HELP!! cleaning carpet and cloth seats??

mopower440 · 07-28-04, 06:49

tried to clean the carpet tonight in the saturn, used castrol super clean and oxy clean, heard they both worked well, ok i squirted the super clean into the carpet, then brushed it in, then soaked a towel in the oxy clean and wrung it out good and wiped the carpet over and over till almost dry, ok, it cleaned it some but not nearly like most people can clean them, seems like it loosened the dirt up but just moved it around isntead of getting it up out of the carpet, i really want to learn to do this and be happy with it..sure dont want to try the seats till i can get the carpet right, any suggestions here guys?
thanks

ncal · 07-28-04, 06:53

I apply spot remover to the carpet and then agitate with a PC 7424. You can do this also by hand but I just find that it works better for me. Then I use my a portable 'steam vac' which is really a low suction shampooer and vacuums up the water. Works well for me but I also wouldn't expect miracles. You may just need an extractor with the high suction and heat.

mopower440 · 07-28-04, 07:04

tried to clean the carpet tonight, used castrol super clean and oxy clean, heard they both worked well, ok i squirted the super clean into the carpet, then brushed it in, then soaked a towel in the oxy clean and wrung it out good and wiped the carpet over and over till almost dry, ok, it cleaned it some but not nearly like most people can clean them, seems like it loosened the dirt up but just moved it around isntead of getting it up out of the carpet, i really want to learn to do this and be happy with it..sure dont want to try the seats till i can get the carpet right, any suggestions here guys? Is there another product besides what i used that i can buy locally that would do much better? I posted this in the detailing 101 forum, but then i found this and figured someone here could help me out..
thanks

mopower440 · 07-28-04, 07:10

wish i had a shampooer, that would help a lot, but cant afford one at the moment, is there a better product i could use rather than the superclean?

andriver · 07-28-04, 07:12

Agree with ncal. It also helps if you use hot water. If you have a dry vac use it to extract the water.

kpounds · 07-28-04, 07:51

Be sure to rinse (lightly, not soak) and if possible suction dry with a wet-dry vac afterwards. Another very good carpet cleaner is Folex. Its mostly used to spot clean, but I've used it successfully on whole areas. Spray the area a bit, agitate with fingers, then wipe up with a towel. Lots of threads here about it. Target stores carry the 32oz bottle for $5.99-6.99.

http://www.folexcompany.com/

jrawls · 07-29-04, 10:34

If you don't extract what you shampooed then all you are doing is moving the dirt around. If you don't have the money for an expensive extractor than go to Wal-Mart and get a steam cleaner.

dcswd · 07-29-04, 11:36

I think your mistake was that you used a (slightly) wet towel. You should use a dry towel to asorb what ever carpet cleaner you used.

If the APC doesnt work after absorbing it with a dry towel, then spray the Oxy cleaner and then asorb that... try stuff till you can find something that works.

Demon Detailer · 07-29-04, 04:29

First of all you need to use the right product. Super Clean is a degreaser. It contains surfactants to emulsify grease so they can be rinsed away. These surfactants are not good for carpets because they work better when they are "rinsed". That is why you have the "smearing"problem.

Those surfactants will stay in the carpet and leave a sticky residue. That residue will then clean the bottom of people's shoes and make the carpets dirty again faster than usual.

You need to use a high quality Carpet Shampoo. The surfactants in carpet shampoos will loosen the dirt and lift it to the surface so you towel will wipe them away. Then any residue will dry to a "friable powder". This means that it will turn into a light powder. The next time the car is vacuumed, the powder will be gone - thus no sticky residue.

A good professional detail supplier in Tennessee is D& M Supply in Nashville. You can purchase product from their warehouse store.

mopower440 · 07-29-04, 08:25

I need a product to look for though, what do you recommend?

eggroll · 07-29-04, 08:57

I use oxy clean for the carpet, for tough stains i use simple green and rinse with a little green machine and water.