Weather Tech floor liners

[FrozenWS6]

I have detailed 3 different Suv's with the Weather Tech floor liners and have tried 3 different products and they still won't come completely clean.

First I used Tire Rubber Cleaner and my short bristled scrub brush. Rescrubbed them 2 times and they still had dried dirt on them. So I went back over them with Bleach W. Still dirty but got them a little better.

Then the next Suv I used APC at 100%, and wouldn't get them fully clean either after 2 scrub downs.

The 3rd Suv I used just the Bleach W and it did ok because these ones weren't as dirty as the others but still not completely clean.

Has anyone else had this issue? Looking for more ideas.

I'm having to top them off with VRT to hide the remaining dirt but its leaving them a little slippery.
I don't have this problem with my Husky Liners so I know I'm not doing anything wrong.

Here is a pic of what I started with on the last set I did. These are out of a 4,000 mile 2016 Silverado so there isn't any wear started on them yet. These are pretty clean for Alaska standards

Edited March 2, 2017 by FrozenWS6

[briarpatch]

I've seen guys use steam on them, and that seemed to work pretty well, too.  

[FrozenWS6]

Got to try Leather and Interior Cleaner on a set today. Still ended up with the same results. I scrubbed like crazy and still couldn't make them clean at the edges. Drives me crazy. They shouldn't be that hard to clean.

 

 

[1911A1]

Did you use tire cleaner first?Next time I get mine clean I'm going to try H2O G+G on them and see if they are easier to keep clean.

[FrozenWS6]

I hit them with a brand x tire cleaner after the L&IC because the Adams stuff doesn't even touch it.

I tried the Adams tire cleaner the first set I did a while ago and quickly moved on to other products.

 

That would be interesting to know how G&G would work. But as hard as it is to get the Weather tech stuff up here it looks like I may have to pay the $40 in freight alone to make these damn things clean. Then raise my price to cover the high dollar cleaner. Lol

[SumBeach35]

I too broke down and bought the weathertech products for cleaning and protecting them.

[tmevilsizor]

Shake off the mats. I always spray SG on the mat while DRY and hit it with the fender brush. I believe the key is to spray on DRY! I let the mix soak for 5 mins or so. After letting it soak I hit with a stream of water. I really love ADAM'S products, but honestly CG has an actual vinyl/rubber mat spray that goes on after they dry. It doesn't make them slippery at all (since it is made for this exact purpose). You really want to be careful using anything like VRT for liability reasons.

 

I purchased the WT cleaner and protectant when I initially bought my first set of mats. The cleaner isn't very strong and a pressure washer will be required for the extremely dirty mats. I wouldn't spend the money on the WT branded cleaner. I hope this helps!

[FrozenWS6]

Thanks. I'll have to try SG again dry this time and letting it soak longer. I can't remember if I let it soak last time before I scrubbed them.

 

The VRT I mixed 1:1 with water and use a spray bottle so it's only barely misted across the mat. Just mostly on the places where I couldn't get the dirt off not the whole mat.

I did my personal mats once with VRT and the foam applicator block and did notice they got a little slippery when wet. Never did that again. They had also seemed like they got dirtier faster.

 

That's why it I'm trying to figure out what's going to clean these things completely. But I'm not getting the results I expect from anything I've tried so far. I've tried scrubbing twice, using a pressure washer nothing has given me something I'd be happy with.

That's disappointing that the WT stuff didn't do good either for you.

 

I'm thinking my next step is taking a round scrub brush and fabbing it up so I can put it on my drill and let it do some serious scrubbing. To get into those edges better.

Maybe I need a stiffer brush, I use my old brand x short bristled tire brush that works awesome on tires and my personal mats.

Edited April 26, 2017 by FrozenWS6

[briarpatch]

Two things I used to clean mine that worked pretty well......Greased Lightning and Bleche White (before Black Magic ruined it)...and of those two, I liked Greased Lightning better.  I now just use Meguiars APC at 2:1 (low cost), and it cleans them pretty well.  They're 4 years old, and if they get some dirt ground into them that won't come out, so be it.  They're there to protect the carpet, and stained or not, will perform that task very well.    

[FrozenWS6]

I'll search around for that. I have B W and it works better then everything else I've tried but not well enough for my expectations.

Unfortunately these are customers mats. If they were mine I'd grow to deal with it. I use and have huskyliners in all of my trucks which are extremely easy to keep clean compared to the WT.

Edited April 26, 2017 by FrozenWS6

[scoe141]

Do you think the chemicals from the road have ate away at the mats?  

 

Have you tried contacting Weather Tech? 

 

After trying what everyone mentioned, I can't imagine there being anything else you can do.  (Unless you haven't tried steam cleaning, or talking to the folks at Weather Tech.)

 

Good luck, hope you find a solution! 

[briarpatch]

I've seen WeatherTechs that were steam cleaned, and it does help lift out some of the stuff that gets set into the surface.  If I had a steamer, I'd probably try it

[FrozenWS6]

Do you think the chemicals from the road have ate away at the mats?

