The most neglected and unrespected part of a car
 

is the floor mats. I learned something recently and I thought I'd share it for those who care (all one or two of you!)

Background; Cleaning/fixing up the prodigal son's '98 S70 this summer was going well except for the mats. I first used a Rug Doctor, then high pressure wash, a scrub brush and elbow grease, and a bunch of Folex carpet cleaner, and more scrub brush and elbow (aching, by this point)grease. Each time it would have large yellowish/brownish stains when they dried. I had given up on them because, hey- they're just floor mats, right?

Aside; Curiously, at the same time, I did son #W's mats (thick pile Infiniti mats, same age) and my wife's mats (thick pile Acura mats, but very light color) and the both cleaned up beautifully and at the Rug Doctor stage!

Technique; So I googled how to clean floor mats (surely the most menial task the search engine had ever performed) and discovered after many posts that no one had a better idea.......until I saw a post recommending soaking them for 24 hours in a trash can. This was easy enough, but I had little faith after all the high powered detergents and manual agitation had failed. So I did, hanging them up to dry on the fence afterward.

Clincher; Yep - they truly look like new!!!! Even heir # 2 noticed, saying that the whole interior looked better with "new" mats!!

Further proof; The older offsping had washed my S80 and mats as well after driving it all over Arizona and California this summer and the mats looked OK, but in the spirit of scientific experimentation I subjected the driver side to "the soak" and the passenger side to the brush and soap. Sure enough, the driver side looks better/brighter.

Conclusion; There is something in that short, dense pile that Volvo uses that does a superior job of trapping dirt, coffee, tea, beer, and cat vomit. But soaking for 24 hours in a large volume of water is a tremendous way to throughly clean them.

Shameless joke; You'll love the way your Volvo looks, I guarantee it!

do you soak them in clear water, or do you add soap?

Is there any (whether scientifically proven or not) method of removing cigarette burns?

I added about a quarter cup of All laundry detergent.

You can't restore melted fibers. Sand them down and/or cut them off will help but if you're down to the rubber it's time for new mats.

(I quit smoking 22 years ago but will not use this opportunity to make smug, jerky anti-smoking remarks!)

Good info donf. I guess I'll have to try it.

Regarding rubber mats. I have a 96 Tahoe and the floor mats were getting rather "Skanky" looking. Tried washing them with regular car wash and it would get some of the grime off, but not all. I was getting ready to wash it recently and got out my Westley's Bleache White for the tires. Figuring I had nothing to lose I sprayed some on the floor mats. Either it would clean them or ruin them. If it cleaned them great, if it ruined them then I would have to figure a way to explain to my wife why I needed to spend money to get new floor mats. End result, they don't look brand new, but they look alot better than they did. Basically wet them slightly, sprayed on the Bleache White, let it set for a couple of minutes and scrubbed them with a stiff brush, rinsed and let the sun dry them.

Lol, cat vomit.