Carpet product?

Does anyone know any best products out-there that I can use to clean my carpet? I tried using Amorold but it only takes out the dirt on my car seats but not the carpet floor. I have substaintial amount of dirt on the floor.



jmars

Is it dirt that can be vaced up, or stains?

It is dirt that somewhat socked up in the carpet. The car is a 1992 Chevy - Lumina, 2 door.



jmars

maybe you could try out one of those vacs at the car washes.... they are prety powerful, and shouldn't burn too big a hole in your pocket

Thanks John



jmars

John, what if it's stain?



jmars

For a low budget, use a 50% water to 50% Simple Green & use a good wet/dry vac. Make sure you use a good water rinse to get rid of all of the remaining suds.

You will spend days rinsing this out of your carpet, it doesnt brake down, Ive tried

Try your janitor supply store, you can get out under 20 bucks, then you will have a proffesional formula, you can use a shop vac if you cant rent an extractor.

Thank you very much Dan for the info



jmars

let me guess. is this the nightmare GM grey carpet?

Yeha could you imagine getting simple green out of those carpets, I stained some carpets green using that method!

Your need a better attorney, you could of have had Simple Green replaced your stained mats at no charge. We have used their solutions on all various carpets & all different colors & have never experience any staining or discoloration problems.

The new Oxi-Clean cleaner has out spoken the Simple Green by the millions. Simpe Green is in the past & Oxi-Clean is the present. Good Luck with your efforts.

I have never tried Oxi-Clean, does it really work? What uses have you found for this on vehicles? The only thing I know about it is the commercials on TV and they remind me of the ones I have seen before. LOL Do you guys remember DD7? LOL That stuff was a waste of time and money but people bought loads of it for a while. I have heard that Oxi-Clean is really popular. I just was curious if it really worked that well. If it does I will give it a try, I see it is sold at Wal-Mart and other stores now.Thanks.


John

i have used the new "over the counter" meguirs stain remover and it seems to work very well

mike at the shine shop

Hello everyone:

It is my humble opinion on the subject of carpet care is that it very much parallels the complexity and varied science that goes into detailing and selecting an appropriate detailing program

The key in my mind is proper evaluation of the base problem.

In short one step, multi purpose products like simple green and the likes are OK but think about the one step cleaner waxes as they relate to a multi step detailing program. The multi purpose one step products tend to pass but there is no comparison to the multi step system. the danger to using such one step products is in setting the stain into the carpet if it happens to not work.. Once the stain is set ..... it tends to be game over.... so I cannot emphasize enough the importance of proper stain evaluation

As for carpets the science is rather simple... all stains tend to be of two types, Organic ( Food based) or Petrolium ( solvent based).

Another factor to determine is the PH of the stain.... Low ph (0 to 6) is acidic ( ie toilet bowl cleaner) .. High PH (8 to 14)is alkaline ( ie concentrated cleaners like simple green).... water is neutral (7)

Once the base evaluation of the stain is determined the plan to clean can be established... here is where the science of the cleaning plan and carpet products really comes in.

Your Plan will now entail;

1. selecting the right cleaning solution product to apply to clean the stain.... this will emulsify the stain to remove it .... what you are doing is transfering it it from the carpet fibre to another medium... wipeing cloth or solution tank of an extractor.
2. neutralize the cleaning solution with the right product. This now balances the ph back to a neutral state of 7 and permits the removal of it from the carpet fibre ( doesnt leave the carpet crunchy).
3. rinse the fabric with water
4. let dry

Also Do not ever rub the products into the stain but pounce them instead to work the solutions into the stain.

This may seem like much to do .. but it will render the most professional results by far .

I highly recommend that any professional detailer engage in a serious discussion with a reputable local commercial janitorial supply company. These people are highly farmiliar with this approach and can provide you with a basic supply of cost effective concentrated chemicals and training in using them that will raise the reputation of your business just that much higher when you encounter that customer with a problem carpet stain.

Take care

To S10 Guy :

So from your 3/30 note you sound like you are experienced and take a very reasoned approach to carpet cleaning. So drawing upon your experience can I ask you to recommend an approach to removing stains in a silver carpet from tar (meaning little pieces of road tar), spilled coffee and regular old back-yard dirt from the kids ?

It sounds like it would take me a long time to know what you know and my car will suffer while I earn my degree from the school of hard knocks.

On a related topic, in your experience for what kind of stains is Oxy Clean a good solution ?
Thanks,

SL500

That was a great post S10!We must present ourselves as professionals in every aspect of auto detailing, this means being a professional carpet man, I can just as easily clean home carpets as auto carpets, thanks to you. I have learned much from your suggestions and appreciate well thought out advice. I advise everyone to do as s10 says.

SL500

Thanks for the kind words. As for specific recomendations I am happy to provide you with the following.

Seems you have three separate problems, tar, coffee, & general grit/dirts.

Each takes a separate approach but generally I would spot clean first then do a deep clean of the entire carpet for the grit and dirt.

TAR & ASHPALT - contains tar, asphault and sulpur compounds
1. scrape off as much a possible with a spatula
2. apply VDS drycleaning solvent ( volitile dry solvent - usually 1,1,1 Trichloroethane) and blot with a white cloth
3. apply paint oil and grease remover (pog) - this can be purchased from a janitorial supply house ( usually a special non volitile dry spoter) and blot with a white cloth
4. rinse with VDS ( see 2 above) and blot with a white cloth
5. apply detergent solution ( one teaspoon colorless detergent with 1 cup lukewarm water, blot with white cloth and alow to dry.

COFFEE- contains tannin, sugars, fatty acids,alcohols, oils milk and cream

1. apply detergent solution ( one teaspoon colorless detergent with 1 cup lukewarm water, blot with white cloth and alow to dry. IF Cream was present in the coffee use an enzyme detergent ( available from your local janitorial supply house). Enzymes have digestors that attack the stain. And Blot with white cloth
2. Apply vinegar solution ( 1/3 cup white houshold vinegar with 2/3 cup water) and blot. This is an acidic solution used to attack the tannin in the coffee. There are also professional tannin solutions at the janitoril supply house that are usually 28% acetic acid.
3. Apply Enzyme solution - enzyme detergent ( available from your local janitorial supply house). Enzymes have digestors that attack the stain. And Blot with white cloth
4. rinse with water and blot dry
5. let dry


GENERAL GRIT AND GRIME

1. Obtain a suitable concentrated professional carpet cleaner prespray.. from you janitorial supply house.... usually mixed at about 6 oz per gal. Spray this directly on thesurface of the affected carpet and let set.
2. Add water and professional fibre rinse to the solution tank of an extractor.
3. extract until clean
4. let dry.

As for you question on oxyclean .. I have no direct experience with this product.

Tips:

1. use white clean cloths to blot the stains.. this is the best way to determine if the stain is wicking from the carpet fibre. When you see the stain appearing on the white cloth you know that something good is happening.
2. be sure to test your carpet for color fastness with each chemical.

Hope this helps and good luck.