Carpet Cleaning Advice

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DixieWASP

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Does anyone have advice on the best way to clean the interior carpet of my regular cab Silverado? I was planning to remove the carpet from the cab and take it to a coin-operated car wash and use the high-pressure water to do the cleaning. Has anyone cleaned their truck's carpet using a coin-operated car wash? Is there a better way to clean the carpet?
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454cid

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I would not do a coin wash. Coins wont go far enough. Itll take forever to get all the soap out, at least it did when I used a pressure washer.

If you dont have a pressure washer maybe you could rent one?
 

fancyTBI

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My recommendation is:
1) use an air compressor and blow it all out. It will loosen more dirt than you’d be able to get by just vacuuming.
2) vacuum it thoroughly
3) use a dedicated carpet cleaner (like P&S products 3 step system) if you follow the directions it will come out great. It is what I use. It is best to agitate it with a drill brush or a stiff horse/boars hair brush. Since yours isn’t bad, you could probably get away with just buying Carpet Bomber. https://www.autogeek.net/ps-interior-kit.html
4) vacuum again to remove any leftover chemicals and water
5) use steam to remove any deep stains. Steamers are cheap enough and have a ton of other uses around the house. Apply steam to the area and dab the spot with a clean rag.
Another option is to just use a pressure washer with some carpet shampoo and agitate it with a brush. It’s not as many steps but should be good for your needs. The steps I listed above are what I did on my carpet.
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someotherguy

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IF you're going to get it soaking wet, whether car wash, pressure washer, steam cleaner, etc... I'd suggest you remove it from the truck so it is separate from the jute padding underneath because that padding will be impossible to get dry otherwise, and will mildew and stink, as it contributes to rusting out your floorpan.

I've pulled several really funky carpets and taken them to the car wash (before I had a pressure washer) and managed to do OK. As mentioned it does take forever to get the soap out. Then, it takes forever for them to dry. I hang them over a sawhorse, over the bedside (if your paint isn't nice - if it is, don't scratch it up with the carpet), etc. so it can drip dry. It'll take all day out in the sun.

Richard
 

xXxPARAGONxXx

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Does anyone have advice on the best way to clean the interior carpet of my regular cab Silverado? I was planning to remove the carpet from the cab and take it to a coin-operated car wash and use the high-pressure water to do the cleaning. Has anyone cleaned their truck's carpet using a coin-operated car wash? Is there a better way to clean the carpet?
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If the carpet is cleanable, I personally would call up a professional carpet cleaner. These would be the guys that go into apartments after a lease is up and clean the carpets. They typically do a good job.
 

any4xx

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I’m mostly a mechanical guy and not so much of an aesthetics guy. I am slowly figuring all this stuff out. I learned A LOT by watching some detailing videos online. My carpet cleaning regiment now goes from cleaning solution, drill brush, portable carpet/upholstery cleaning machine, then again with just water in the machine.

I just finished up the entire interior on my new-to-me and never-been-cleaned ‘95 and I’m happy to report that everything looks (and smells) great.
 

kennythewelder

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I have cleaned mine several times over the last 21 years, since I bought my 97, in 2002. I always use a carpet cleaning foam, scrub that in with a medium bristle brush, then vacuum that up with a shop, vacuum, untill my wife bought a carpet cleaner vacuum. I do the same thing now, just put water in the carpet cleaning machine. The real trick, is not to get the carpet to wet. You don't want to saturate it wit water. You can use a wet terry cloth rag, as you go along to aid in the clean up, after you scrub the carpet down with spray carpet cleaner.
 
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