As a proud purveyor of affordable, environmentally responsible used vehicles, many of our customers are local college students. Well, this week we found a new auto detailing video that had us wringing our brains to remember long-forgotten chemistry lessons.
Our professors would not be proud. We had to Google it.
Without further ado, here is how to get persistent salt-stains out of your vehicle's carpet... and more importantly, why it works!
Here's a breakdown of the science:
Road salt is mostly NaCl, the same stuff you put on French fries. Even in land-locked Vermont, you'll know salt dissolves readily in water -- hence the ocean.
In theory, this means you can rinse salt right out of your carpet with plain water, and maybe a little soap. But if you've ever tried, you would find it doesn't work that way. Rings of evaporated chalky stuff are left behind.
That's because those chalky white "salt" stains are actually caused by... chalk.
To keep salt from turning into a clumpy slurry in the back of a truck, they mix in water-insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and magnesium carbonate (MgCO3). Calcium carbonate, popular as an antacid, was also used historically as blackboard chalk.
Do science to your car.
Knowing that these two carbonates are basic, you can get them to break down chemically by using an acid. Fill a spray bottle half with water, half with white vinegar (acetic acid), and spray it over the stained carpet. The acid and bases neutralize, forming salts which are water soluble.
Then all you have to do is soak up the vinegar-water with a towel, pulling the stain up with it.
To keep your car running as good as it now looks, visit Earthycars in Williston for service and maintenance.