[ckonarske]

Winter's on it's way and it's almost time to put the Weathertech mats back in the ol' Ody, but the beige rubber is actually harder to keep clean and new looking than the stock beige carpets. The places where my feet contact them while driving get stained and nothing I've tried so far will get them totally clean, even though I clean them often so the stains don't build up.

I've tried everything I can think of..... tire cleaners, brass brushes and Bleche-Wite (a combination which will leave whitewalls or white letters looking PERFECT!), but nothing seems to work to get them really clean.

Any ideas? I'm reluctant to put them back in for the winter if I can't figure out a way to maintain them. Thanx.

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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 11-09-2001).]

 

[FrankBullitt]

Chuck, I have a grey set in my Accord that I didn't clean for a year, and they looked pretty foul. My wife thought I'd lost it, but I took the mats into the shower with me, and scrubbed them with a plastic bristle brush and Scrubbing Bubbles. Much neater than cleaning them outside.

Not perfect, but they look MUCH better- the amount of dirt that came off was incredible. They'll never look new, as any scrubbing of soft rubber will slightly coarsen the surface, but I can live with that. I just have to remind myself I bought them to protect the carpet better than the factory mats, and view them as a sacrificial layer!

The only catch: my wife is suing the Odyssey for alienation of affection.

 

[Maugham]

Would a preventative measure like Vectra be helpful on new mats?

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Maugham

"I plan to live forever. So far, so good"
'02 RP EXL
'85 Prelude
'01 Ninja folding aluminum scooter
'00 New Balance Model 658 Shoes w/ Green Grass stains and '01 White Laces w/ Frayed Tips

 

[ckonarske]

Thanx, Frank.

What irritates me is that I can clean the factory carpet mats more effectively than I can the Weathertechs, which kinda begs the question of why I have them in the first place.

FWIW, I called Weathertech after I posted the question and they basically said you can't get them totally clean.

I noticed on their site that they now offer the same mats with carpet inserts which would probably be a better solution --- the rubber backing to contain water and the carpet for cleanability.

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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.

 

[ckonarske]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Maugham:
Would a preventative measure like Vectra be helpful on new mats?

</font>

Hmmm....I don't know. Might be worth a try.



------------------
Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.

 

[Jerry O1]

Chuck, Chuck, Chuck!!! You're going totally type-A on us, Hee! Hee! Don't forget, as was said above, that these are protective items which are meant to get dirty. I have a friend who always used to pick on me about using mats, at all. He said that I spent all that money on that cool carpet and then never, ever saw it. It is true! The ol' 'bus may just as well have rubber mats as a base, since at least 95% of it is covered by yet another fabric. Just diggin' ya, Chuck. I'm the same way and continually hear my wife say, "it's only a car". I'll go with that, but, "only a clean car" is BETTER!!!!! Keep up the fight against filth!!!

Jerry O.

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2001 Odyssey GG LX

 

[ckonarske]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jerry O:
Chuck, Chuck, Chuck!!! You're going totally type-A on us, Hee! Hee! Don't forget, as was said above, that these are protective items which are meant to get dirty. I have a friend who always used to pick on me about using mats, at all. He said that I spent all that money on that cool carpet and then never, ever saw it. It is true! The ol' 'bus may just as well have rubber mats as a base, since at least 95% of it is covered by yet another fabric. Just diggin' ya, Chuck. I'm the same way and continually hear my wife say, "it's only a car". I'll go with that, but, "only a clean car" is BETTER!!!!! Keep up the fight against filth!!!

Jerry O.

</font>

LOL! Whaddaya mean, GOING type A? You haven't been payin' attention! I was BORN type A and have spent the rest of my life getting WORSE!!!

Look up the definition of "anal retentive" in the dictionary. There's a picture of me there.

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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.

[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 11-09-2001).]

 

[Jim F]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ckonarske:
I've tried everything I can think of..... tire cleaners, brass brushes and Bleche-Wite (a combination which will leave whitewalls or white letters looking PERFECT!)</font>

I love that stuff. I've used it on my tires since the early 80's. I keep atleast one of the big refill containers around all the time. It cleans black wall tires better than anything else I've used.



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Jim
'01 GG EX w/stuff
'93 Nissan Sentra SE-R with more stuff