carpet cleaning

[dieselsmoke]

My snap in carpets are in nice shape. No real stains. I usually just put them on the floor and get them vacuumed clean with the shop vac. But I was wondering if I could place them in the washer machine on a delicate cycle? Whats do you guys think

 

[bbwhitejr]

I used to take them and lay them out on a tarp in the driveway. Wet them down and spray with some mild clothes detergent. Then take a scrub brush on a handle and scrub and rinse with a pressure washer. Hang them over the fence or deck rail to dry. Then treat with 303 Fabric Protectant and good to go.

Bennett

 

[The Bill Collector]

I have brought mine home, washed them on the back deck and then pressure washed them to rinse...

 

[kap2]

I wash them in the machine a few times a season then just line dry them. Also, after they dry I spray them down with 303 Fabric Guard. It makes them easy to clean up in case of a spill.

I assume you're talking about the snapin Sunbrella carpet runners.

 

[The Bill Collector]

cockpit carpet or carpet savers on top of your salon carpeting ?

 

[keokie]

A washing machine will put a lot of stress on the lamination of the backing to the fiber. If they are that bad, I would recommend hosing them with very, VERY little or no detergent. You can lightly scrub them, or even use a mild pressure washer (not close up) to help. Be advised, almost all rubber backed boat carpet still has latex in it. Latex is definitely degraded by water. So get the cleaning done quickly and get them dry.

Also of note, once you start aggressively cleaning the carpet will be losing the original mill applied polymers, which means it will get dirty faster and be harder to clean in the future. You can apply things like scotchgard or 303 protectant which helps a little.

Best bet if they are not that bad, is to hose them briefly while hanging vertically without any cleaners or detergent.

 

[fwebster]

I have Corinthian carpeting with PVC backing. We use a residential carpet cleaner (a Hoover, I think) with carpet detergent and a bit of white wall tire cleaner. We have a problem with diesel exhaust from the marina forklifts and it takes a degreaser like tire cleaner to remove it.

My carpet set is 7 years old and still looks like new.

 

[NorCal Boater]

I agree with Keoki and Frank. Don't put your carpet in the washer. Residential washer are not built for that type of load. You'll end up buying the Admiral a new Maytag.

I used to lay my carpets out on the garage floor, or in the driveway if was warm and sunny, and rent a Rug Doctor carpet shampooing machine from a rental center. It always worked really well as that is what it was built to do.

Shawn