For lack of money...

[mdl]

I was going to be ripping out my carpet and sticking in a Vinyl version. I'm pretty broke right now.


Back track.


Back over the winter maybe some of you remember my jeep going swimming? It's finally time to deal with this carpet issue. I need to rip her out and treat any cancer undernieth on the pans, sound proof, and reinstall (ether with this carpet again or with a replacement.).

I've heard I can bring the old carpet to a dry cleaning place and they will get all the water out of it and clean it up good/Make it look pretty again? I don't want to call em and sound like an idiot. Is this even worth it? Will it be super expensive? The new vinyl is ~260 when all is said and done.

[MENEZES]

If your dead set on having it look "good" again then i would rip it out and steam clean it urself and let it dry a few days then stick it back in...Ive already done this once and yes, it was a pain in the butt but it gave me a chance to deal with the few rust spots i had and get my carpet looking decent again instead of a coke/food/mud stained piece.

[Meanie5470]

rhino line your floor

[mdl]

rhino line your floor

No thanks, not streetable, loud, hot, rough, hard to clean and maintain, noxious fumes while drying, long dry times, fading.


I'm going to stick with a carpet of some kind. This is in my mall crawler not my trail rig (that I don't have yet :( ).

[RichP]

The police versions and govt versions have rubber or vinyl floors instead of carpet, might hunt for one of them in a boneyard. I have also seen an aftermarket vinyl replacment mat and I think it was not that bad pricewise.

[lilredwagn]

You can get new carpet for the price you gave for vinyl .. can even get vinyl for less than that.

http://www.auto-interior.com/jeep1.htm#Cherokee
http://www.wlsheadliners.com/8496-jeep-cherokee-complete-molded-carpet-or-vinyl-p-444.html
http://www.stockinteriors.com/AutoCarpet.asp?Itemid=2718&MakeId=14&ModelId=248

Now none of those are truly OEM quality of course, so after some searching here, I went and got some Purple Power (which is manufactured locally and it's ridiculously cheap - you might try looking for Castrol SuperClean instead, which I've seen at NAPA) and some OxyClean (from target). Don't forget your gloves - these cleaners are not healthy for you. Then with a garden hose and a stiff plastic brush, get to scrubbing. Rinse thoroughly and let dry in the sun all day. If you have a pressure washeror steam cleaner, use them. I was amazed at the crap I got out with a pressure washer after I had already scrubbed, dried, and steamed them (with a $120 mccullough unit from HF) once. The steam is a good idea to help kill any smells or nasties that the oxy and the sun didn't get. I wouldn't reccommend buying a steam cleaner for this purpose, and from my research into it, this particular model is about the only half-decent steamer for under $3-400. Still probably took me almost 2 hours to do the whole carpet, so I'd recommend find someplace that rents commercial units or will do it for you. Steam it *after* you've washed it, so that the steam doesn't bake on anything that would have come off easily.

Then, if you still have some stains left you can't stand, you could always get some Nifty Catch-All's to cover up.

Based on the labor and hassle of cleaning the carpet, I'd say it's real close as to whether I would just buy new next time. However, the results were unarguable - carpet looks 90% new and none of that rotting gym socks smell, so if you're on a budget and don't have a bad back, definitely go that route first.

[stewie]

hurculine is the cheaper than vinal, plus it gives you the excuse to upgrade your sound system