Interior carpet cleaning

[MazdaDriverNJ]

Hi everyone,
After spending over an hour today vacuuming the car (and it wasn't that dirty as I'm a bit of a clean freak), I wanted to post this: what is the best way you found to clean the interior carpet?
This car's floor carpet is nothing I've had before in my other cars - I hate to say it, but it feels (and looks) a bit cheap, like a cardboard with some fleece glued to it.
While I have a portable auto vac, I use my home Dyson vacuum because I feel the suction is better. Still, on the black floor every tiny speck of dirt is visible.. hate the black!! why not beige all over?? (Ok I'm digressing, this is for a different thread )

Please share your tips and tricks!

 

[Lupi]

I use floor liners. They covers the carpet. I use my mats over the liner.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Floor liners is a must for Mazda carpet. Mazda's have been on such stringent diets for the past decade, their carpets are literally as you described.

Get a decent HP wet/dry shop vac. When need be, shampoo the carpet with woolite diluted.

www.autopia.org

 

[MazdaDriverNJ]

Oh guys, I do have the all-weather rubber mats! I would never just have the car without any kind of mats. I had the regular carpet mats under the all-weather mats but still, especially in the folds lots of dust and dirt collects. I removed the carpet mats because it is not recommended to have all-weather rubber mats on top, so let's see how much dirt I get now ...
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[robertmazda]

Did you really spend a full HOUR just with a vacuum and just on one car? You may want to talk to someone about that obsession! They have meds you know. (cheers2) I don't see how you can live with a black interior - which I also don't like for the same reason. But an hour....Wow!

 

[MazdaDriverNJ]

Oh man, thanks!! LOL
Well actually it was probably more than an hour - but it wasn't just plain vacuuming the carpet. I cleaned all rubber mats, plastic parts, seats, etc. and yeah black kills so maybe that's why I kept vacuuming the same spot over and over - until I didn't see any specks of dust or dirt....and I have a good vision
Anyway.. I just like driving in a clean car, what can I say? .. Or living in a clean house

 

[MikeM.]

Hi everyone,
After spending over an hour today vacuuming the car (and it wasn't that dirty as I'm a bit of a clean freak), I wanted to post this: what is the best way you found to clean the interior carpet?
This car's floor carpet is nothing I've had before in my other cars - I hate to say it, but it feels (and looks) a bit cheap, like a cardboard with some fleece glued to it.

Please share your tips and tricks!

After I vacuum I wring out a terrycloth rag after dipping it in a bucket with a very dilute solution of Woolite (1 tsp./gallon) and wipe down the carpet. I wring the rag as much as possible so it is just damp. Works a treat!

But I have to disagree with your characterization of the carpet. It is not at all like cardboard or pressed fiber - it appears to be an all synthetic (nylon probably) three layer mat. It appears the middle layer has the most substance and performs the function of preventing fine dirt from filtering through the "carpet" and with the two outer layers comprised of some sort of fleece to perform the function of a dry liner so water doesn't wick between the floor panels and the "carpet" (and of course the exposed side does not encourage water to wick through if a wet towel or other wet item is in contact with the "carpet". It appears it is designed to dry out readily and not become moldy or smelly.

While it doesn't resemble any carpet one might choose for the floor in one's home it does appear to be very well suited to it's function in a car. It also appears the middle layer is heat moldable so it is pressed into a shape that conforms to the irregular contours of the floor pan without needing to be bonded with glue (which would be problematic from a water/corrosion perspective). It appears that Mazda places a higher priority on choosing materials that actually work in an automotive application rather than choosing materials that "wow" us with their plushness and make the interior look like an expensive living room but that hold too much moisture, dries too slowly and causes the floor panels to corrode or the carpet to take on a moldy, musty smell after a couple of years.

Here's another tip for keeping it easy to maintain the interior:

A previous thread discussed the fact that the floor mat retaining system is so aggressive that it's a pain to remove the mats to vacuum under them without feeling like you are ripping the knobs right through the carpet. I found the mats removed much easier once I lightly polished the "knobs" with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper (steel wool would work also) and then applied a light coat of dielectric grease in a spray can (a little regular dielectric grease or even Vasoline in a pinch would probably work also) to the retaining holes in the mats. The mats are still held firmly in place but remove very easily by putting two fingers under the mat on either side of the "knob" and pushing the top of the knob with the thumb.

 

[Lupi]

Floor liners are not rubber matts, they cover the carpet like a tray. They have tall sides to keep dirt or liquids from getting on carpet.

 

[Gio26NJ]

I much the same as driving in a clean auto, what would I be able to say? .. Alternately living in a clean house.

spam bots are getting clever but still need a lot of work obviously, can anyone make out what this spam bot tried to say lmao