Best way to to mild clean interior

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frito

New member
Best way to mildly clean interior

I have done this several ways from taking out the interior, bucket and sponge using just the foam, and a full on carpet machine with auto attachment.

For mild cleaning duties which way do you guys prefer?
 
"Lighter cleaning" takes on a different meaning because I assume it`s just get the "minor" grime and day-to-day stains/dirt that has accumulated in a daily driver versus a over-the-winter-never-been-cleaned-for-months that requires a full-on, time consuming, deep cleaning.

I find that the first step is a thorough vacuuming. While this may seem obvious, it`s how it is done that gets results. I use the hand brush-and-vac method on somewhat dirtier carpets and seat fabrics, and if you have just minor dirt and debris, you may skip the brushing and just vacuum as needed. Carpeted floor mats I remove from the vehicle and turn them over on a hard surface and shake-and-beat them so that the imbedded debris and dirt will fall out via gravity and then vacuum the hard surface and repeat until nothing seems to fall out, THEN vacuum the carpet floor mat fabric. You`d be surprised at how much sand or fine dirt can fall out of a carpet floor mat.

For "minor" cleaning I like to use Meg`s M101 All-Purpose Cleaner (APC) on both carpets and seats, but I use a very strong dilution ratio of 1:3. I think most use a 1:7 or lighter for interior carpet/fabric cleaning. I prefer to spray it on a slightly wet brush, hand brush it in, and then drying it with an absorbent microfiber cloth, rinsing the cloth out in a separate clean water bucket then wringing it out, and go over small areas (like a front seat face or a passenger-side foot well carpet) as needed. If you just want to freshen up a fabric seat, I`ve used the APC on a microfiber cloth to wipe it down and then followed with a damp absorbent microfiber to dry/extract the fabric fiber, OR you can use the lighter dilution ratio APC on a microfiber and just wipe in down without drying it with a separate microfiber if it`s not too dirty, rinsing and wringing it out, then spraying it with APC for each area. I do not spray APC directly on fabrics as a rule, BUT some products are designed that way, so you will need to read the directions/instructions on the cleaning product(s) you choose to use.

Optimum Polymer Technologies makes a dedicated carpet and fabric cleaner as well.

Also, Poorboy`s World has recently introduced 1) a carpet cleaner shampoo and 2) an enzyme stain pre-treater and odor remover that may fit this quick hand cleaning. I think you can buy samples of these products from them directly if you want to try them out without spending a lot of money.
 
If an interior doesn`t need too much love, I usually just vacuum then clean/condition/protect with Poorboy`s Leather Stuff. Then clean all of the interior glass.
 
Even with the dog-haulers, regular cleaning is just vacuuming, wiping stuff down with an Interior Quick Detailer, and doing the glass. Maybe a lint-roller for the dog hair.

In the winter I do attend to the floormats (note that Accumulatorette uses her oe Audi carpeted mats all winter..same ones since 2000) and the pedals (steamer).
 
Accumulator said:
Even with the dog-haulers, regular cleaning is just vacuuming, wiping stuff down with an Interior Quick Detailer, and doing the glass. Maybe a lint-roller for the dog hair.

In the winter I do attend to the floormats (note that Accumulatorette uses her oe Audi carpeted mats all winter..same ones since 2000) and the pedals (steamer).
Click to expand...

For dog hair, have any of you tried the pumice stone while vacuuming? Even takes out embedded yellow lab fur!
 
frito said:
Thank you, I should have been more clear. I am talking about carpet (mainly drivers side) and fabric seats.
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Did these floor mats with Optimum Carpet & Fabric Cleaner & Protectant, a Sonax brush, some towels and a vacuum. I used the carpet cleaner undiluted as these were heavily soiled. Didn`t take that long to do for each floor mat. Did spot cleaning in the interior as well on various areas of the carpet.

IMG_0137a.jpg


IMG_0136a.jpg
 
Lonnie said:
"Lighter cleaning" takes on a different meaning because I assume it`s just get the "minor" grime and day-to-day stains/dirt that has accumulated in a daily driver versus a over-the-winter-never-been-cleaned-for-months that requires a full-on, time consuming, deep cleaning.

