Can You Put Car Mats In The Washer? Keeping Your Car Clean

Car maintenance is a big deal, and it covers a lot of issues, including cleaning the car and all its internal components regularly. 

The floor mat on your car is probably the dirtiest part of your car, so you need to give it special attention.

Most floor mats are made of a form of fabric, so you might want to throw it in the washer and be done with it, but can you? Let us look at how you can clean your car mat and other tips you need to keep your car clean.

Can You Put Car Mats In The Washer? 

It depends on the kind of mat your car has. If the mat is entirely fabric, then you can put it in a washer or dryer if you have one. 

The problem is that most car mats have rubber undersides or edges, and rubber cannot go into the washer. Physically inspect the mat to ensure it doesn’t have rubber before putting it in the washer.

How To Deep Clean Your Car Mat

You can vacuum your car mat to get rid of the dirt and other contaminants that might be on the surface. This might work, but at times it is not enough. You could use a washer, but if your car mat has rubber, this is how you can clean it;

1. The first thing you need to do is get the mat out of your car to give you full access off both sides. A good mat will be plush and thick, but it will also be a dirt hoarder; thus, it needs a deep clean. 

2. You need a surface to work with. If you have a concert or block driveway, don’t try to clean your mat on it since you will get the back of the mat dirty when you lay the mat down. A grass lawn will be a good idea since it will get rid of the water as you work on your car mat.

3. Start by doing a general cleanup of the mat. Beat the sand out of it and lay it down to vacuum and wipe it down. Use a brush to remove most of the loose contaminants and dirt to make it easier to clean in the end. 

After brushing, use a vacuum cleaner on the mat once more to make sure you clean all the dirt there might be on the carpet. A brush will loosen a lot of debris, and vacuuming will help you avoid dealing with it when it’s wet.

4. Once you have removed as much as possible, you can start the deep clean. Look at the mat to see where you have dirt patches; these areas will need more cleaning solutions and attention. 

Unless you have stains, this process should be easy, and it won’t take too much time. You can use a carpet cleaning spray or a standard all-purpose cleaner.

5. Spray the carpet freely but don’t soak it; in the areas with heavier marks, apply more products to loosen the dirt, then allow it to soak in for a few minutes.

6. The next step is to use a brush to scrub don the mat. You can use your hand brush, but it will be tedious if the carpet is thick or rough. You can use a drill brush since it will work faster, and you won’t use up all your energy. 

If you can, use a cordless drill since corded ones tend to have more torque, and they are not safe for your carpet. Set the drill to the slowest speed and use the trigger to operate with half the power, so you don’t pull the fibers from the mat.

7. Step on the mat with clean shoes or find someone to hold it down for you. If you don’t hold it down, it will spin and potentially get dirtier as it might fall into some sand—work from left to right, then up to down. 

This will ensure you get all the dirt out of the mat. Please pay more attention to the areas with more dirt since they will be harder to remove. As you work, keep wiping off any dirt while it is still suspended, and apply more cleaners as you work your way through.

8. Continue working the surface until you are satisfied with how clean it is. Use a lint roller to remove any remaining sand or fluff you couldn’t get with the vacuum. Brush the soft carpet in one direction, and your carpet will be clean as new.

How To Keep Your Car’s Interior Clean

Keeping your car clean is a big part of being a car owner, and it is something you have to get right. 

You need to have a schedule for cleaning the car since you will be using it with your family, potentially kids. Here is a simple guide on how you can clean your car at home;

1. Clean out the junk

Before cleaning the car, start by taking all the junk out to leave the car as clean as possible. You could always try to limit the junk that ends up in your car by controlling what you get into the car with.

Clean the car out every evening or after a few days to avoid getting pileups of messes in your car. 

Sweet and snack wrappers can become a big problem, so you have to remove them as soon as possible lest you end up with ants in your car.

2. Take out and clean your floor mats

The floor mats accumulate probably the most dirt in the car since they make contact with your shoes. 

You, therefore, have to take it out and clean it before moving to the rest of the car. Be careful as you lift it off to ensure you don’t get the dirt on other surfaces in the car.

Clean the floor mats first, so they get time to dry while you clean the rest of the car’s interior. It will be a big advantage to have rubber mats since you can hose them down, then scrub with a brush and soapy water then you are all set.

3. Vacuum clean the car’s interior

Get a vacuum with a head that allows you to get to far places like behind the pedals around the sets. 

If you can, move the seats to get as much space as possible, so you do a thorough job and get underneath all surfaces.

Put more emphasis on car mats since they make contact with shoes, and they are dirtiest. If you drive in a dusty environment and have seats made of fabric, you can vacuum them since dust settles on them and makes the car unpleasant.

4. Clean the pedals and other Sensitive components

You put your foot on the pedal, so it must have tracked a lot of dirt during its use. You, therefore, have to deal with it as you clean the car. 

Put a cloth underneath it before you start so you don’t drop the dirt onto areas you have already cleaned.

Vacuum the speakers to get the dust out of them and wipe down the dash and areas of contact such as the steering wheel and the buttons. Use a wet cloth, but it shouldn’t be dripping since it might fry the circuitry.

You can use a Q-Tip to get into the vents and clean them, so you don’t get dusty air in your car. Make it a little wet, so the dust sticks to it as you move it around. If one gets too dirty, dispose of it and use a fresh Q-tip. 

5. Condition the leather

You also need to condition the leather in your car’s interior. You can use an Ammo leather conditioner for two reasons; it has a leather smell; thus, it won’t get a different scent into your car, and it does pretty well when you are done, and the seats won’t be shiny.

Wipe the whole seat down with the conditioner first, and then give it a few minutes to soak before re-doing it with a microfiber cloth. This is a good way to keep your leather seats looking good as new after years of use.

Do the same for all leather surfaces in your car since you need the interior to look the same. It would help if you gave the dash a little more attention since it might be worse since the sun making contact with it makes the leather fade.

Conclusion 

You can put your car mats in the washer if you have one, but you need to make sure the car mat is all fabric with no rubber.

Rubber might burn or cause damage to your washer, so you have to wash any rubber car mats manually.

Keeping a clean car is as important as cleaning your house. Make sure you never leave garbage in your car since snacks or sweet crumbs might attract ants or other pests into your car. Get a reliable car wash to clean your car if you can’t do it yourself.