Carpet Cleaning

HydroCanis

I assume someone's asked before but I don't see an old thread. What are some effective ways of cleaning the snap-in carpets? I don't want to put much additional wear on them during cleaning, but a recent outing with "the guys" left an array of junk on them, visible even on my brown carpets. I don't mind attacking them (gently and carefully) with a (nonmetallic) scrub brush, but what type of soap, etc. works best?

skidtrash

I used to own a carpet cleaning business....I used to have a couple of people bring their carpets to me (so I didnt have to travel aka spend money) and I would clean their boat carpets right in my driveway for cheap... might be worth making a couple phone calls to a local small cleaner

HydroCanis

Good idea, thanks.

cjjjdeck

When I purchased my boat, I also purchased a multi-attachment telescoping handle by Shurhold.  You can attach different stiffness of brushes and even a boat hook.  My kit came with a soft bristle brush, boat hook and handle.  I also purchased the medium brush.  They are made to last forever and work very well.  I use the soft brush for cleaning the deck and the medium to clean my swim platform and they work great.  Although I haven't had to clean my carpet yet, I would use the medium brush in my driveway and probably start out using Dawn detergent and Lestoil for any grease/oil based stains.

Here's a link to the product on West Marine's website.  Most other marine suppliers offer it as well:

http://www.westmarine.com/search?text=shurhold

HydroCanis

I ended up using laundry detergent and a medium brush. Worked well except on rust spots (friends brought some rusty iron object on board and bits fell off, which, mixed with saltwater, left rusty spots). For that, I tried several things. The only thing that worked was lemon juice, after several applications and letting it soak in each time. Now that the carpet's clean, I need to get the rusty spots off the deck. I'll try lemon juice again. Any other suggestions?

cjjjdeck

I've had some pretty good luck with Mr. Clean Magic Erasers on stubborn deck spots.

HydroCanis

I had some unidentified stains and remembered that you or someone else here said that, so I tried it, successfully. But the rust stain below the starboard side hull hole from the poop deck drain, not so much. I'm thinking of taping a lemon juice soaked paper towel to the spot for a little while. There are some rust-removal products in the grocery store that might work. I didn't buy them earlier because they specifically say not for use on fabric, carpet, etc.

cjjjdeck

There's a pretty good product on the market by Jelmar called CLR, which stands for Calcium, Lime & Rust remover.  It is safe for fiberglass and is available from Home Depot and probably most other stores that have plumbing products.

Here's a link to their site:

http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm

HydroCanis

Thanks, I didn't know if it would be safe for gelcoated glass. I'm going after it right now (HD is nearby).