Carpet cleaning

[WakeGirl]

Hank,

I just looked at that again & realized that both brazos & I are talking about full walk through boats, whereas with the step over like the RLX has it would have a harder time getting there. Sorry for the confusion. I would think that in your case the best way to do that would be to just keep the boat as level as possible & then just try to get as much of the water out with a shop vac. I like Steve's idea of having the carpet cleaner guy just go at it, those guys can do amazing things with carpet.

As far as the trees go, we live in the forest, literally. I love it here (it's the Oregonian in me), but the thing with the cars is the one thing about it that bugs me. I do have a nice big garage, so it's all good. I just don't dare leave the boat outside, especially when the Ponderosas are pollenating (I can't even leave the garage door open when that's happening).

[CarveItUp]

Of course Slider's truck lives outside (like mine)

[jeffmx]

Hank,

I just looked at that again & realized that both brazos & I are talking about full walk through boats, whereas with the step over like the RLX has it would have a harder time getting there.  Sorry for the confusion.  I would think that in your case the best way to do that would be to just keep the boat as level as possible & then just try to get as much of the water out with a shop vac.  I like Steve's idea of having the carpet cleaner guy just go at it, those guys can do amazing things with carpet.

As far as the trees go, we live in the forest, literally.  I love it here (it's the Oregonian in me), but the thing with the cars is the one thing about it that bugs me.  I do have a nice big garage, so it's all good.  I just don't dare leave the boat outside, especially when the Ponderosas are pollenating (I can't even leave the garage door open when that's happening).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can have the forest. I would be outside everyday cleaning everything cause I am so anal retentive....

[WakeGirl]

That's why my car & boat sleep inside.

[jeffmx]

That's why my car & boat sleep inside. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right.... I would still be out there with a blower, sneezing as I cleaned the driveway!!!!!!

[SacRiverRat]

If anyone cares.. I picked up a bissell little green thing (with the heater) from Target for $89

I hope to have a report back as to how well it revives my carpet. Mine might need some extra help to get it back, but at a minimum, this thing looks like it will work good for maintence (and cleaning the suburban)

[HRemington]

10-4 everybody...thanks, Tracie. I did get a Little Green® last year, and as Sac suggests, I think it will be great for maintenance, but it's not stout enough to get it deep cleaned and re-fluffed. I'm going to try a Rug Doctor® first, I see they have a smaller, narrower version that will work well if I take the rear seat out and remove the motor box. I'm not liking the idea of dumping a bunch of water inside...after all, it's a boat...keep the water on the outside! I went through the anal retentive trauma the first summer I had it, when I had the accident that removed all the underwater gear and toasted the clutch plates. While it was at the transmission shop, I was going nuts seeing it sit outside day after day. I went for "visitation" one day, then told my wife, "She not supposed to be outside in the rain...she's a boat, not an outside pet!"

[VinRLX]

I did get a Little Green® last year, and as Sac suggests, I think it will be great for maintenance, but it's not stout enough to get it deep cleaned and re-fluffed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have you tried it on the boat yet, Hank? Just curious because I was thinking of talking TurkeySlayer into buying one. I'm sure she could find lots of uses for it. . .

Can't believe you used a tranny co without indoor storage.

[HRemington]

Jack, I did use it last year, and poured out plenty of dirty water, but I can tell I've got plenty to go. The LG will do fine on yours (remember I've seen it and know that your carpet is pristine), plus it is real handy around the house for small jobs, upholstery, and vehicles. I would get the model Tracie has that heats up the water, just in case you're not near the house when using it.

[HRemington]

Can't believe you used a tranny co without indoor storage.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you have no idea ...while it was down in New Orleans having all the major work done, it never left inside. The tranny problems developed later, so I sent it closer by to a reputable marine shop, but one of those places with so much **** inside that all the boats stay outside

[VinRLX]

You should have read them the riot act. (I just have to use that emoticon every chance I get)

Thanks for the info on your experience with the green machine.

[VinRLX]

The LG will do fine on yours (remember I've seen it and know that your carpet is pristine),

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the compliment. I do vacuum it weekly, whether it needs it or not!

[jeffmx]

Yet???  Are they coming out with dd carpet savers?  i would love to order one for my response.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I called my Boat dealer, and he suggested I call Malibu (Ellery), which I did.

She is putting the bug in someones ear. Perhaps if more people call, then we might have a better shot at it.

The alternative, was to order the carpet from Malibu, and have a boat upolstery

shop do it- $600-$800. NFW !!!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So I talked to Ellery today, and it is a no go on the carpet kit for the DD.

I am not going to pay 600+ to have one made, so I am ordering the carpet from the factory, and am going to have it done locally.

basically I will do all the work, except the sewing of the edges, and hopefully rubber backing of some kind.

