Boat Carpet Cleaning Tip

[butlerrd]

I thought I’d share a recent discovery I made for cleaning my boat carpet. Some of you may already know this but some others may not. I have used everything you can think of over the years to clean boat carpet but never really had anything work as good as what I used last week. I decided to try liquid laundry detergent. I used the laundry detergent because it’s not so harsh as to damage the carpet glue or take the color out and it is designed to raise the dirt and stains out of clothes. I figured it should do the same on my carpet. I mixed about 8ozs of liquid Gain with 5gals of water and used a stiff bristle scrub brush to apply it to the carpet after I’d soaked it good with just plain water. Went over every inch of my carpet twice working the soap in and gave it a good rinse between scrubbings. After the second scrubbing I rinsed it completely and then parked it in the sun to dry and drain. When it was still damp I went back over it with the brush and raised the nap up and let it finish drying. Looks great and smells good too! Hopefully this may help some of you guys.

[Special K]

It sounds like you gave her a good and deep scrubbin' for sure. I've always used a water mixture of 30% dawn dish washing detergent, 30% white vinegar and 30% hydrogen peroxide. This mixture can be used on carpet, paint, trailer, tires and wheels and even to remove hard water spots from windshields and electronics.

[Hanr3]

That sure is a lot of work. Sounds like a day long project?
I'm not near as thorough. I hit it with a shop vac. twice a year and call it good.

[Retired2Fish]

However, it sounds like your cleaning method really worked and sometimes it takes more effort to get the results we want. Thanks for the ideas.

[RLS40]

Sounds like a good home project.
I have also had good luck using a DIY car wash

[BIGFISHNFREAK]

Now that its clean, take a 1 gallon bug sprayer mix white vinegar and water 50-50 and spray the carpet, it will neutralize the soap ,and keep it from becoming sticky. Otherwise the soap will attack dirt to stick to it.

[garyroe]

I use Simple Green Oxy Solve Total Outdoor Cleaner to clean my carpet. It is equally effective on moss, mold, mildew, and algae, which makes it a great option if you need an all-around cleaner.

[hdhntr]

I blast mine with my sprayer and then use a carpet cleaner on it but I like the idea of green oxy outdoor cleaner on it if it will keep moss and mold off later. thanks. lots of great ideas including taking it to car wash and blasting it with their soap in it too. course I really want to find a good heated storage place and take furniture off and put that new vinyl on and never worry about it again.

[oliver123]

Thanks, this tip very useful. Besides, I also recommend Star Brite carpet clean, it's an amazing product. Rust, grease, and other stains are gone on my boat carpet with just one application.

[garyroe]

I use Industrial Supply HQ Deluxe Boat Carpet. I just clean with a vacuum or hose to maintain the carpet’s peak condition. Very easy!