rinsing issues

cloth, carpet and upholstery rinsing. i work with cordless elbow grease and am just miffed and perplexed by instructions that say, 'rinse afterwards'. rinse with what, how much, how little etc? ie., if i'm scrubbing auto carpeting using either a foaming solution or a spot remover, what do i do....pour a cup of water over it all....spray mist with plain water....roll the car into the lake....

any and all suggestions welcome!!!

AHhh, Wendy-san

You have asked a wise question indeed. One that is only perplexing due to it's perplexing nature. I will seek, Weed-whacker, to unravel this mystery for you.

Roll the car into the lake!

No, no, just kidding.....ok seriously, spray the carpet shampoo onto the mats and carpet, agitate well THEN roll the windows down and drive it thru the car wash. This way you get the car washed plus the interior is rinsed out well!

Sheesh, tough room....hey is this mic on? Hello?

Wendy, when the label says to "rinse well" then I would say you are using the wrong product for shampooing UNLESS you have a hot water extractor. Now this can be by-passed if you are doing just the removable car mats because you can shampoo those then rinse them out with a hose, use your wet-vac to remove as much water as possible, run a towel over them and then let them bake in the sun until golden brown.

BUT man, that takes such precious time....so what you need to do is "streamline" your technique for cleaning carpets. You do this by trying a variety of products and since I have no idea what type of products are sold in the Great White North, eh, you will have to begin by trial and error.

Try to look for products that say they are more for "spot removal" more so than a shampoo. If you are not able to remove all the soap from the carpets then your carpets will get twice as dirty twice as fast because the soap residue attracts more dirt. This is why there is a need to "rinse" the carpets. BUT a good spot removal will handle most if not all your cleaning needs because the majority of stains in carpet, especially the drivers side, is of a grease nature.

I know you emailed me on this subject and if this does not help you any then please email me again and I may be able to guide you in some choices on various cleaning products.

Anthony

sensie anthony,
most and many thanks from 'new glacier', the 51st state. with this undaunting status we have , i believe , the same products as 'down there'...you know, geographically speaking, not where one keeps one's free hand.

i will be testing EVERYTHING on my '93 suburban 2500 4x4, 454, cloth interior, tow package, electric everything, a/d (not the canadian version which is a piece of a glacier in the back) and heat front and rear. get the feeling i'm selling this puppy? yes, my great dane of the car world has to go (sob, sob cause it owns the road and in busy traffic i just put it into four low and drive over the other cars).

the matts are vinyl and those are the easiest to clean with 'pink solution' which is environmentally friendly and for whatever reason works like lucifer on them. the carpets are a different story. i have no wet vac, no shop vac, and am attempting to use 'simple green' for the over all and some beezelbub style stuff on the stains like 'goo be gone' (petrol based i assume, according to the smell....having a tough time reading labels without my progressives which i've conveniently hidden somewhere as can't stand them.).

so, if using simple green or a citrus based product, what, i see the following options are now:

1. drive through car wash with windows open
2. drive into lake and winch back out
3. apply water wet towel to soak up soap????
4. move further north where they just don't care about the look of carpets.

also, for seat belts, i found a marine product the fishermen use on their nylon cables and will try it this weekend. will let you know the results and will send any salmon down to you , ice packed of course.

thanks,
w.

Wendy:

As a detailing aficionado located in the Great White North I provide you the following no frill suggestions for your reading pleasure and consideration.

To address your original concern regarding rinsing, as Anthony has already pointed out, the purpose of course is to remove the dirt and the detergent that is used to emuslify the dirt/grime from the fabrics that are being cleaned. Most of your upholstery cleaners are high alkaline based products that promote good cleaning. If you do not remove them the detergent will remian on the fabric and be cause for quicker tracking of dirt right back onto the fabric. This is a common concern when cleaners are used on fabric and carpets and not properly rinsed out. Looks good initially but what you end up with is crunch carpets and fabric that are no more than a very large treated track mat ready to attact fresh soil.

For this reason rinsing is a must. I also suggest that you consider a moderatly acidic fabric rinse product also be introduced into your regime that will counteract and neutralize the alkalinity base of the detergent truley leaving your fabrics soft, fresh and clean. I suggest you contact a local reputable janitorial supply house in your area for such both the detergent and rinse products.

You mentioned that you did not have any equipment and are located in a northern climate (ie: extrators, wet dry vac etc). While this does make it more difficult you can use dry towels to blot the fabric as dry as you can get it during each stage and then let the fabric air dry.

Having said that without extractors or vacs I would clean the fabric as follows:

1. spray properly mixed detergent traffic cleaner on surface of fabric and allow to set
2. spray water onto surface of fabric via spray bottle and gently agetate with soft brush.
3. Blot with cloths/ towels
4. spray mixture of neutralizer and water onto fabric surface via spray bottle and gently agetate with soft brush.
5. Blot with cloths/ towels to remove all standing moisture until surface of fabric is damp/ dry
6. let air dry

While this is very labour intensive it should do the trick and provide you reasonable results.

LMAO! You two have started my day off with a good laugh! Thanks so much.

S10 guy...you mean my carpets aren't supposed to go CRUNCH when I get in the truck? Wow, learn something new every day.

Hi all,

What would you guys/gals use for cleaning interiors if you only had a shop vac?

(Sears craftsman, I think 5-or-6 HP)

Thanks
Rick



-=-
#1's - IMO
WAX:....... Collonites - This wax is the best wax ever!!!
SEALANT:... Meguiars Medallion Premium
TIRE:......... Meguiars Gold Class Endurance
RIMS:.........Eagle One - A2Z
Interior:.... Formula 2001 (303 is too much $)