How to Clean Car Floor Mats

It’s no surprise that car floor mats get dirty after a short period of time. They can protect your vehicle’s interior from mud, snow, spills, and dirt, but that also means that the mat itself is taking on the dirt and grime. Well, are you wondering how to clean car floor mats? Let the experts at Auffenberg CDJR walk you through what supplies you’ll need, and the steps you’ll have to take to clean rubber or carpet floor mats.

The Supplies You Will Need

Before you can learn how to clean car floor mats, you need to have the following supplies handy:

• To Clean Rubber Floor Mats: Rubber floor mat cleaning solution, hose or bucket of water, a good in-car vacuum, stiff bristle brush, and microfiber towel (or a place to hang your mats to dry).
• Carpet Floor Mats: Carpet floor mat cleaning solution, hose or bucket of water, vacuum, brush, and a wet vac (if available) or place to hang your mats to dry.

How to Clean Rubber Floor Mats

First, let’s run through the steps on how to clean rubber floor mats:

• To begin, remove the rubber floor mat(s) from your vehicle so that you can avoid damaging the interior with your cleaning solution or water. We’re going to do the cleaning outside of the vehicle.
• Next, shake out the mats to get rid of any surface debris and dirt.
• Using clean water, rinse the mat(s).
• Using a cleaning solution that’s specifically designed for rubber mats, gently scrub your mat with a stiff bristle brush so you can remove additional debris, dirt, and grime.
• After the deep cleanse, you’ll want to simply rinse the mat down.
• Finally, simply hang up your mat(s) to dry, or use a microfiber towel to dry it. It’s important to make sure any and all mats are completely dry before placing back into your car.

How to Clean Carpet Floor Mats

Next up, we’re going to run you through the simple process on how to clean carpet floor mats:

• Just like the rubber mats, you’ll want to remove the carpet floor mats from your vehicle. We will be doing all of this cleaning on the outside of the vehicle.
• Use a vacuum and remove the surface-level dirt and debris that you can pick up.
• Next, to get even more dust and dirt, shake out or hit your mat against a hard surface. This will displace dust and dirt particles.
• Using a cleaning solution that’s designed for carpet materials, follow the solution’s application instructions and apply it to your mat(s).
• Scrub your mats to remove harder-to-get dirt and clean up any stains.
• After this, you will want to rinse the mat thoroughly.
• Next, if you have access to a wet vac, try vacuuming your floor mats again. This can help to remove some additional dirt and make the drying process much quicker.
• Once you’re done, simply hang your mats up to dry. And, of course, make sure the mat is completely dry before placing back into your vehicle.

Trust Auffenberg CDJR for Your Service Needs

Since you now know how to clean your car floor mats, it’s time to get the materials from the right source! Come to the service department at Auffenberg CDJR — which is centrally located just a short drive from Smithton and Belleville — and see if we have the supplies you need for this or any other car maintenance.

If you need further help, you can even contact us and schedule a service appointment so our experts can give your car the care it deserves. While you’re still here, learn more about car maintenance through our other guides that cover how to check coolant levels and how to jump-start a car. Remember when you’re cleaning to check the essentials, like your winter emergency kit.