reappearing stains??

Why do some stains reappear? Am I using the wrong cleaners?

Maybe it is the way you are cleaning the stains? Are you using an extraction machine? Stains can go deep into the carpet or cloth fabric. You maybe are only cleaning the top part of the stain. It may look clean when wet, but later on it comes back. Need more info.

You are not using the wrong cleaners but perhaps wrong technique... Sometimes when seats are heavily stained you might have to dry foam, or steam vapor clean instead of wet shampoo clean.. or sometimes you have to remove the seat covers to flush out all the liquid remaining in the base of the fibers and sponge seat padding.

Stains will often reappear after cleaning by shampooing as a result of wicking.

Wicking occurs when a liquid has been spilled (in the case of automobile it is usually soft drinks such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate or some other type of soda) The cleaning attempts to remove the stain but because directly under the stain is a large residue of the spill, water from shampooing wets the seating/ carpeting down to the base of the fibers and sometimes thru the backing… resulting in capillary action “meaning the stains wicks back up into the carpet or seat fibers causing the stain to reappear after drying”.
It is possible to remove the stain by repeating the cleaning process and drying out the fiber quickly so it does not wick back up… or to constantly shampoo out the area to remove as much of the spilled residue and drying out quickly or to hand spot remove with a good spot remover once it is dried.

Gina, which is why the use of an extractor, with only hot water, may often resolve the concern.
Got a friend buying a 4 year old Lexus, had me look at it.
The grey carpet was showing "browning" in area's, I had him tell them to extract the carpets with plain old hot water, no soap, etc, and let it dry.
Two days later, dry and no "brown stains".
Come to find out, the detailer for the dealer was one of those, soak the hell of the carpet, brush scrub and run a wet/dry over the carpet.
My friend told me the Manager of the dealership was AMAZED at what the plain hot water extraction did for the vehicle.
Does work in all cases, as we are both aware, however, quite often it is all it takes to get it right.

As Gina indicates the problem is what is called "wicking" in the carpet cleaning industry where soil, when it dries moves back to the surface.

YOu should always warn a customer with extremely dirty carpets or with a stain like coke; pumpkin milk shake (had one on Saturday) that the stain will probably reappear and to bring the car back and you will work on it again.

However the only sure way to eliminate the problem is to remove the seats and carpet shell and pressure wash it until there is no offending soil left.

Takes time, but that is what you charge them for, a perfect job, or near perfect. They don't want to pay to do this then they have to live with recurring stains or soil.

An extractor can only do so much when the soil is deep in the carpet.

Regards

Wow, thanks for the comments...very helpful. I did use my hot water extractor. It seemed like I spent alot of time on the seats and they still werent coming clean. The stains must have been really deep down in the fabric. Maybe I will try the "hot water only" in the extractor next time. My problem is, is that I get cars to clean that come from auctions and some of them are really bad. I have no idea what most stains are. Any suggestions on what I can do and/or use to make the process any easier when dealing with unknown stains? Thanks

Kelly :-)

Kelly
I have done many dirty cars. The problem is that the carpets and fabric are sooo dirty that a lite spray of water is not enough. The crap in the carpet and fabric has been become dry and hard which is hard to remove. <br>

You need to soak the carpet and fabric with water to loosen the crap up so it can be sucked out.Also, use a soft nylon brush .You may have to do it several times
to get it all out.<br>

Yes the carpets and fabric will be wet, and it will take some time to dry. Fans
can be used to speed up the drying time,or leave the windows down on a warm day.
<br>

Some stains will not come out with this method, but dirt, grime, and sweat will.
Also,spilled drinks like coffee and soda will be removed. When dry you will be surprised how well this works on those nasty auction cars.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2010 12:41PM by billd55.