So, the car carpets were getting pretty grim. You know how it is, kids tracking in mud, that one coffee spill I thought I cleaned up properly... yeah, right. Just looked nasty. I kept putting it off, thinking maybe I'd pay for a proper detail, but honestly, the prices made my eyes water a bit.

Decided, you know what, I'm gonna tackle this myself. Seen those little carpet shampooer machines around, figured I'd give one a shot. Didn't buy anything fancy, just one of those portable spot cleaner types. Seemed like it'd do the job for a car.

Getting Started

First thing, I pulled everything out. Floor mats, empty water bottles, those stray french fries the kids somehow always lose. Everything had to go. Then I gave the carpets a really good vacuum. Like, seriously thorough. No point trying to shampoo dirt you can just vacuum up, right? Gotta get all that loose stuff out first.

Then I got the machine ready. Found the cleaning solution that came with it, read the instructions – seemed simple enough. Fill the clean water tank up to the line, add the cleaning stuff, screw the cap on tight. Pretty basic.

The Actual Cleaning Bit

I started on the passenger side front. Seemed like a good place to test. Sprayed the cleaner on using the trigger, let it sit for a minute like the instructions said. Then I used the brush part on the nozzle to scrub it in a bit, especially where I saw some darker spots. After that, tilted the nozzle and pulled it back slowly to suck up the dirty water.

Man, that first pass... the water going into the dirty tank was disgusting. Seriously brown. Kind of satisfying though, seeing all that gunk coming out. I did a couple more passes with just spraying and sucking to rinse it a bit.

I just worked my way through the car like that. Section by section. Driver's side, then the back seats. Took a bit longer than I thought it would, especially getting into the corners and around the seat tracks. Had to empty that dirty water tank a few times. Each time, just nasty looking water.

• Vacuum everything first.
• Mix the cleaning stuff right.
• Spray, scrub a little, then suck it up slow.
• Don't forget to empty the dirty tank!

Finishing Up

Once I'd done all the carpets, they were damp, obviously. I left all the car doors open for a good few hours in the driveway to let it air out. Helped that it was a decent sunny day. Probably could have used a fan if I was in a hurry, but I wasn't.

While it was drying, I cleaned the machine itself. Rinsed out both tanks really well, cleaned the nozzle and brush. Don't want that sitting around with dirty water in it.

Later that day, I checked the carpets. They felt pretty much dry. And honestly? They looked way better. Not brand new, obviously, it's an old car. But the difference was huge. Those mystery stains were gone, and it just smelled fresher. Definitely worth the couple of hours I spent doing it. Saved some cash too, which is always good. Glad I decided to just do it myself.