The PO of my truck wasn't big on the little things like maintenance...or cleaning. So little by little over the last year or so I've been going down the list of things that need fixing, replacing or just plain ol' cleaning.

I've finally come back to the headliner/sunroof liner that has what appears to be some kind of drink or other liquid splashed on them. When I first got the truck, I tried a quick soak and scrub with warm soapy water and a rag on just the actual spots (you can kinda see it in the pic), but I quickly realized it wasn't going to be that easy. So the job was put on the back burner until now.

Before I start messing with this again, I figured I would see if anyone has any experience with cleaning these? Tips, tricks or other advice is very much welcomed.

I'm in the same process at the moment. I've always used a portable carpet cleaner it seems to focus the cleaner in small area and does a really good job of getting the stains out...

DO NOT SCRUB IT. You'll damage it. Spray it with a cleaner of your choice and vacuum it out with a shop vac. Blot it on tougher areas if need be. It's a time consuming job when it's on the vehicle.

I used an electric toothbrush and carpet machine shampoo - seemed to work pretty well.

Interesting. Okay, avoid stiff bristle brushes and try not to press too hard.

Try Tuf Stuff. Pep Boys had a special 2 for 1 deal on it. I used it on my new 1999 4Runner headliner with a soft brush and it did a great job.

I used to do Auto interior detailing and we use Extra Foamy by Hi-Tec. Just spray on the head liner and wipe with a clean rag. For tough stains, spray and blast with compressed air.


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I need to clean mine too. I might just leave it so I don't risk it falling apart...

I had to clean a couple spots on my tan headliner before we installed it, I used Tuff Stuff, put it on a somewhat soft bristled brush, not super soft, but not too stiff either, and gently scrubbed it, only going one way, worked wonders on the spots, can't even tell they were there and it didn't damage the fabric at all.

So I'm guessing the carpet cleaners don't leave a wet mess afterwards? Good to know!

That's my dilemma, the stains have been baking in the California sun for possibly up to 19 years...so it doesn't want to come out too easy, yet I worry about using force and destroying the fabric. I will say though that if the headliner is made out of the same material as the sunvisors from 99+ runners, it will take a good scrubbing without damage. I used a stiff brush and Scotchgard cleaner on a 99+ junkyard visor with grape juice or bloodstains, and it came out beautiful!

I'll compare the fabrics soon.

The tooth brush sounds good but I wonder if I would actually wind up with clean spots instead...

Cool I'll check it out.

I'll check this stuff out too!

This is one reason I've put it off so long!

I think this may be a good place for me to start as well! That's two nods for Tuff Stuff.

Yea with the spray nozzle its built pretty close to the suction and correct it seems to do pretty well cause it concentrated into small area.

+2 for Tuff Stuff, I regularly film orgies in my truck and this stuff works great to clean the loads off the ceiling!

I used Meguiar's professional carpet cleaner and a sponge. It worked just fine. In fact, my water stains were over a year old and darker. Tuff stuff would probably work just as well.

I used blue coral upholstery cleaner. Sprayed it on, let it sit, and then just vacuumed with wet/dry shop vac.

Steam clean it. Did several in college when I cleaned carpets professionally. Looked great, smelled better, and was spotless afterwards.