Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I was thinking of trying my pressure washer to clean my carpet but after talking to a friend a good point was brought up. Can the pressure washing separate the glue that holds the carpet down on the wood?
I'm glad I saw this thread because I don't want to learn the hard way.

SoapPeddler wrote:I hope this very brief description helps. I'll be happy to help with any specific questions.

Ummm.... I'm not *crystal clear* on that.... would you mind coming over to my house and demonstrating that, for about an hour or so?

I am not sure about the glue, mine is not glued down but if you use a soft nozzle on the pressure cleaner it should not be any worse than the soaking you get with a big wave flooding the cage. I assume they use water proof glue.

I've never had an issue with it loosening the glue, on any of my boats.

Sounds good! I Going to try it. I'll let you guys know how it comes out.

Just don't go nuts, use a fan spray head and don't get close to the rug. You can blow holes in the knap.

Just remember with the pressure washer, you are driving water, dirt particles and (if applicable) salt into the carpet and under the seats and fixtures. With a cleaner machine, a key element is the extraction. A shop vac is better that a pressure washer, but the carpet machines will have a greater suction power. Biggest problem I see with them is getting into the nooks and crannies. With the aerosol spray cleaner, you are leaving the solution in the carpet. Be sure to wet vac it out.

You go after it at a low angle and it blows the stuff up and out.

I don't have any furniture so that is not a problem. It is pretty messy if the carpet is really dirty. After a river clean up day, mine is nasty.

I get some carpet cleaning solution such as Rug Doctor and dilute it with water per the instructions. I then take a scrub brush on a stick and scrub the hell out of the carpet paying extra attention to any soiled spots. I then rinse with clear cold water. The last step is to extract the water using a wet dry vac.

I think any decent boat carpet is very resiliant, stain proof and colorfast. As long as you don't do anything crazy it should clean up pretty well.

So, I tried the pressure washer on the carpet yesterday. WOW!!!
I'm hooked. I can't believe how great it came out. Granted I have a couple spots that won't come out even with scrubbing. It took all the work out of cleaning it and only took like 10-15 minutes. I can't believe I used to scrub it by hand.

Before I do a light pressure wash I run my Shop Vac over it real good. Then I do a light pressure wash over it from back to front. Then I run the Shop Vac over it again to lift the nap. Mine is 17 years old and it feels as good as new.