Carpet Wetness Question

**RAG** · 06-25-2006, 05:42 PM

Question for those of you that leave in the humid areas common in the East Coast...how wet do you get the carpets when cleaning? Over here in Cali where drying is no issue at all, I soak the piss out of carpets...often pulling the hot water extractor head at only about 2 inches per second on the really dirty carpets (flushing the deep grime out). However, my brother in Maryland wants to get into detailing a bit and I needed some more info about carpet cleaning, wetness, and mold over there...as I know the carpets don`t dry quickly like they do here. I was thinking of selling him by Desiderio steamer extractor, as it barely wets the carpets (of course it doesn`t get them as clean as my hot water extractor either).

Thanks.

**autoprincess** · 06-25-2006, 06:36 PM

My personal recommendation is not to use water period. There are other methods to shampoo carpet with out having to use a hose and/or water. And there are panels of carpet that can be used with a hose and/or water.

The reason I do not use a water hose or soak the carpet is because the carpet has Juet under it and it is the worst thing to get water out of, sometimes taking forever to get dry while still in the car. I can get excellent results when cleaning the carpet with out using water even with a carpet exctractor. People I think depned on them to much and there are better and much cheaper alternatives to do it.

**RAG** · 06-25-2006, 09:44 PM

I`ve probably shampooed 50 vehicles by hand before, usinig 303 Aerospace cleaner in a small spray bottle, a series of carpet brushes, and small microfiber towels for drying - the carpets never really get wet since it takes less than 10 ounces of solution for the entire vehicle. Works well, though stains tend to reapper since it is difficulut to remoce subsurface dirt without water extraction. But if drying/mold is a problem in a particular area, this would be a viable solution.

Though I do like to soak the carpets a bit with the extractor, I`ve never used a hose (exept for pressure spraying the mats of course).

**MichaelM** · 06-26-2006, 10:18 AM

Running the vehicle for 10-15 minutes with the heat on after the interior is finished usually dries out the remaining dampness.

**imported_Grouse** · 06-26-2006, 10:42 AM

I disagree autopresise. but as they say Put ten carpet cleaners in a room and you`ll have 10 ways to clean carpet. :chuckle:

Rag the key is to dry the fiber in about 4-6 hours. any more than that and you could have wicking of soil to the surface.

tufted fiber dries top bottom up. That means it evaporates from the surface drawing the remaining moisture up. If the drying time is excessive it will also bring up any remaining soils.

so, how do you get it to dry in 4-6 hours.

first you dry vack with ho````er extractor about 3 times for every time you pull the trigger on the hand tool. that is the basic standard 3:1, if carpet is exceptionally soiled 4:1.

finally you add air movement. Lots of it. get that air moving accross that fiber to dry it off. what is small and would fit in a car,truck? drop two of these in the rear or in each seating section blowing dry air across the fiber. drying time should be cut by as much as 4 hours for really wet fiber.

http://www.interlinksupply.com/index.html?item_num=AC081+++++++++++++++

the first one is new to me. but I used these in the carpet industry for tight spaces and steps because of their size.

I purchased one for my dad for christmas for his boat. I prefer these over the first one because you can set this one up side down to blow air under seats. I`ve used it once or twice in my mom`s car to very good effect.

7631245541

**autoprincess** · 06-26-2006, 11:46 AM

It`s not the idea of using water that I am against it`s the method. I use water at times to help break up the dirt and I use carpet extractors my favorite are the hot water ones, that allow the water to evaporate in a short period of time.

I have seen people use a water hose directly on the interior carpet, and then they expect the shop vac to suc it all up and it does not. When Rag said he uses a bottle with water in it with some shampoo that`s one thing, it`s the oversaturation that people need to be careful of. If humidity is a problem (drying) then a solid foam shampoo is ideal.

Dipping water in a soapy water bucket is about the extreme of my water use on carpets.

Grouse-I like your idea of 10 people cleaning carpet, that`s good.

**imported_Grouse** · 06-26-2006, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by autoprecise1

It`s not the idea of using water that I am against it`s the method. I use water at times to help break up the dirt and I use carpet extractors my favorite are the hot water ones, that allow the water to evaporate in a short period of time.

I have seen people use a water hose directly on the interior carpet, and then they expect the shop vac to suc it all up and it does not. When Rag said he uses a bottle with water in it with some shampoo that`s one thing, it`s the oversaturation that people need to be careful of. If humidity is a problem (drying) then a solid foam shampoo is ideal.

Dipping water in a soapy water bucket is about the extreme of my water use on carpets.

Grouse-I like your idea of 10 people cleaning carpet, that`s good.

Well the key is knowing what your doing. If your taking a stab in the dark, then you really don`t have a clue. IMHO you should seek some good training. Via IICRC classes. even the basic classes will set you on the right road to a sucessfull cleaning system.

You can effectivly clean a carpet in a car with

1/2 gallon garden sprayer,

the right chemicals

a shop vac

a small fan.

you can clean a carpet effectively with

a ho````er truckmount

and chemicals

you can clean it effectively with

a dense sponge,

bucket,

vacuum

towels

you can... well you get the picture. It is about knowing the process the chemicals, and what each situation entails. Some will take far longer than others, some will take less.

**autoprincess** · 06-26-2006, 12:03 PM

Iza gree

- tricks tricks tricks, who`s got the tricks?

**magictouch24** · 06-26-2006, 03:44 PM

I`m in MA and carpet drying can occasionally be an issue. I typically mix a solution of warm water, Woolite and GP and scrub necessary areas of all carpetting, then follow with a Big Green Clean Machine. The BGCM has less HP than my shop vac, so when I finish touching the interior (i.e. even glass and jambs are done) I vac one more time and then let the AC blow on the floor for ~20 minutes. By this time the carpets are either dry or nearly dry, and if the latter I usually instruct clients to leave their mats off the carpets and crack the windows overnight if possible.

I also pressure wash floormats, but ~15 minutes in the sun dries those suckers up easily.

**brwill2005** · 06-26-2006, 04:09 PM

If you are using an extractor with enough lift, carpet drying should not be an issue.

**RAG** · 06-26-2006, 06:00 PM

Carpet drying has never been an issue for me, but I live in a very dry climate, but I guess it`s okay to use a hot water extractor liberally even in more humid areas...

**brwill2005** · 06-26-2006, 06:03 PM

It can get quite humid here in Northern VA. This is especially true during the summer time. I do use my extractor liberally on very soiled carpets. I always follow the solution applying forward stroke with one or more vacuum reverse strokes.