I'm a novice in the detail profession and working exclusivly for a car dealer in Boise, Id. My detail bay is nothing more than an enclosed metal carport that is awful in terms of retaining heat in the winter. Other than idling the car with the heat on what would be my best chance (or piece of equipment) for thouroghly drying the carpet and underlying pad? Any advice you may have to offer would be a great help!
Best interior drying method (wet carpet)in cold weather.
- Thread starter peteg1
- Start date
Deep Gloss Auto Salon
New member
forced air propane heater?... home depot for about $100 I think
baseballlover1
New member
is this an open car port or enclosed? If its enclosed wouldnt a butane heater be harmful? I have been looking at propane and butane heaters and it looks like they are all unsafe.
salty
Active member
In cold weather i have no problem idling the car to dry the carpet. As long as you are using a quality-suction-extractor, it drys pretty fast, make sure you crack a window. Done that for years.
Another option is a small ceramic heater on low, window cracked, inside the vehicle. Use at your own discretion.
Heat drying will stiffen carpet, wipe or brush it to soften.
Another option is a small ceramic heater on low, window cracked, inside the vehicle. Use at your own discretion.
Heat drying will stiffen carpet, wipe or brush it to soften.
imported_mirrorfinishman
New member
Based on the conditions you have described, your best chance for thoroughly drying the carpet and underlying pad is to not get it wet in the first place.
Cleaning Fool
New member
Yes, your method of cleaning would help. Hard to offer a solution without knowing what tools you have. You should not be getting the underlying pad wet, if you are, you are using way to much water/chemicals to clean with. A cardinal sin in carpet cleaning is overwetting the carpet. Of course if you do this it will take forever to dry.
CARWAX said:
this seems to work for me also, but I extract and remove as much as I can first. If you don't have an extractor, try a couple large cotton shower towels, and fold in half and lay them down over area (passenger side, drivers side etc.) and step on them with your feet, repeat until towels appear dry, then start car and run the heat on floor setting.
David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
CARWAX said:
Don't use heat!! The chemicals in the carpet will crystalize and harder & if there's dirt left (which there always will be) it will turn brown. The best way is to use a forced air drier mixed with medium temp. Make sure to towel dry as much wetness out of the fabric to minimize drying time.
imported_Jakerooni
New member
small fan usually works great.
David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
kaval said:
Any reason why you're recommending a microfiber instead of a regular towel? Are they more absorbent?
Chris@Optimum
Optimum Product Support
Haven't got the money for an extractor, but my system hasn't let me down and I've seen some sh**. Foam the carpet with TUFF STUFF after testing for color fastness, 1:1 APC and toothbrush stains, within 5 min foam dies down, go over each section 3-5 times with PC fitted with carpet brush attachment from TOL, then vacuum. I guess its the foam that rises instead of soaking in but the floors do not require any type of drying. Brushes do a great job and I've been so happy with this quick process that I may not ever buy an extrctor!
Warm shop + big fan. I also find putting the infront of a window (if you have one) to let the sun shine in...unless they're thick like acura or mitsubishi mats, they should be dry within an hour. Wet mats in the winter just sucks and causes the insides to fog up all the time...that's of course in climates of -20 
salty
Active member
Isn't that the point of this thread, to dry interiors in the cold. Unless you have a 2 bay shop or space, you will have to use heat to dry the interior. Nothing worse than looking out at a finished car and having the windows fogged up and having a frozen interior.
Never had a problem with heat unless the carpet is saturated, then it might brown out, typically grey or silver carpets. This problem might exist before you start, as foot areas might already be browned out. One product that works somewhat well is Esteam Brown Out, it will remove some brown color.
Never had a problem with heat unless the carpet is saturated, then it might brown out, typically grey or silver carpets. This problem might exist before you start, as foot areas might already be browned out. One product that works somewhat well is Esteam Brown Out, it will remove some brown color.