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Interior · 9 of 10

Carpet Nightmare: Pet Hair & Sand

The vacuum alone won’t do it. Loosen it first, then pull it out.

30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the car

What you’ll need

  • Vacuum with crevice tool
  • Rubber pet-hair brush or detailing pumice stone
  • Stiff carpet brush (or drill brush)
  • Air gun (Tornador)
  • Lint roller
  • Dust mask, safety glasses and gloves

Before you start

  • Heavy job? Tell your manager before you start. It changes the time and maybe the price.
  • Pumice stone on carpet only. Never on seats, plastic or leather — it scratches.
  • Wear the mask. Hair, dander and sand dust go everywhere.

Pet hair steps

  1. Pull the mats and vacuum up the loose hair.
  2. Rake the carpet with the rubber brush or pumice in short strokes, all one direction. The hair rolls into clumps.
  3. Vacuum the clumps.
  4. Fabric seats: rubber brush with light strokes, then vacuum.
  5. Crevices and seat tracks: blow out with the air gun toward the vacuum nozzle.
  6. Repeat until a white towel dragged across the carpet comes back clean.

Sand steps

  1. Beat the floor mats outside the vehicle.
  2. Blow and vacuum at the same time — air gun in one hand to lift the sand, vacuum right behind it.
  3. Scrub the carpet with the stiff brush to bring buried sand up, then vacuum again.
  4. Check the hiding spots: under the seats, seat tracks, door pockets, trunk and spare-tire well.

Finish steps

  1. Final vacuum in straight lines.
  2. Lint roller on seats and headliner edges.

Quality check

  • Gloved hand across the carpet picks up no hair or grit
  • Nothing under the seats or in the tracks
  • Trunk and spare-tire well clean
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