Can I? Will the carpet and metal flooring beneath be too wet after? Can I rent a steam cleaner that works fairly dryly? ( An oxymoron perhaps, but then…where is OxyMoron these days? 
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I am not the neatest fellow in the world, and may be selling my van soon. I wish to deeply shampoo and clean the carpeting throughout. Walls too…but the floors are a mess. Anyone ever done this?
I have tried the " spray on, wipe around, wait till it’s dry, vacuum off powder, looks like new" crap. It does nothing. It’s snake oil. I spit in it’s general direction.
Thoughts? Tricks? Traps?
Cartooniverse
I have steam cleaned my van with a setup using a wet/dry vac with a steam cleaning attachment (not really steam, but that’s what they call it). Worked just fine and no ill effects years later. The rental jobs will do a better job. The floor should be painted and have corrosion protection anyway. Just make sure you leave it outdoors with windows open (doors too if possible) to dry out. If it stays wet too long you’ll get mildew, the opposite of the desired effect.
BTW steam cleaning is different than shampooing. No suds, no rinsing, though vacuuming afterwards fluffs the nap a bit.
Hey thanks ! I was thinking of steam, not shampoo- but really feared that it’d soak the floor and under the carpet. I suppose I can pull the floor mats I buy once a year or so, and try it out on them. If they are drenched, I will know not to take it into the vehicle.
If, OTOH, they come out lovely and sparkling blue and not soaked, I’ll be in like Flynn.
I had a radiator coolant leak from the heater core into the passenger floorboards. Big mess. To get all the antifreeze out of the carpets, I took it to a self-service carwash, and after washing the rest of the car, I FILLED the passenger floor area with water from the “spot-free rinse” cycle. I then pulled up to the vacuums and vacuumed everything out. I left the windows down for a day or two and everything is just fine. I’ve also had a similar situation involving rain and windows that I was sure I’d rolled up the night before :smack:.
If your van is a few years past new and the carpets look like crap anyway, I’d say go for the shampooer. Steam cleaning is good for bringing up the nap and removing some stains, but it’s not as effective as soap and water. The hardest part is getting all of the detergent out of the carpeting afterwards. Rinse, vacuum, repeat. Left over detergent will tend to attract dirt somehow.
Just be sure to wet vac it thoroughly and let it dry completely. It helps if the weather is hot and dry. This is not a good project for a rainy day.