scottyg

I don't know what this part of the car is called so bare with me. Just as you open the door, I guess it would be considered the door sill? Anyway, in most (cheaper) cars this area is usually a plastic strip. In our cars it is fabric. I've only had the car 3 months and it is very dirty. I am affraid to try carpet cleaners or anything else without asking all of you.

Any suggestions?????????????

Thanks in advance.

SG
E500

Barry45RPM

Blue Coral Carpet & Upholstery cleaner in a light blue tinted spray bottle from Pep Boys or any chain auto toy store. Spray on the sill, it will foam gently rub gently & blot turning the rag frequently. It will come out spotless. If the stains are oil based you can blot with VM&P Naphtha from Home Depot & then clean with Blue Coral. Naphta is not for use on leather!!! It is safe on paint as a bug & tar remover & will even remove tar & gum from carpet.

MBE55AMG

Slightly damped cloth. That should suffice in most cases.

mojosounds

That's what I call them. I just got my CDI in December, with the stone interior, and I seem to have a tough time not dragging my foot on the fabric, getting in and out of the car. And with the snow/rain crud weather we've had.... Anyone have any suggestions how to cover or protect that area?

jameson75

I have the same problem. Its the fabric strip just above the metal door sill strip. I just use a mild detergent, e.g. laundry detergent, just a tiny bit mixed with warm water. Get an old toothbrush or equivalent, dip it into the solution and scrub. Wipe with a dry cloth and it should be clean. I suggest not getting that area super dirty and soiled as it will be harder to clean. Because I wash my car every week or so, its not that dirty, making it easier to clean.

The reason why I use this method is because sometimes, carpet or upholstery cleaners can discolor the fabric material

pa28pilot

As soon as I get mine clean, I'm going to treat it with 303 High Tech Fabric Guard, which should help a little. I think that treating these with some kind of protectant is the only way to really address this. Their 303 Aerospace Protectant is really good stuff, so if the Fabric Guard should be pretty good too. I'm not sure ScotchGard has been quite the same since they reformulated it.

I suppose that Winter is the only time that the Ash upholstery owners might come out ahead, because the salt shows up pretty starkly against Charcoal interiors.

mojosounds

I've done the "chemical protector" route, and frequent cleaning. Wondering if
anyone makes something like a clear plastic guard that would cover the area. Or, a better idea than cleaning and being careful....

pa28pilot

Yeah, I just would hate to have my car look like the obsessive-compulsive neighbors' houses with the plastic on the sofa in the "nice" living room. it's a tough thing. I just got my post-purchase survey and if there's a place for comments, I'm going to let them know that it's dumb to put cloth down there.

dpaulyn

For the winter I cover the fabric parts of the door sill with painter's masking tape (Home Depot) and remove it in the spring. Not very attractive, but does a great job of keeping the salt and dirty snow and slush off the badly exposed fabric during the messy part of the year. Works for me.

nasdaqsam

An old detailers trick. Get a little laundry detergent (tide works best) in warm water. Take a sponge and dip it into the solution and squeeze most of the water out. You just want the suds. Squeeze the suds over the stain and very gently scrub and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse several times with clear water. Then vacumn to get it as dry as possible. Works like a charm. As most stains are organic in nature, such as dirt from your shoes, laundry detergent works best as that is what it is designed for.

Take Care

jim256

Someone here suggested about a year ago Woolite OXY DEEP spray and I tried it--lifts most of the soil out with no rubbing, because my first couple attempts with auto carpet shampoo and a sponge or brush produced what appeared to be some abrasion of the fibers. No apparent effect on plastic or even paint from overspray removed quickly. The Woolite is spray on, wait, vac. It works well on the ash color and I've been very pleased. I had done the Teflon spray when new, 2+ years ago, don't know what effect that has had.

TPAbnz

You may want to try Mr. Clean Magic eraser . . . it's really amazing. It lifts everything off the sill. You can find it at your grocery store.

http://www.homemadesimple.com/mrclea...s/eraser.shtml

Now, if some after market company wanted to make a real killing, they would sell interior coordinated replacement door threshold pieces in plastic that go over the fabric.

My salesman said the EVERYONE b1tches about the cloth at the sill!

benzboy

Woolite is great! I've got Ash and Java interiors (why did I do that) Because they look so good when they are clean!

RJC

Do not use Magic Eraser it's abrasive and will eventualy damage the cloth fibers...you can use rubbing alcohol for shoes scuffs (the most common and difficult marks to remove) blot the stain with a cloth or paper towel lightly with alcohol and then blot dry, works very very well, evaporates quickly, leaves no rings or soapy residue and no need to rinse vacum etc. DO NOT use on leather.

The part of the door you are referring to is the "KICK PANEL".