Cleaning Boat carpets?

Hey guys,

Looking for some advice on how to best clean boat carpets. About once every two months, I go through and spray out my carpets thoroughly with a high pressure car wash wand as one of my duties. Any better ideas out there for getting the carpets to look like new again or better techniques? cleaning chemicals?

Call the guy who steam cleans your carpets…It works great in our boat !!

I pretty much do the same as you DZ, but I mix up a 50-50 solution of Simple Green, spray and scrub all the stains out, then pressure wash out the suds and sand. One of the problems I have is my vent/drain holes in the floor are so small they plug with debris.

This is what I do in my boat to help keep the carpet clean.I bought some of the marine brand carpet from Cabelas and just put it on top of my boat carpet.I guess it can be a pain at times but it sure saves the wear and tear on your boat carpet.
Ryan Hale

I’ve been using a little hand held steam cleaning unit made by Bissell. It’s called the “Spot Lifter”. It’s cordless and works really well.

Deezee,
We are all in the same boat. I found something that works awesome for keeping the carpets clean when using a power washer. Take a bottle of Clorox Bleach for colors, mix it half and half with water or add more water for a larger coverage area. I use the entire gallon of bleach each time. Then dump it on the floor of the boat and use a broom, stiff needled one, and scrub the entire surface, allow time for the mixture to settle in after scrubbing, then power wash it out. The carpet will look perfect each time. Yes I know this sounds bad with bleach, the the bleach for colors will not make the carpet white. I would try a small spot first, just in case Lund carpet is different then others.

Yeah DeeZee, your boat would really stick out with a white stripe down the middle!

Hi Steve,

I don’t get too concerned with the rug! lol I have found that a darker shade of grey is the best overall color for boat carpet. Does not show dirt/sand/blood etc. and seems to look good all season with little cleaning. I vacuum twice a month on average and wash it only once before winter storage.

Jamie has the same color carpet in his Ranger as you do. He is a stickler for keeping it looking new. He keeps a spray bottle of “Shout” in the boat. He will usually spent 10-15 minutes after a trip cleaning the carpet. All spots get a quick shot of Shout (Shout it out!!) and lets it sit for a minute or two. Then with a water soaked rag, give the spot a good scrubbing. That stuff takes off everything (Even oil and road tar) without discoloring the carpet.

Worth a try.

Jon J.

Thanks guys for the advice?
I know the bleach kind of scares me a bit, but it must work because I have been told that by several other anglers.
I have used the brissle broom or brush this spring and it seems to work the junk out of the carpet ok. The boat is due for another bath soon with all the walleye poop in the boat!

Maybe a white racing stripe is exactly what I need right down the middle of the boat?

I bought the small Bissell rug cleaner. It’s compact and very easy to use. It does a great job on the carpets on both of my boat’s. The wife also like’s it because she can use it to clean up after me in the house…lol…..

You’d be suprized at how well something as simple as a low sudzing poweder laundry detergent like tide works. Just mix a quater cup and a gallon of water. Spung it in on the spots and then rinse. This also works on wall to wall capets in the house.

I’ll echo Northeastern on that one. I get the carpets wet, sprinkle on some Tide powder laundry detergent and scrub hard. Then rinse out with a power washer. Works good every time.

On a separate but not totally unrelated note, does anyone have any suggestions for a decent vaccuum for getting the sand out of the carpet? I don’t have the patience for the shop-vac, and the little Dirt Devil just doesn’t cut it….

The vaccuums at the car wash places are stronger than my shop vac is and work better. Thanks, Bill

Thanks Bill. I have one right down the street, and that thought never crossed my mind! Now the SmokerCraft might actually look presentable more than just once a year!

Normally I just vaccum it out I try and not get much dirt or gunk in my boat, so it stay pretty clean. My only problem with the vaccums at the car washes is if you got a good one they work awesome, finding a good car wash vaccum is another story.

You know My brother runs a carpet cleaning business, we could maybe setup a day to all have our boats cleaned with professional equipment, I sure it would be the best the carpets have looked since they were new, and we should be able to do it for a reasonable amount, the more we got the cheaper we could do it for. Just a suggestion if anyone is interested, maybe a end of the year or something, of course it that’s ok with the mods too