CARPET CLEANING

Great forum for detailers. Just want to thank you all for all the great stuff I have already learned. I am looking at giving detailing a go. I am not to bad at the exterior stuff but I was wondering how you pro's do the carpet and upholstery cleaning. Do you use an extractor or steamer, or do you just do it by hand? What do you recommend?
Thanks in advance.

TC

i work with lots of towells and i am presently using meguirs detailers line of cleaners. i have found steaming tends to fade things a bit

good luck

mike at the shine shop

Check with your professional carpet cleaning supply store or janitorial supply store, gotta go right to the source with carpets! I use an industrial non hot water extractor, if you use chemicals the right way, you should not need hot water.

Thanks,
So as far as a start-up thing, do you think it is something I need, or is the money better spent else where?

TC

take a little green mahine and wash the interior with it this seems to work well and leaves a nice clean smell



mikewhalon

Todd:

I have found that hot water extraction is by far the most effective and user friendly option rendering best results for me.

As Dan mentioned, source out a professional carpet cleaning product from a local janitorial supply store. These prodicts are a specialty line of concentrates that really do work and are used for commercial purposes on a daily basis.

Another very important aspect of carpet cleaning that is quite often overlooked is using proper rinse agents. Most detergent solutions are high PH and are quite effective. But while they tend to remove the dirt very well the detergent solution itself can then be difficult to remove from the carpet. If the detergents are left in the carpet fibres they tend to leave the carpet crunchy and promote quicker tracking of dirt back onto the carpet. This is where the rinse agent comes in as it neutralizes the detergent and allows removal of it leaving the carpet completely clean.

Good luck

Exactly, with a rinse agent you dont need hot water to extract the soap. I have had a little green bissel, it broke after 2 uses plus it didnt suck! I mean that in a bad way.

What a great site. I have been reading the thread on carpet cleaning. You can tell that you guys know what you are talking about.
I have a 7 year old minivan with 3 boys under 8. You get the picture. It stinks. Sour milk and who knows what else. I have taken out the seats and shampood with a wet vac, tried some biodegradable stuff and left wet clean towels on top for another 24 hours...to no avail.
When we leave doors and windows open all night it is ok until we close them.
Suggestions? Selling the van and starting over isnt an option for another 3 years, it only has 85k miles on it!!!
Any words of wisdom??
tx,
Greg

Well I have tried the oder killing soultions that are available and had decent success. I get the Odor Eliminator from a detailing supplier but I am sure that you could get a decent product over the counter at a janitorial supply place.

Another thing that a member of this forum (Todco) suggested was to get a ziploc and make a few holes in it and place inside it some damp cedar chips. Place it under the seat and whenever you want to recharge the chips soak them in water again. He says this really helps to eliminate the lousy stale air inside the car and it smells fresh. I havent tried this but it sounds like a good suggestion and he has mentioned it several times and I trust his advice.

If you try the odor chemicals you could do like I do sometinmes. I put some of the stuff in with my carpet cleaning solution before I extract it and it seems to really help. I also put it in a spray bottle and just spray the heck out of the entire interior. Remember to use it even on the headliner because they can absorb alot of odors too.



John