How to Clean Your Car Floor Mats Like a Pro

Your car mats are host to various dirt, bacteria, and perhaps even other accumulated waste over time. Especially if you’re in the habit of eating in your car, crumbs of food and sticky liquid can stain your car floor mats.

This is usually when your car will start to smell a little funky over time.

That’s why cleaning out your car floor mats is important to achieving better hygiene.

After all, enhancing your driving experience starts with creating an optimal environment to keep you comfortable throughout your journey.

As you know, there are various types of car floor mats with different materials. This means that different materials will require different cleaning methods.

It’s no surprise that certain materials may be more time-consuming to clean than others.

Let’s look at a few different ways that you can make your car mats look brand new again.

Read on to find out more.

Types of Floor Mat Materials

But first, before we move on to different cleaning methods, let’s quickly go over the type of materials that car floor mats can be made out of.

Just so you have a better idea of how to choose the best cleaning method for your car mat.

Fabric Floor Mats

The most affordable and easily accessible option of all car mats. They commonly come in universal sizes, however, they’re not incredibly durable. Over time, they’ll accumulate bacteria growth and will end up stinking if not washed regularly.

Rubber Mats

Rubber floor mats are generally pretty durable and can last you a longer time than other materials. Obviously, the exact properties and qualities of the rubber mats will highly depend on how it’s been manufactured. But they’re less of a hassle to clean. It still does require a bit of elbow grease to scrub down as they get dirty pretty fast.

Vinyl Mats

Like their rubber mats brethren, vinyl mats are also more durable than regular mats

Coil Mats

The most traditional of car mats, it’s made of durable and anti-slip PVC material. It traps a lot of grime, dirt, and mud, but the nature of its design means that it takes a little bit of time to scrub them down. They also tend to stink up over time.

EVA Foam  Mats (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) 

Basically floor matswith EVA material are made of a rubber-like plastic compound. It’s antibacterial, odour-resistant, and incredibly durable which improves the longevity of your floor mats. For example, TRAPO car mats are able to resist up to 99.99% bacteria and viruses, making it one of the most hygienic car mats in Asia with powerful anti-slip technology too.

 In fact, in terms of cleaning, TRAPO car mats are the easiest because they're already infused with Japanese Silver Ion technology. Simply rinse with water to activate its properties. Voila, clean car mats in seconds!

Methods to Clean Your Car Floor Mats

You can choose one method or a combination of the few, depending on how soiled your floor mats are. 

Method #1: Shake and Vacuum.

Remove your car floor mats. Give them a good shake to loosen up any trapped debris. Then, simply vacuum your floor mat until you’re satisfied with the outcome.

Method #2: Clean the Stains.

Tackle any specific stains like grease or watermarks just as you would with your regular carpet at home. If your mats are heavily soiled, spray on a heavy-duty carpet cleaner to spot treat and follow your product’s instructions. Just make sure that the floor mats are completely dry before placing them back into your vehicle.

(BONUS TIP: Reduce odour by sprinkling some baking soda on your floor mats. Rub it in with a soft-bristled brush and allow it to sit for 30 minutes before vacuuming.) 

Method #3: Rinse and Scrub

Get a bucket of water (or alternatively, use a hose if you have one) to rinse off the debris on your floor mats. In a separate bucket, combine some dishwashing liquid with warm water as your detergent. Scrub your floor mats using the solution with a medium-bristled brush. Rinse off with water until soap residue is gone.

Method #4: Just Use Water

Of course, this method only applies to easy-to-clean floor mats (for example, Trapo HEX III) where the material is infused with advanced Japanese Silver Ion technology. Water activates its powerful cleaning properties: it takes merely seconds to get them looking brand new again.

Method #5: Hang to Dry

Once your floor mats are squeaky clean, simply hang them to try. You can even choose to dry them out in the sun to help eliminate any foul odour, the heat and UV rays may help to kill off bacteria. 

Conclusion

And…that’s it! Now you’ve got all the resources and information you need to be able to clean your car like a pro.

Go ahead. Experience a better driving experience in a comfortable and cleaner environment!