[SacRiverRat]

I tried out my LG mechine and have a prelim review

I'll post pics later (sitting in a meeting right now, people would be onto me not paying attention if I started hooking up my camera )

Everything was easy to set up, and get going. I like the simplicity of this thing (and I even read the directions to be sure I was going to use it correctly for an accurate test)

The situation - my '02 was purchased "previously owned", and while I've updated and customized much of the boat, I'm still trying to get some details cleaned up. The boat was used primarly on Mead, and the carpet has some sand, and I suspect the hard water, matting it down. I can lift it up a bit by using a heavy brush or wire brush, but it is then still pretty "rough".

I worked a relitivly small portion of the carpet, and found the smaller (non motorized) heavy soil brush to work best. It did a great job sucking major nasty crap out of the carpet. It is wonderful for that. Almost fun, to see how much nasty stuff you can clean out.

As for really working the carpet, it isn't quite "tough" enough for that. I did use a medium firm nylon brush and some woolite (for my delicates) and water mix, working that area well, sucking up the soap/water, and spraying some water to rinse that area... that worked pretty good. the LG did a nice job sucking up the moisture..

Conclusion - I need to do some serious carpet work, and then use the LG to work the smaller (non traffic) areas, and use it for maintence. I tested it in the Pimpala, and in the smaller storage (cup holder) areas in the boat, and it works awesome for that.

For $89, I highly recommend this thing - thanks everyone for your input. It won't work magic in your high traffic beat carpet, but does a great job at cleaning softer areas, and sucking up dirt & the cleaning solution

[Sunsetter95]

Spots:

Grease, tar, or oil can be removed by using an auto brake parts cleaner called BrakeClean by CRC. It is in a red and white can.

If the spot is not real bad, spray some on a sturdy rag and rub it out. If it is heavy soil, spray some on the spot, flipping the rag to keep from smearing the spot.

Of course, test the carpet in a hidden spot first.

I have used this for years in the cars for tar and oil spots.

The BreakClean dries very fast and leaves no residue.

[Rod S]

Hello, I'm new to this thread. Does anyone else just use a pressure washer on the carpet and then suck it up with a wet dry vac? Grease, tar and whatever obviously need a little bit extra of something. I usually use a little Resolve on the spots before I blast away. The pressure washing also tends to fluff up the carpet a bit for that really nice new cushy feel on the toes.

Troy, I can't wait till mine is old enough to do work like that!

[SacRiverRat]

Rod, I'm going to do the power washer thing next... wanted to see if this worked first.. it is definitely more under control, and doesn't leave everything wet when you're done.

... Old enough? you didn't buy it that that was me... Ok, so the carpet elf wasn't included in the kit - and he made it hard to clean a nice square patch.. oh well, so he got a little out of control with the spray - no worries now just more clean

[jklein]

Troy:

I've used my pressure washer before. I just pushed everything into the bilge then pulled the plugs and washed everything out. Lots of sand and garbage came out and my carpet looked pretty good for a while.

You might try adding some white vinegar to your clean machine solution. Test it in a non-obvious area for color fastness. The vinegar will loosen the "minerals" from the hard water and you may get a better result.

The issue I have with my carpet is that it's just "matted" down. I'd like to get a "carpet saver" that's like a big car mat (rubber backing with spikes on it) to put down. However, I see that R&R won't sell directly to us and I'm not sure they have a pattern for my DD Sunsetter.

[SacRiverRat]

John,

I did the power wash on Monday night, and had some good results. I started with a bucket of hot water/woollite (have that around for my delicates you know..) and scrubbed by hand... then used shop vac to suck up soap/water... followed by power wash to rinse.

With the v-drive, it doesn't flow into the bilge easily, but I set the shop vac hose in a corner (sucking) and worked the flow that way (so it sucked up extra while I worked the powerwasher)

I was able to power wash without making a big wet mess, and the shop vac (wet attachment) did a great job sucking up the water.

The scrubbing with hot soapy water did help lift the carpet some - though It will take a few more tries to get it really "back".. I'll try the vinegar addition to see if that helps.

[FijiRob]

Has anyone applied Scotchguard to the carpet? Just curious if it makes spot cleanup a little easier.

[SacRiverRat]

Has anyone applied Scotchguard to the carpet?  Just curious if it makes spot cleanup a little easier.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can confirm that everything I've done so far has made quick work of any spots I had... they seem to come out real easy

[SunriseH2OSkier]

Add one more to the Bissell Little Green Fan Club. Just got done with my carpet tonight, with amazing results. Our lake water is very clear, and the carpet didn't look particularly bad. Even so, I was just blown away by how much dirt it pulled up. And it did a great job fluffing the carpet, which had been really matted down.

I think the thing I like most is how little water I had to put into the carpet. It was practically dry when I finished. That's pretty important considering there won't be another 80F day around here for probably 6 months. So I can't leave the boat out in the sun to dry.