Hello All! I'm new here. I did a search on floor mats, but didn't find what could answer my question. Here goes: A friend tracked motor oil onto one of my floor mats a couple of years ago. At the time, I used hot water and Dawn dishwashing detergent to try and lift the stain out and a wet/dry vac to pull out the moisture. Not all the Dawn came out, so I used a steam cleaner (hot water only--no extra cleaner) to try and get the rest of the suds out. I got most of it out, but not all. I couldn't get back to cleaning it again soon enough and the mat dried. There are large dirt "stains" from dirt/sand/snow/salt on there now and I'm not sure how to proceed. Should I just try and get all the other stains out and then deal with the Dawn/oil stain that may still be there? Should I pressure wash and dry the mats to see what happens to the stains and then go from there? The mat has a lighter spot on it from all the rubbing with a toothbrush and the remnants of Dawn. Thanks for any help you can give to me.
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Floor mats--not sure how to correct mistake
- Thread starter Mommyvan
- Start date
imported_paradigm
New member
IMHO...i would vacuum the mat completely...and then vacuum more. beat on it to loosen the remaining crud and vacuum again. spot treat with Folex or another quality stain remover...then agitate with a brush. then use your wet/dry vac and rinse...wet/dry vac...repeat as necessary. if that doesn't do it, maybe the pressure wash.
Grouse is the first autopian i think of when it comes to removing stains...perhaps he'll chime in.
Grouse is the first autopian i think of when it comes to removing stains...perhaps he'll chime in.
a.k.a. Patrick
New member
Rubber backed? Dont be afraid to take a hose to them to get the Dawn out. I would vacuum thoroughly, spritz with some APC, and some water, nylon scrub brush. Rinse with water, hang dry, vacuum.......
I'd beat the mat from the rear to get the loose stuff out (and to have some fun) and then soak it in the bathtub for a couple of hours with some carpet cleaner, scrub it with a stiff brush, then rinse it a couple of times- maybe with a hose.
After it's dry, if there are still any oil stains, I'd hit 'em with some naptha or dry cleaning fluid.
After it's dry, if there are still any oil stains, I'd hit 'em with some naptha or dry cleaning fluid.
Thank you for your suggestions. I just looked in another section of this site to see what brushes I should get to scrub the mats with. (Meguiars medium/firm dual-bristled brush was named.) My mats are not rubber-backed. They have a porous foam backing. (2005 Honda Odyssey with original mats.) Not sure how easy it would be to rip the backing if I treat them too roughly. I am certainly getting some Folex after seeing how many people here trust it to clean their carpets/mats!! (I used to think that detailing was basically limited to washing/waxing, vacuuming and using NuVinyl on the dash. I'm getting much better at detailing now that I've seen the light!)