Great floor mats are a necessity if you plan to keep your carpets clean, especially in colder weather climates where these areas see not only snow and salt, but simply more moisture overall. Without a floor mat, all of that dirt, grime, etc. can get lodged deep into your carpets and their longer fibers can hold onto the dirt, making thoroughly cleaning these mats extremely hard without the use of an extractor. With rubber or plastic mats, you can keep almost all of the contamination contained on the mat instead of in your carpet fibers, which allows for much easier removal. When needed, just remove the mats from the vehicle and deep clean them.

Below are the floor mats from my Maverick that have not been cleaned since the colder fall/winter months started.

As you can see, you have some dirt, grime, mud, even some small pebbles that were on the bottom of my shoes or boots. The good news here is that these mats are easy to clean and I can show you how I like to take care of them.

Here are a few of the products I keep on hand that I like to use for a quick and easy cleaning process.

• Cordless Drill
• Garden Hose
• Light Duty Speedy Drill Brush
• Detail Factory TriGrip Brush
• Gtechniq W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner

To start the process, I give the mats a quick shake to remove any loose debris and quickly rinse them with the garden hose.

After rinsing, the floor mats look nice but still need a deep cleaning to remove any caked on grime. To start, I cover them with the Gtechniq W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner.

I then attach the Light Duty Speedy Drill Brush to my cordless drill and at a slow speed I work the brush over the mats. The W5 will foam up a bit and during this process dirt and grime will loosen and break apart from the surface.

After only a few passes, the mats look like they are covered in a thick snow foam. Follow up with a simple rinse, which will remove the contamination that you just loosened from the surface.

Even though this process will remove almost all of the contamination, you might be left with a few spots that need a direct scrub and if that is the case, reach for the Detail Factory brush and a small spray of the W5.

One more quick rinse and the mats are clean!

This easy mat cleaning process really makes quick work of contamination no matter how dirty your mats are. Just do not forget to protect them after cleaning to keep them looking their best for a long time. I personally like the 303 Aerospace Protectant, but any dressing that does not leave a slickness behind will work great!