Abstract: An apparatus for washing a mat, which enables a user to introduce the mat into the apparatus pile side up so, that it can be inspected and pretreated before cleaning by the apparatus. The mat is inclined in the wash and/or rinse module of the apparatus, while a plurality of high pressure nozzles spray water onto the pile side of the mat. Water flowing down the inclined mat pre-wets regions of the mat to pre-treat these regions before they are treated by the high pressure nozzles. The apparatus may include a trough at the bottom of the incline to further soak the mat before treatment by the high pressure nozzles. The apparatus may include means for holding the mat flat on the incline, means for extracting water from the cleaned mat, and means for cleaning and reusing water.