprinkle and rub some baking soda on the mats. This removes unpleasant odours and stubborn stains.
Step 3: Pour a generous amount of liquid soap or detergent on the mats (You can also use shampoo). Take a hard bristled brush and scrub away. Once that is done, rinse the soap with clean water.
Step 4: Next, you want to apply carpet cleaner onto the mats and allow it to sit for about half an hour. Then, use a hand brush to scrub.
Step 5: Your cloth car mats are now clean and ready for drying so you can either dry them in the dryer or hang them out somewhere to air dry.
Cleaning in Washing Machine
Alternatively, you can simply toss your cloth car mats into your washer with detergent and stain remover and let it do all the hard work for you.
Here is the process for doing that.
Step 1: As always, the first thing to do is to remove your floor mats from the inside of your car. You also want to keep in mind that only cloth car mats should be cleaned in a washing machine.
Mats with plastic or rubber parts can deform or melt in the wash and you do not want that.
Step 2: Next, you want to whack your mats against a hard surface to eliminate any loose dirt or dust and then toss them into the washer.
Step 3: You can also use baking soda for the same purpose.
Step 4: Set your washing machine to the gentle wash with cold water and toss your mats in. Allow the washer to run for 15-20 minutes and once that is done, you can take out the mats and air-dry them or let the dryer do the job for you.
Cleaning with a Vacuum Cleaner
You can also vacuum clean your car floor mats and this is probably the easiest way to do it.
Step 1: You want to go slow here. Starting on the far edge of the mat, push your vacuum cleaner forward to lift dirt and debris in the mat. Pull the machine back to collect the dirt.
Step 2: Another thing you want to note is that you can get your mats extra clean by vacuuming side-to-side after doing it up and down in rows.
This will help catch every bit of debris and dirt.
Step 3: At this point, you are done vacuuming and you have clean car floor mats at hand. Simply put them back in your car or store them away for future use.
Final Thoughts
If you own a car, you know that its floor receives all the dirt from your shoes as well as spillages and food crumbs when you eat in there.
Whether you have rubber or cloth car mats, you need to wash them regularly to eliminate all the debris and spillages collected. This will make your space looking clean and tidy and your space smelling fresh.
You can get rid of all the dirt by deep cleaning the mats and now that you have this article in your possession, that should not be too hard.