Carpet Cleaning Tips - Subaru Outback

Umby · 07-21-2009, 09:23 PM

Hey guys.

I'm the proud owner of a 98 OBW that I picked up a couple of weeks ago.

My question has to do with the carpet. The people who owned the car before me were NASTY! I literally had to clean the car for 7 hours before it was clean enough for me to even think about driving... but the carpets are still horrible.

I've steam cleaned them, used foaming spray, etc....

Any ideas?

Thanx!

bikerboy · 07-21-2009, 11:41 PM

What I typically do is pull all of the seats and consoles out, rent a carpet shampooer/extractor for a day and go at cleaning as best I can. I did this when I bought my Outback in January, and it made a big difference.

daredevil1166 · 07-22-2009, 10:36 AM

I've had a couple cars with really bad carpet.

They were bad enough that I removed the seats, consoles, and trim. Then removed the whole carpet piece and pressure washed it.

Came out looking great and it was much easier than I thought it would be.

Never done it to my suby though.

There's an auto place next door to where I work that does this on Outbacks they are selling all the time, so I can't imagine it's too difficult.

Alot of work, but if the carpet is really bad it might be worth it.

Umby · 07-22-2009, 11:04 AM

I was thinking about trying the pressure washer this weekend...

Has anyone had any luck dying carpets?

07OregonOutback · 07-22-2009, 03:20 PM

Burn it and rhino line the floor.

daredevil1166 · 07-22-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Burn it and rhino line the floor.

Yes!!

ghghhghg · 07-23-2009, 06:54 AM

I agree with the other posters. If the carpet is realy bad, remove the seats, personaly I also take the carpet out of the car and use a combination of water, degreaser and a stiff brush and lots of water to rinse. When you are done just let it dry out and put it back in, I also usualy replace the sound proofing at this point as well (sometimes I double it if I found the car too noisy) and repair any holes in the floor before doing so ( for repairing the holes I usualy grind away the rust then fill the hole with epoxy and then coat the whole floor pan with boating fiberglass to prevent futur damage). It might take a day or two to dry but you can put the seats back in without the carpet and still use the car. A carpet machine probably wont be good enough to get at all the ground in dirt and sand that is embeded in the pile.

sspeed · 04-21-2010, 09:16 PM

How does the rear wagon carpet come out? I can't find info in the service manual... I've popped the 4 little clips and pried on them gently to no avail, I don't want to break anything...

sspeed · 04-29-2010, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sspeed

How does the rear wagon carpet come out? I can't find info in the service manual... I've popped the 4 little clips and pried on them gently to no avail, I don't want to break anything...

Anyone? Bueller???

BadBart · 11-19-2010, 06:48 PM

We used a dog hair brush and a shop vac to get stubborn sand out of carpet. When that didn't work, spray paint (no lie...) and then you have carpet colored dirt....

Would not recommend that step be taken in any car I own... but it is an option I guess.

Also, we used adhesive remover and a stiff detail brush to get gum/weird crusty who knows what out of carpet.
409 and a stiff brush seems to take stains out fairly well.
Foamy Oxyclean type spray also worked well on our van when we got it.

BB.

07-21-2009, 09:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Umby Recruit Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: L'ville GA Car: 1998 Subaru Outback 30th Anniversary with a 2.5 and a 5 speed Posts: 6 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Carpet Cleaning Tips Hey guys. I'm the proud owner of a 98 OBW that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. My question has to do with the carpet. The people who owned the car before me were NASTY! I literally had to clean the car for 7 hours before it was clean enough for me to even think about driving... but the carpets are still horrible. I've steam cleaned them, used foaming spray, etc.... Any ideas? Thanx!

07-22-2009, 03:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
07OregonOutback Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Washington County, Oregon Car: 2007 Outback 2.5i AT Posts: 605 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Burn it and rhino line the floor. __________________ "Adventure is the invitation to common people to become uncommon." When I am on my death bed I will not look back on my life and say "I wish I could have worked another day." -Warren Miller

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07-21-2009, 11:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
bikerboy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: MA/NH Car: 1973 MG Midget, 2000 Outback Limited 5MT, 2002 Outback L.L. Bean H6, 2004 Forester XT Posts: 610 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	What I typically do is pull all of the seats and consoles out, rent a carpet shampooer/extractor for a day and go at cleaning as best I can. I did this when I bought my Outback in January, and it made a big difference.

07-22-2009, 10:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
daredevil1166 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oregon Car: '99 Outback Limited, 2" Lift, 28" AT's, Winch, Dual-Range 4wd. Posts: 197 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I've had a couple cars with really bad carpet. They were bad enough that I removed the seats, consoles, and trim. Then removed the whole carpet piece and pressure washed it. Came out looking great and it was much easier than I thought it would be. Never done it to my suby though. There's an auto place next door to where I work that does this on Outbacks they are selling all the time, so I can't imagine it's too difficult. Alot of work, but if the carpet is really bad it might be worth it.

07-22-2009, 11:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
Umby Recruit Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: L'ville GA Car: 1998 Subaru Outback 30th Anniversary with a 2.5 and a 5 speed Posts: 6 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I was thinking about trying the pressure washer this weekend... Has anyone had any luck dying carpets?

07-23-2009, 06:54 AM	#7 (permalink)
ghghhghg Legionairre Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal Car: 2005 Outback H6 Posts: 44 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I agree with the other posters. If the carpet is realy bad, remove the seats, personaly I also take the carpet out of the car and use a combination of water, degreaser and a stiff brush and lots of water to rinse. When you are done just let it dry out and put it back in, I also usualy replace the sound proofing at this point as well (sometimes I double it if I found the car too noisy) and repair any holes in the floor before doing so ( for repairing the holes I usualy grind away the rust then fill the hole with epoxy and then coat the whole floor pan with boating fiberglass to prevent futur damage). It might take a day or two to dry but you can put the seats back in without the carpet and still use the car. A carpet machine probably wont be good enough to get at all the ground in dirt and sand that is embeded in the pile.

04-21-2010, 09:16 PM	#8 (permalink)
sspeed Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Denver Car: '05 Subaru Legacy GT, '98 Outback 30th Posts: 85 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	How does the rear wagon carpet come out? I can't find info in the service manual... I've popped the 4 little clips and pried on them gently to no avail, I don't want to break anything...

11-19-2010, 06:48 PM	#10 (permalink)
BadBart Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Iowa Car: 2001 Outback L.L. Bean Posts: 40 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	We used a dog hair brush and a shop vac to get stubborn sand out of carpet. When that didn't work, spray paint (no lie...) and then you have carpet colored dirt.... Would not recommend that step be taken in any car I own... but it is an option I guess. Also, we used adhesive remover and a stiff detail brush to get gum/weird crusty who knows what out of carpet. 409 and a stiff brush seems to take stains out fairly well. Foamy Oxyclean type spray also worked well on our van when we got it. BB.

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