I find that the first step is a thorough vacuuming. While this may seem obvious, it`s how it is done that gets results. I use the hand brush-and-vac method on somewhat dirtier carpets and seat fabrics, and if you have just minor dirt and debris, you may skip the brushing and just vacuum as needed. Carpeted floor mats I remove from the vehicle and turn them over on a hard surface and shake-and-beat them so that the imbedded debris and dirt will fall out via gravity and then vacuum the hard surface and repeat until nothing seems to fall out, THEN vacuum the carpet floor mat fabric. You`d be surprised at how much sand or fine dirt can fall out of a carpet floor mat.

For "minor" cleaning I like to use Meg`s M101 All-Purpose Cleaner (APC) on both carpets and seats, but I use a very strong dilution ratio of 1:3. I think most use a 1:7 or lighter for interior carpet/fabric cleaning. I prefer to spray it on a slightly wet brush, hand brush it in, and then drying it with an absorbent microfiber cloth, rinsing the cloth out in a separate clean water bucket then wringing it out, and go over small areas (like a front seat face or a passenger-side foot well carpet) as needed. If you just want to freshen up a fabric seat, I`ve used the APC on a microfiber cloth to wipe it down and then followed with a damp absorbent microfiber to dry/extract the fabric fiber, OR you can use the lighter dilution ratio APC on a microfiber and just wipe in down without drying it with a separate microfiber if it`s not too dirty, rinsing and wringing it out, then spraying it with APC for each area. I do not spray APC directly on fabrics as a rule, BUT some products are designed that way, so you will need to read the directions/instructions on the cleaning product(s) you choose to use.

Optimum Polymer Technologies makes a dedicated carpet and fabric cleaner as well.

Also, Poorboy`s World has recently introduced 1) a carpet cleaner shampoo and 2) an enzyme stain pre-treater and odor remover that may fit this quick hand cleaning. I think you can buy samples of these products from them directly if you want to try them out without spending a lot of money.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. Your original assumption is correct. It is pretty clean but the inevitable amount of some drivers side dirt is present. It has been kept very well but has not been actually cleaned in two years. No soiling is present to the eye (dark fabric) but I am certain that one could extract a fair amount.
 
Frito- Ah, OK...now I`m on the right wavelength (I think). For the carpeted mats I *would* use some kind of extractor. I currently have five (no, not a typo :o ) different ones, can you tell I`m really sold on the approach?!? I wouldn`t worry about the "introducing more moisture" issue as it`s not all that hard to extract them quite dry and the padding won`t get too saturated as long as you`re a little careful about how much water you use (which is easy to modulate).

DAC17 said:
For dog hair, have any of you tried the pumice stone while vacuuming? Even takes out embedded yellow lab fur!
Click to expand...

Those worked OK but I couldn`t get over the general idea of rubbing something abrasive against the textiles (only need such stuff for cloth and carpet). Probably not a valid concern, but enough that I switched to the lint-rollers for the rare occasions taht I need such stuff (I`ve pretty much eliminated that concern with the current dog-haulers :D ).
 
Accumulator said:
Frito- Ah, OK...now I`m on the right wavelength (I think). For the carpeted mats I *would* use some kind of extractor. I currently have five (no, not a typo :o ) different ones, can you tell I`m really sold on the approach?!? I wouldn`t worry about the "introducing more moisture" issue as it`s not all that hard to extract them quite dry and the padding won`t get too saturated as long as you`re a little careful about how much water you use (which is easy to modulate).




Those worked OK but I couldn`t get over the general idea of rubbing something abrasive against the textiles (only need such stuff for cloth and carpet). Probably not a valid concern, but enough that I switched to the lint-rollers for the rare occasions taht I need such stuff (I`ve pretty much eliminated that concern with the current dog-haulers :D ).
Click to expand...

I have not been around here for some time but you sir never fail to come to the rescue.
 
frito said:
..you sir never fail to come to the rescue.
Click to expand...

Heh heh, glad to be of help. I really *do* think that pretty much everybodyt oughta have an extractor of some sort...if only because most homes have rugs/carpet/etc. Might as well use the same approach on auto fabrics too. Easy for me to spend your money, but some places seel refurbbed Bissells pretty cheap and I`d trust one..maybe trust it more than a regular-new one since the refurbishing involves some tech`s personal attention.
 
I actually have a Bissell for the home carpet and have had great luck with it one a period of 10 years. I was reading up on the little green machines and saw a trend that they quit working after about a year. Do you recommend one in particular?
 
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