Floor mats are one of the dirtiest areas in most vehicles, but in this video and article, we'll show you how to effectively clean them to remove all of that nasty dirt, mud, sticky soda, candy, leaves, grass, and more that are an unavoidable reality when you drive your vehicle. Then we explain two different options for protecting floor mats, to make cleaning them in the future even easier. We'll cover which products are safe to use, and which ones you should avoid, since they could literally make for a slippery situation when driving, which can be dangerous for you and others. We'll also let you know which accessories like brushes, towels, and more work best for making this task fast, easy, and efficient each time you wash your car.

The more dirt, rocks, candy, trash, and other items that accumulate in your floor mats, especially the driver floor mat, the more unsafe things can become when driving, but cleaning all weather floor mats should not be a stressful job. Cleaning them can be easily accomplished with just a few simple tools and chemicals, in a matter of minutes. We recommend cleaning the floor mats right at the start of your car wash routine, so that they have time to dry out while you wash the rest of the vehicle. Carefully remove the floor mats from the vehicle, and move them a safe distance away from the vehicle on your driveway - you do not want to accidentally spray water, dirt, rocks, etc onto your vehicle while cleaning the mats. Before you start cleaning, just like with washing the vehicle, it's best to gather all of your materials first. Here are the cleaning tools that Joe uses in this video:

• Rubber Mat & Liner Cleaner
• 5-Gallon Bucket with Water
• Fender Brush or Rubberized Tire Brush
• Pressure Washer or Garden Hose

Start by rinsing and blasting off heavy grime using a pressure washer or garden hose, again, facing away from the vehicle to avoid water spots or other damage to the paint - small rocks stuck in the floor mats could be damaging projectiles if they would hit paint, glass, etc. The green 25-degree tip works very well to focus a powerful water stream from the pressure washer to focus in on the various grooves and water channels in some floor mats. Generously spray Rubber Mat & Liner Cleaner onto the mat. You can switch the sprayer to the stream setting rather than the mist setting to focus the chemical into water channels and any other areas of the mat that have heavy buildup of dirt, sticky dried soda, candy, etc.

Allow the Rubber Mat & Liner Cleaner chemical to soak into the all weather floor mat for a few seconds, then agitate it with a brush like our Fender Brush to loosen and remove any dirt, mud, salt, sand, and other contaminants. The flagged bristles in the Fender Brush allow for safe scrubbing without damaging or scratching the mats. Our Rubberized Tire Brush can also be used, but it does have more firm bristles that might be a little too aggressive for some types of plastic molded floor mats, so clean a small test area first if using this brush. Scrub with the grooves and channels of the floor mat first to loosen all dirt particles, then scrub across them a second time, and then finally rinse very thoroughly with the pressure washer or garden hose. Move the floor mat out of the way, or hang it on an Adam's Floor Mat Holder to allow it to drip-dry. If you have an Air Cannon, you can use it to quickly dry the floor mat as well. Repeat this process for the remaining floor mats, and remember to clean out the brush in your rinse bucket so that you don't introduce more dirt and grime onto the next floor mat. Also, don't forget to clean the rear cargo mat if one is present in your SUV or crossover vehicle.

Once you have washed the rest of the car and the all weather floor mats have dried, it's now time to protect them and restore some color to faded or worn mats. Like we did with cleaning, let's gather our materials first:

• Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating Advanced
• Grey Microfiber Applicator 2-Pack
• Rubber Mat & Liner Protectant
• Edgeless Utility Towel

Adam's Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating Advanced is an easy way to apply durable protection onto floor mats, giving them a clean, factory finish without making the mats super slippery or shiny. Lightly mist the spray coating onto the entire top surface of the floor mat - less is more here - you do not need to use a large amount of heavy sprays. Next, use a clean Grey Microfiber Applicator Block and lightly level the coating with the applicator. Wipe the applicator in straight lines to absorb excess residue, then allow it to air-dry. Note that if there is any pooling of the spray coating residue, you will need to wipe that up with a tight-weave Edgeless Utility Microfiber Towel to ensure that the floor mat is not slippery. You do not want to use plush towels like our Single Soft or Borderless Grey Towel for this job, since the texture on the mats could pull out lint fibers onto the floor mat. And since you are working with a ceramic coating here, you may want to wear gloves, apply the spray coating in a well-ventilated area, and allow it to fully dry before putting the mats back into the vehicle to avoid any unpleasant smell from the coating.

The second protection option, or an option that you can use after you have coated the floor mats with Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating Advanced, is Rubber Mat & Liner Protectant. Rubber Mat & Liner Protectant gives a slightly darker and richer appearance to the floor mats than the spray coating, so if you are only concerned about looks, it might be the better option for you; however, if you want even more protection that will bead and repel water and other liquids, the spray coating will offer much higher protection. Application is similar in that you spray the Rubber Mat & Liner Protectant directly onto the floor mat, and allow it to soak into the rubber or plastic pores. It will have a grayish-white appearance on the floor mat - this is normal. You can then let the floor mat to dry in sun or wipe the floor mat down with a towel to dry it. We strongly recommend to go back and wipe up any excess liquid with an Edgeless Utility Towel if you allow the floor mat to dry in the sun. Wiping the mat with the towel will even out, or level, the appearance, and prevent the surface from being slippery afterward.

You now have clean and protected mats, but we'll cover one last aspect that we receive many questions on - which products should you NOT use on floor mats? There are some of our products that will be too slippery and dangerous to use on floor mats, specifically the chemicals that contain small amounts of silicone for shine. Our Tire Shine, VRT, In & Out Spray, Graphene Tire Dressing, and Graphene VRT can all leave certain floor mats very slippery, and this could cause a driving hazard if your shoes slip off of the gas, brake, or clutch pedals, so we do not recommend using any of those 5 products on floor mats! If the floor mats just need a quick wipe down and don't need a full cleaning, our Interior Detailer and Total Interior Cleaner are both safe to use as a spray-on and wipe-off quick cleaner, but make sure to wipe up the residue with an Edgeless Utility Towel.

Lastly, you might ask how often do I need to clean and protect the floor mats in my vehicle? That will all depend on how much driving you do, but as Joe mentions in the video, cleaning your mats is an easy process that you should do at every car wash. You will notice that if you use the Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating Advanced to protect the floor mats, the areas where your shoes rest will abrade the coating away more quickly than the rest of the floor mat, so you may need to apply protection in those areas more often to keep them clean and looking good. Thanks for watching, and we hope you now have the tools and knowledge to keep the floor mats in your ride looking great for many years to come!