Can i put my carpet in a washing machine?
 

OK so I've got the carpet outa my vert (damn rust) and i was cleaning it with some shampoo :) and the garden hose. Then I thought "can i just take this to the laundermat and put it in one of the really big washers?"

All the padding has been removed, and I'm thinking as long as its on gentle, it should be ok.

Any one do this?
I don't want to wreck it as its in pretty good shape, it just hase some rust stains.

hmmm, good Q!
mine smells!!!

no it won't fit, go rent a carpet shampoo machine

$100t2 put his in a bathtub with detergent . . . .

Take the carpets to a car wash, use the pressure gun. Wash your floormats with shampoo and degreaser....scrub the soap and stuff in. Spend 10-15 mins and pressure wash them clean. It will take some time, but its the real way to clean floormats. Then let them sit in the sun while they dry.

I used an extractor, the handheld tool on a steam cleaner, with Bissel pet and odor stain remover. It takes out the smell and you can see all the dirt the thing sucks out. My RX-7 made brown water and my BMW made it black. Eww! I washed some beige floormats I got from a junkyard that had gotten wet and I washed them at the carwash and the turned out green for some reason. So beware!

i'm thinking shampoo cleaner, a brush, and a pressure washer (this being the key)

can you put your shoes in the washing machine?

haha no, they'll puff up like a pillow

Rent one of those rug-doctors with the steam cleaning ability. soap/degreaser only goes so far.. steam really cuts it though. However, the soap's from the car-wash always smell really good. :) So, might want to follow up with those.

I'm not sure that a rug doctor would work all that well, the carpet doesn't sit flat enough to use one on it. Even with the hand wand I don't think it would go all that well.

I thought about gettig a plastic wading pool and using that as a wash tub :)

I think a carpet cleaner + brush works better than washing machine
just repeat 2-3 times

0verb00st --I did put my shoe in the dryer:)

We're missing one big question though: How big is your washing machine? Industrial size? If it is wash it... heck you could fit two or three carpets in one of those.

one of the BIG ones at the laundramat

I've never seen one of those big ones at the laundramat. I've only seen regular sized ones there. Here's what I'm talking about: This kind of washing machine

The carpet from the hatch area will work. I just did mine, and it removed a big stain that a Bissell cleaner couldnt remove. And it doesnt smell anymore.

Just make sure to remove all plastic fittings, and any loose threads will most likly get worse. So consider fixing those first. I did 2 washes, but looking back on it, I'd only put detergent in during the first wash, and allow the second wash to remove any detergent.

As far as drying goes, just set the dryier to no heat, fluff. Alot of lint will come off, so I think there was some weight savings there...:rolleyes:

my dad tried doing that. putting them in the washer. they came out bent and discolored. and they can never really be flat again. i say use detergent and a pressure washer and it should be fine.

The wand for a steam cleaner will work well but it is going to take you about 2-3 hours to clean it, at least that is while it is in the sun.

I would also think that the carpet would lose its shape if you put it in a washing machine.

One of the best purchases i have made in the last few years was a 180$ electric pressure washer from home depot.

Not the most powerfull thing in the world but, it will do about any around the house type job quite well. Including this type of thing....

If you use low temperature on the washer and dryer, I doubt it will harm anything. I mean, if it'll survive a bath tub full of water & detergent, it'll survive a cold wash and low temp dry. But, it's up to you to try it out or not. Don't ask me for a new carpet if something goes horribly wrong.

The pressure washer is the way to go. If you rent one you can get a siphon kit that will pull soap or bleach or whatever liquid you want and send it through the gun at low pressure. Let it sit a few minutes then hit it with a high pressure rinse.

I own a commercial carpet machine and a 4000 psi pressure washer(used to own a tool rental store), pressure washer is better for this. Use a wide angle spray tip.

I "DID" the washing machine thing. Sure cleaned them and about 10% of the material was gone too, i don't suggest it at all. I could see through them once dry. If I were tow ash my carpets, I would soak them in the bathtub with detergent over night, drain and rinse, then lay them out on the driveway and rinse them off with a pressure washer. Finally let them dry laying flay in the sun on the driveway or backyard deck.

Well, I guess that rules out the washing machine.

I gave it a scrub with the garden hose and some cleaner. It will do for now, i'm just going to put it back in and maybe update it next year. Maybe not.

Vehicle carpet washing machine
 

I removed my car carpet ,
folded it ,and put it in a commercial
Washer. All noticeable dirt
Was removed

All at once or did you have to do individual loads for each section of carpet?. Did it affect the shape of the carpet at all?