How to Clean a Car Floor Mat

Cleaning a car floor mat is easy

Cleaning your car floor mats can be as simple as:

Vacuum the loose dirt off the mat using a shop vacuum. Use one with an upholstery attachment if you have it.
Mix a solution of warm water and laundry detergent in a bucket, large enough to hold the floor mat completely submerged in soapy water.
Soak the dirty mat for about 30 minutes, agitating often to loosen dirt and stains from the carpet fibers on the mat. It may help to add more soap or detergent, depending on how dirty the mat is.
Scrub any stubborn stains with a soft brush and more soap or detergent before rinsing thoroughly with clean water from another bucket or spray hose attachment until all remaining suds are gone.
Let it dry naturally: either place it flat outside on a tarp, or inside over some furniture like chairs that might protect your carpet beneath it

First thing’s first: remove the mats and shake them up. This will get rid of a lot of loose dirt. If you’re doing this outside, great! But if there isn’t an accessible area outdoors or it’s not possible to go outside because there are five feet of snow on your driveway, the next best option is to make sure you have a trash can nearby.

You’ll need one to shake out all the dirt—so if you don’t have a trash can on hand, clean your car mats some other day when you do have one available. When shaking out the floor mats, pay close attention to any spots where crumbs are likely to hide; remember that time you avoided wiping up that spill from your french fries because you didn’t want crumbs in your car? Those crumbs ended up sliding underneath the mat and now they’re refusing to come back out for someone else to clean.

Vacuum out any dirt or debris

You can use a shop vacuum to vacuum out any dirt or debris that you didn’t catch during your first pass with the vacuum. If you want to get rid of all the dirt in the grooves, you can use the shop vac again—or, if it’s a sunny day, take the floor mats out of your car and do your vacuum job outside. If you decide to go this route, avoid using a regular vacuum as it won’t pick up any debris that got deep into the grooves of your floor mats.

A shop vac is better at cleaning because it provides more suction power than a regular vacuum. However, know that shop vacs are usually more expensive than standard household vacuums (the price difference depends on what model you buy).

Fill a bucket or tub with warm water

Once you’ve removed the mats, fill a bucket or tub with warm water and add a few drops of dish soap. You can use any mild soap, but do not use cleaning products with bleach or other harsh chemicals as they can damage your floor mats. If you don’t have dish soap on hand, you can also use shampoo, hand soap, or laundry detergent. Another option is to make a homemade solution by mixing one part white distilled vinegar and two parts water in the container.

Submerge the mats in the soapy water

Soak the mats in soapy water. Fill up a sink or tub with warm water, add a small amount of dishwashing liquid (a shot glass works well for measurement), and drop the mats into the sudsy bath. Allow them to soak for a few minutes as you work on other sections of your car. The soap and water will break down dirt, grease and other stains while they sit in the tub.

Use a scrub brush or clean rag to agitate the mats while they are soaking. This will help loosen any stubborn stains that have adhered themselves to your floor mats. You can also use an old toothbrush if there are particularly tough spots to contend with.

You may want to do this step outside if weather permits, or if you’re dealing with particularly nasty stains (like pet hair).

Start scrubbing gently

To scrub, gently use a soft brush or nylon scrub brush to work the dirt out of the grooves and ridges—just be careful not to damage the mat. Use a clean toothbrush if you don’t have a soft-bristled cleaning brush on hand. Avoid scrubbing too hard in one direction, which could unravel the carpet fibers and fray them over time.

Give your mats a final rinse with fresh water.

Throw some fresh water on your mats to get rid of any leftover soap residue and give them a final rinse. You can do this with a garden hose or by running some cool water from an outdoor faucet. Don’t forget to let the excess water drain out as you’re rinsing so that your car doesn’t end up smelling like mildew later.

After you think you’re done, soak up the remaining moisture with a clean sponge or cloth—it’ll help speed up the drying process, which is the last step.

You can place your floor mats in front of an open window to dry faster naturally if you don’t want to use a hair dryer on them. Just keep in mind that natural sunlight can sometimes cause fading in rubber and plastic materials, so be sure to put your mats somewhere they won’t be overexposed to UV rays while drying (and definitely don’t leave them in the sun all day long).

Allow the mats to dry naturally

Depending on the weather, it can take several hours for your car mats to dry completely. You can add some heat to speed up the process by placing them in direct sunlight. However, if that’s not feasible, you should try other methods:

Towel-drying. Simply place a clean towel on top of each mat and pat gently until they’re dry to the touch.
Hairdryer drying. Use a hairdryer with a cold setting (or use one set at the lowest possible temperature) and blow out warm air onto each mat until it’s dry.
Air-conditioning drying. If your car has air conditioning, start your car and turn it on full blast for about five minutes until your mats are dry to the touch.

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