 

Have you tried contacting Weather Tech?

 

After trying what everyone mentioned, I can't imagine there being anything else you can do. (Unless you haven't tried steam cleaning, or talking to the folks at Weather Tech.)

 

Good luck, hope you find a solution!

That is a possibility that the road slop has attacked them.

They are 4 hours ahead so when I get caught up at the end of the day they've been closed already. I'll have to try when I'm freed up one morning.

 

It just bums me out I do a really nice detail and then you open the door and the mats aren't totally clean. That doesn't look good to customers.

 

I might try spraying SG on it and let it soak then using the steamer next time.

[ocdrifter]

Jeff, can you please show me a picture of the brush you're using to do said scrubbing?

 

That is a possibility that the road slop has attacked them.

They are 4 hours ahead so when I get caught up at the end of the day they've been closed already. I'll have to try when I'm freed up one morning.

It just bums me out I do a really nice detail and then you open the door and the mats aren't totally clean. That doesn't look good to customers.

I might try spraying SG on it and let it soak then using the steamer next time.

[FrozenWS6]

Sorry got busy the other day.

Here is my brush, it's what I would call a medium bristled brush. Works great on tires and all other floor mats.

I even scrub the direction of the high or low design of the mat.

 

[ocdrifter]

Jeff I would probably upgrade to a stiffer brush. I'll post a picture of one when I get home, and if I need to send one with the ice road truckers, ill probably just mail it to you!

[Dwhite0960]

I use interior detailer after I have cleaned with Apc and a brush. No slick feeling just a deep rich black

[FrozenWS6]

Jeff I would probably upgrade to a stiffer brush. I'll post a picture of one when I get home, and if I need to send one with the ice road truckers, ill probably just mail it to you!

  

 

I was trying to find another brush but haven't seen anything that would work yet. There's one more place I just thought of to check.

Make sure you ask for Lisa to drive one up. Lol

 

 

 

I use interior detailer after I have cleaned with Apc and a brush. No slick feeling just a deep rich black

I'll have to try that again.

[Nathan]

I was trying to find another brush but haven't seen anything that would work yet. There's one more place I just thought of to check.

Make sure you ask for Lisa to drive one up. Lol

 

I'll have to try that again.

Have you tried tire and rubber cleaner then scrubbing with the tire brush twice? I sometimes have to do it 3 times and a pressure washer helps, make sure to scrub in a crisscross pattern. Spraying down before and after with a pressure washer helps too. And I think you said you tried leather and interior cleaner?

 

Once clean, Adam says if you want to do blown away, ceramic trim coat it!

[FrozenWS6]

Have you tried tire and rubber cleaner then scrubbing with the tire brush twice? I sometimes have to do it 3 times and a pressure washer helps, make sure to scrub in a crisscross pattern. Spraying down before and after with a pressure washer helps too. And I think you said you tried leather and interior cleaner?

 

Once clean, Adam says if you want to do blown away, ceramic trim coat it!

Criss, cross and diagonal, I've done and tried it all.

I did try it with two applications. I'm not a big fan of tire and rubber cleaner. I like it for trim, but not tires or floor mats. Doesn't seem to be very strong. Having to do something 2 or 3 times to get it clean with only ok results costs me money because it takes extra time and puts me behind on a job.

The leather and interior cleaner wouldn't touch it either.

 

This last set I did yesterday seemed to turn out the best so far. After I soaked and scrubbed it, I topped it with Total Interior Detailer (sprayed on and let dry, wiping it didn't work.) I haven't gotten an after pic yet but I'll get one this morning.

Edited May 3, 2017 by FrozenWS6

[SS LeadFoot]

A friend of mine just ordered the weather tech cleaning stuff. He will try it in two weeks. I will let you know how it turns out. Only problem is when I do mine or his, they are never as dirty as what you showed in your pic.

[FrozenWS6]

Haha. This is normal everyday Alaska dirty.

This is the before of yesterday's.

 

[FrozenWS6]

This is what I'm wanting to see when I clean these damn things. Lol

This is the finished mats from yesterday. Scrubbed the same as all the others but topped with TID.

 

The only thing I'm not sure how well it'll be with shoes because they feel a little slippery to the touch.

 

Edited May 3, 2017 by FrozenWS6

[Nathan]

This is what I'm wanting to see when I clean these damn things. Lol

This is the finished mats from yesterday. Scrubbed the same as all the others but topped with TID.

The only thing I'm not sure how well it'll be with shoes because they feel a little slippery to the touch.

Eventually you need to get to a point where they are good. That is pretty much perfect, and you can't do anything about the wear n tear on the mat, nothing is perfect.

[SS LeadFoot]

That looks good

[FrozenWS6]

Yeah this is what I've been trying to accomplish. To have them look decent and acceptable.

When a customer wants the inside cleaned and they open the door and the mats are still dirty looking and dirty at the edges that's not good or acceptable in my book. I was ashamed of those other mats. They were killing me.

I do bring the customer down to reality about what there going to get back because of the wear and how long or what has caused a stain as to how well it would come out.