Does anyone else have brown stains in there carpt caused by too many cleaners? I used to use some kind of cleaner every time I would clean out my truck. Now I have brown stains. This also happened to my mats and I got the brown stains out by putting the mats in the bath tub. After sitting for a while all the brown stains came out. Aside from pulling the mat from the truck does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get the stains out?

Thanks

John


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93 Teal Cobra #4656
95 White Lightning #153

 

John893,

I have Husky liners in my Expy and SCrew and don't have that problem now but I did in my prior vehicle.

Once a year I would use a carpet/upholstery cleaning machine on the carpet and seats. In fact, I would unbolt and remove the seats. Like I said, just a once a year deal.

The carpet would look great afterwards...

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OKCrew
(See ya'll at Southern Hills for the 2001 U.S. Open)

2001 SuperCrew, Lariat 4.6L 4x2 , Deep Wedgewood Blue/Harvest Gold, 3.55 Limited Slip, Bench Seats, 6 Disc CD Changer, Ford Bed Liner, Bed Extender, Class III Tow Group, Ford Platform Steps, Ford Bug Shield.

Mods: Astro-Cap EuroLid (Fiberglass Hard Tonneau), Husky Liners, Clarion Camouflage PSWFF15T Powered Subwoofer and 4 SRC5753 Component Plate Speakers.

 

I have posted about this many times in the past. I own a carpet cleaning business so I speak with a lot of experience. The brown stains are from the chemicals you have used in the past. All too often people use a heavy cleaner to clean carpets at home and in their cars. The heavy cleaners have a lot of suds which do not rinse out easily and never dry in the carpet. They attract a lot of dirt and cause the brown stain.

First of all, you need to stop using any type of store bought cleaners. They are garbage. Secondly, the only really decent way to clean automotive interiors is with an extraction machine. Using only hot water in the clean water tank. Use a citrus oil based cleaner or something like OxiClean for a pre spray on stains and heavier soiling. Then use the extraction machine with clean hot water to rinse it out. Many times you don't even need the prespray in automotive interiors. ALL store bought automotive carpet and uph. cleaners are garbage. If you use them you must rinse them out! You wouldn't wash the outside without rinsing off the soap would you?

Like the previous poster, I remove the seats from my truck once a year and clean everything with hot water and a citrus based cleaner I buy at a local janitor supply store. It looks and smells new and leaves no residue. The best way to wash mats are at a laundromat in a front loading machine with no or very little detergent. Do not use anything bigger than a double loader or it can damage the mats.

FYI, most carpet cleaning companies use soapy cleaners too. It makes the carpet get dirty faster so that you will call them back every three-six months. The only national company I know of that doesn't is Chem-Dry. They use carbonated water. I worked at one of the largest Chem-Dry franchises in the world for six years.

 

I'll backup what Seacrow says. I clean my own carpets in my rentals. I use the carpet detergent in the extraction machine, but I then go over the carpet again with just plain hot water. I keep doing it until I'm sure I got all the detergent out.

Retook a unit that was abandoned by a tenant a while back. Thought I would have to replace the carpets, but decided to give cleaning a shot. As I was cleaning the carpet, I realized something was wrong. Too much suds in the tank. Turns out the tenant tried to clean the carpet and didn't rinse it. Switched to plain hot water and went over the carpet. Then used a bit of white vinegar in the next batch. Then went back to hot water. 3 years later, the carpet still looks great.

I haven't had to recarpet in over 10 years since I've been doing this.

BTW, just in case you get the urge, don't use any liquids to clean the headliner. If you do, the headliner will come loose. Seen it happen to several friends.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I know now not to use anything but hot water. The only problem is getting the stains out once they are there. I am going to try my steam cleaner with only water and see if that helps if not then I will take the carpet out of the truck and hose it down until all the suds are gone.

Again thanks for all the good information. I will never user cleaners again unless I am sure I can get rinse them out completely.

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93 Teal Cobra #4656
95 White Lightning #153

 

Try some white vinegar in the water if the stains don't come out with just the water. Maybe 1 cup of vinegar to a gallon of hot water. Then clean again with plain water.

Let us know how you do on the stains.

 

Dennis is right on with the vinegar. You may also try going to a janitor supply store and purchasing some brown out remover or acetic acid 5-7% solution. Acetic acid is vinegar but the commercial solutions work better than store bought vinegar. Some cleaners are ok as long as they are non residual. AS I mentioned above, prespray all of the stains and spots with a citrus based cleaner, a cleaner like OxiClean, or even something as simple as Windex or a spray deodorizer. Anything to change the PH of water a little. You would be surprised at what a can of Lysol will clean. Use hot water only in the extractor once you pre-spray the spots.

 

Hey, Seacrow, thanks for the laundromat idea. Best $1.50 and 15 minutes of newspaper reading I've spent in a long time. My mats don't look new, but they sure look clean, and that's a 95% solution!

Catmandu

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97 F250LD SC 5.4 4x4 White, Astro cap, nerf bars
piston slap, driver door crack, no gutter cracks, anything else?

 

catmandu, if the laudromat does not clean them totally, take them home and spot clean them with oxiclean and a brush. then hose them out with a hose hooked to a hot water bib (laundry sink, water heater drain, etc.) and let them drip dry. Mats hardly ever look new, they always wear underneath the pedals on the drivers side. I just buy new ones when they wear completely out. Sure is easy to sit and read while the machine does all of the hard work, isn't it?

 

So where can you buy Oxi-clean? Also, can you recommend any citrus based cleaners? Thanks for the carpet cleaning tips.

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GalaxyEng
2000 RED #2926
BedRug, Haig custom mats

 

GUYS,TRY USING "ARDEX" 5209 #227 AUTO-MARINE
IT IS A HEAVY DUTY CLEANER BUT DILUTED WITH WATER,FOR CARPET,FABRIC SEATS ETC.IT IS STRONG THAT IS WHY IT NEEDS TO BE DILUTED WITH WATER,GET AN EMTY BOTTLE OF WINDEX,PUT A QUARTER OF THE CLEANER THE REST WATER,SPRAY ON THE AREA TO BE CLEAN AND BRUSH IT REAL GOOD THEN VACCUM IT AND TRY IT AGAIN IF IT NEEDS TO,BUT THIS STUFF WORKS.
THIS IS A PRO DETAILERS CLEANER.SO I HOPE THAT HELPS.GOD BLESS YA AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS




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2000 XLT,EXT CAB,BLACK,5.4,AUTO,K&N FIPK,BILLET GRILL,SS MIRRORS,CLEAR CORNERS,BLUE HEAD & REVERSE LIGHTS,DUAL FLOWMASTERS,3.5"TIPS ON FRONT OF REAR RIGHT WHEEL,4-6 DROP,18"KMC CHROME TARANTULAS,WITH 255-45-ZR18"S

 

Oxi Clean is available at Sam's. Citrus based cleaners are available at janitor supply stores. Most of them have the work "solv" in them for some reason. BioSolv, CoSolv, etc. ChemSpec has some chemicals but they are expensive. One of the best cleaners I've ever used is Big D doedorizer. I clean residential carpets with it and water all of the time with great, residue-free results. Most every janitor supply store has heard of Big D.