The blessing of having your own car is that you can get anywhere quickly instead of having to rely on the public transport system. However, having your own car does mean that you would have some responsibilities of your own to take up.
While it is important and basic knowledge to ensure that your car is always well filled with gas, to change the oil every few months, did you know that it is also just as important to ensure that your car floor mats are well cleaned and maintained? Having a dirty car floor mat could ruin the overall appearance of the interior of your car. If you need to have your car mat replaced, iCarmats is the place to go.
This is simply because car mats do get dirty very easily and it is unavoidable. So how do you go about cleaning and maintaining them? Here are some tips we have for you.
1. Do It Yourself
Instead of forking out some extra money to pay people to clean your car at the carwash, you can simply do it yourself. This would help you to save quite a sum of money (especially in the long run). What’s more, this task is not difficult at all!
2. Get A Mat Cleaner And Brush
Before we begin it is good to invest in a mat cleaner as your regular soap and water will not be able to do the job well enough for you. Mat cleaners are great, especially if you have more delicate mats. Determine the type of floor mat you have before purchasing a mat cleaner as each is formulated to work best with the type of material. However, if your floor mat has a rubbery feel, then you can use regular soap and vinegar to do the job. If the mat is made out of cloth, a mat cleaner would be great to help maintain the texture and not spoil it.
Other than a mat cleaner, have a mat brush as well. It is good to have a separate brush and choose one that would work best with the material of your car mat. We recommend getting one that is smaller and more comfortable to use. With a smaller brush, you would be able to also target the smaller areas and get all the dirt out.
3. Steps For Cleaning A Car Mat
Firstly, clean your car. While we may be talking about car floor mats, it is also important to clean the rest of your car. Pick up whatever you find on your floor mat and throw them away if they are useless items. If you do intend on keeping these items, place them in designated places. With everything out of the way, it will make it so much easier to clean the floor mats.
Once that is done, take the mats out of the car and begin to clean them. This is because you would not want any of the liquids being used to clean the mat to touch the rest of the car.
Next, vacuum the mat once you have taken it out to remove all the dirt and dust that has been collected to help ease the scrubbing process later. This allows you to focus solely on stains later on.
With your car mat cleaner and the trusty brush, pour some of the cleaning solutions on the mat and begin scrubbing it in. There is no need to soak the mat, instead, give it a thorough brush to ensure that all the salt and stains are removed. Try not to brush for too long though, as it may destroy the feel of the material.
After this is done, give the mat a good rinse down with water. We recommend using a high-pressure nozzle to really help hose off all the tough stains. Once all the soap has been rinsed off, if you still see stains that you wish to remove, go ahead and scrub it once again. Once you are satisfied, simply hang it on a rack and leave it out to dry.
4. Cleaning Rubber Mats
Now, if you have rubber mats for your floor, here is how you should go about cleaning it.
It is much easier compared to the carpet floor mats and does require way less effort. Rubber is not able to soak up most liquids and therefore a car mat made out of rubber does not have stains on it most of the time. So similar to before, take the mats out and give them a good whack against the wall or floor to remove any dirt or dust particles. You could also use a vacuum as well. Next, take white vinegar and rub it onto the mat. Another alternative would be to use dishwashing liquid combined with water. Give it a good scrub, and unlike the carpet mat, there is no need to be careful about how hard you scrub so really get in there. Once all that is down, give it a rinse with water to remove all the soap. Once again, we recommend using a high-pressure nozzle to give the mat a good clean.
Do note that you should only water down the top of the mat. This is where the passenger and driver’s feet will rest. If you wet the area that comes into contact with the mat, it could damage the interior of the car. This could even lead to fungus growth later on.
5. Keeping Your Mat Clean
It will be difficult to have a clean mat all the time as it will always get dirty again. This does not mean that you would have to wash it every time you notice a small stain. Instead, here are a few tips to help maintain a clean mat:
- Ensure that your shoes are clean before entering the car
- If at the beach, keep the doors closed
- Dry your feet before entering the car, do not let them get wet.
- Try not to eat or drink while in the car as well.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as much as the exterior of the car is important in terms of appearance, the same amount of care and effort should be given to the interior too. Cleaning the car floor mat by yourself is not a difficult task and should be done regularly!
