Eldorado2k
Well-known member
- Nov 9, 2015
- 14,426
- 527
Hey guys, I'd like some input on what should be 1 of the most basic things a detailer does, and that's cleaning floor matts.
For the longest time I've done it the basic way, and that's to spray some diluted APC and hit it with a scrub brush, quikly go over it with the Shop Vac, and finally mop it up with a folded terry towel. And that's always worked ok... However it tends to be alot of work, especially when I'm usually doing it on the ground.
But lately I haven't been quite satisfied with the level of clean that I usually achieve, and I've been wanting to reach that point where no more dirt mops up but I'm starting to think I may be fighting a losing war.
This is what I usually deal with: After scrubbing maybe 2-3 times, 1 whole side of my 16x24" terry towel folded into 8 sides is fully loaded with dirt I've mopped up off the matt.
Sure I'm making progress, but...
...But after another 2-3 rounds of scrubbing, now both sides of the towel are saturated with dirt and it seems like it's not going to stop anytime soon...
Now to the average Joe, or someone who couldn't care less this would suffice because it certainly looks alot better than before.. But I want to get the matts fully clean and would appreciate not having to work myself to death in order to do so.
To make things a bit more frustrating than they already are, I bought a couple of Cyclo brushes for my DA, and they've made absolutely no difference at all. After trying them out a couple of times now, these brushes are seriously underwhelming.
I have to use it on speed 6 just to ensure the thing spins, otherwise on something like speed 3 they absolutely don't spin at all.
I've marked it. I can see if it's spinning or not, and it doesn't spin on speed 3 unless of course you apply less than no pressure and feather across the carpet, but who does that. This is how 1 brush looks after 2 uses. Is this normL? It looks almost beat to death...
I've come to realize that it's not the scrubbing that's a chore, it's the mopping that's a PITA. Especially when it's never ending. But as far as the scrubbing goes, I can do a much better job than these brushes on my DA and that part isn't even hard. But there's gotta be a better way.
I stopped after loading up both sides of that towel and I could've kept going... Looks better, but I'm still not satisfied.
So what are some alternative methods? I'm ready to look outside APC. Quite frankly I'm thinking about taking the other matt to the laundromat tomorrow morning just to see if I could avoid this chore of cleaning matts.
These matts are used in my fathers truck, but they're actually original floormatts from a 1998 Cadillac, so they're quality matts with plenty of beef and thickness to them.
I don't have an extractor. I don't have a tornador. I don't see how my steamer could help.. Please advise on any possible bare bones methods or alternative cleaning liquids. Please be specific if you can and don't just tell me to check the local janitorial supply because I've seen that recommended too many times. Lol. Thanks!
For the longest time I've done it the basic way, and that's to spray some diluted APC and hit it with a scrub brush, quikly go over it with the Shop Vac, and finally mop it up with a folded terry towel. And that's always worked ok... However it tends to be alot of work, especially when I'm usually doing it on the ground.
But lately I haven't been quite satisfied with the level of clean that I usually achieve, and I've been wanting to reach that point where no more dirt mops up but I'm starting to think I may be fighting a losing war.
This is what I usually deal with: After scrubbing maybe 2-3 times, 1 whole side of my 16x24" terry towel folded into 8 sides is fully loaded with dirt I've mopped up off the matt.
Sure I'm making progress, but...
...But after another 2-3 rounds of scrubbing, now both sides of the towel are saturated with dirt and it seems like it's not going to stop anytime soon...
Now to the average Joe, or someone who couldn't care less this would suffice because it certainly looks alot better than before.. But I want to get the matts fully clean and would appreciate not having to work myself to death in order to do so.
To make things a bit more frustrating than they already are, I bought a couple of Cyclo brushes for my DA, and they've made absolutely no difference at all. After trying them out a couple of times now, these brushes are seriously underwhelming.
I have to use it on speed 6 just to ensure the thing spins, otherwise on something like speed 3 they absolutely don't spin at all.
I've marked it. I can see if it's spinning or not, and it doesn't spin on speed 3 unless of course you apply less than no pressure and feather across the carpet, but who does that. This is how 1 brush looks after 2 uses. Is this normL? It looks almost beat to death...
I've come to realize that it's not the scrubbing that's a chore, it's the mopping that's a PITA. Especially when it's never ending. But as far as the scrubbing goes, I can do a much better job than these brushes on my DA and that part isn't even hard. But there's gotta be a better way.
I stopped after loading up both sides of that towel and I could've kept going... Looks better, but I'm still not satisfied.
So what are some alternative methods? I'm ready to look outside APC. Quite frankly I'm thinking about taking the other matt to the laundromat tomorrow morning just to see if I could avoid this chore of cleaning matts.
These matts are used in my fathers truck, but they're actually original floormatts from a 1998 Cadillac, so they're quality matts with plenty of beef and thickness to them.
I don't have an extractor. I don't have a tornador. I don't see how my steamer could help.. Please advise on any possible bare bones methods or alternative cleaning liquids. Please be specific if you can and don't just tell me to check the local janitorial supply because I've seen that recommended too many times. Lol. Thanks!
