so ive heard about the weathertech mats and my dad has those really deep groove autozone mats, but i noticed none of those mats cover where the dead pedal would be in a manual car, or next to the gas pedal. and with size 15 feet i need something that will cover those places. its not fun to clean my carpet in the spring lol. not to mention my passengers who cant seem to grasp the concept of kicking your heels before getting in my nice clean car with their salty slushy feet, even after having asked several times. i was thinking maybe some thick plastic sheeting? im not sure where i would buy that though lol i got the idea while i was with my aunt looking at new cars. all the non demo cars had the factory plastic over the carpet. i realize im being a bit overprotective of my car, but when you have light gray carpet that takes several hours to clean, you will understand why i want to be ahead of the game lol.

so any help would be appreciated in what you guys do to protect your carpet, and how you clean it. thanks alot!

i'd suggest going to Wal-Mart, and getting their rubber mats.

I have them in all my cars/trucks, the good ones (i always get black) are like $14.99/ea, and people always tell me I have them in backwards.....

..... I know, I put them in backwards with the wide end under the pedals because it fixes that problem you have, near the dead pedal - that'* where your feet end up anyways, not usually immediately in front of the seat.

also, i got 4 front seat mats - and put front seat mats in the rear, the tiny ones intended for the rear seat are like 12" wide, by 8" forward to back, no matter which way you slice it - doesn't cover the carpet.

so, put the front ones in backwards, and put front seat mats in your rear seat - just remember to pay attention adjusting your seats foward and backward - one time my oversized rear mat got bound up in the seat track, but one of those bozo'* you're talking about pushed the mat all the way forward and didn't pull it back.

I have a set of all-weather rubber floor mats from Walmart that works just fine. For cleaning I just use a shop-vac since I keep the mats in all the time and nothing ever really stains my carpet because of it.

I have the Sam'* Club variety of rubber mats for winter. Thick and very deep grooves and go way up under the pedals. They are trimmable as well. They fit full size in the truck, I cut one "border" off for the Bonneville.

I say find the biggest mats you can find. Plastic is a bad idea, it will get wet and very slippery.

UPDATE--

ok so i went to kmart yesterday to replace my dads crappy autozone battery with a diehard. and while i was waiting on the colossal line, i went and looked at some floor mats and found some great mats

i went straight to the truck section, and picked up a set of truck mats for $20 they have a kind of diamond plate design. those were $20 for the 2 front mats. then, i bought 2 "runner mats" made to do in the backseat of trucks that worked excellent. the runners were $20 a piece but i think its worth it. the reason i bought one for the front too is for some reason when we're parked or something i have a bad habit that i cant seem to kick of slouching down in the seat and putting one foot on the hump. i spent the extra $20 to save me the work later lol. im amazed how well they cover. i took a few crappy cell pics.

they're black only because i couldn't find the runners in gray. the big front mats come in gray.












overall, i think its a wellspent $60. salt is harsh on gray carpet lol