Easiest product for fabric seat stains

G

getgoing

New member
Hi guys,

I have two questions please:

1. What`s the easiest to use cleaner for fabric seat stains?
Hopefully something that has broad uses (e.g. general interior cleaning also), so I don`t have too many products.

2. How do these compare for carpet stains?

Super Clean.
Optimum Power Clean.
Meguiar`s D101 APC.
Ultima Interior Shampoo.
Griot`s Interior Cleaner.
Chemical Guys Nonsense.

Thanks :)
 
getgoing- I`ve only used two of the products on your list:

-Optimum PC: I only use this for emulsifying grease/oil stains
-GG Interior: Very, *VERY* gentle/mild/weak but doesn`t hurt anything I`ve tried it on and doesn`t need much rinsing

IMO you oughta choose your cleaner based on what kind of [contamination] you`re cleaning off, and what kind of surface you`re working on.


IMO different stains call for different cleaners, simple as that. (I know others don`t subscribe to that, to each his own.) The thought occurs that Ron Ketcham might say that ValuGard`s Omni is OK for most anything, and I`d take his word for it though I`ve never (yet) tried the stuff.

DO NOT use alkaline products on leather (which oughta be left slightly acidic). Yeah, even "coated" leather as there will usually be enough porosity/micro-fissures to allow the cleaner to contact the actual leather.
 
Accumulator said:
-GG Interior: Very, *VERY* gentle/mild/weak but doesn`t hurt anything I`ve tried it on and doesn`t need much rinsing
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Hi Accumulator, when you says that it`s very mild, you are not talking about "Griot`s Interior Detailer" right? Online I see two different interior products from Griot`s, one is called "Cleaner" and other is called "Detailer". I was assuming that the cleaner product would be much stronger than the detailer?

Thanks.
 
I HATE stains in seats, as Accumulator mentioned different stains require different products. Folex is great on a lot of them, but some stuff it won`t do much at all. Right now I use P&S Terminator, Carpet Bomb & Finisher. Still not the results I want, and I don`t like using potentially 3 different products. But, I`ve tried probably 30 other things and this combo works pretty well. Plus they`re cheap, one negative they can`t be used as general cleaners. I use them + a drill brush attachment and it works about as well as I could hope. I use to use Adam`s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner, I always found that to be a good one too. Now there are plenty of APC`s that will do a decent job overall on carpet and seats. But those weird stains can be a PITB without a specialty product.

2 big plus`s for Folex it`s cheap cheap and you can find it at a ton of B&M stores.
 
getgoing said:
Hi Accumulator, when you says that it`s very mild, you are not talking about "Griot`s Interior Detailer" right? Online I see two different interior products from Griot`s, one is called "Cleaner" and other is called "Detailer". I was assuming that the cleaner product would be much stronger than the detailer?

Thanks.
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I think I can answer that with "Yeah, that`s probably right" :D

I do have a bottle of the GG Interior QD, but I haven`t tried it yet. I *was indeed* referring to their Interior Cleaner, the clear stuff. So mild it "doesn`t even hurt the dirt" when the dogs have gotten into something nasty :D and I`d *expect* the Int. QD to be even less potent of a cleaner. But I dunno whether I`d even go as far as saying it`d be "much stronger" if only because it`s so mild that such a description just sounds exaggerated to me!

Heh heh, don`t get me wrong, it`s not "so weak it`s useless" or anything..if I didn`t like it I`d quit buying it. But it does have its limitations and it`s *nothing* like that old Armor All Cleaner I`ve been using up!

AND..I probably oughta say that even though I`m all about specific "dedicated-to-[whatever]" products/approaches, all sorts of products can clean all sorts of messes off of all sorts of things just fine. I just don`t want people to do the exact wrong thing only to make a bad situation (permanently) worse; IMO it`s like treating stains on clothing. As long as it doesn`t go sideways, hey...no problem, so you make up your mind and maybe you just take your chances.
 
Depends on the nature, more precisely, the chemical make-up of the stain.
Petroleum stains, like used motor oil or grease, are nearly impossible to remove from fabrics, whether seats or carpets.
Road tar or blacktop or blacktop sealers stains are nearly impossible to remove.
Red dye, like some wines or fruit drink, are also a real bugger to get out.
Inks from gel pens or ball-point pens or certain fountain pen permanent ink formulations or Sharpie markers are, well as the name implies, permanent.

Worst stains? Red Lipstick and red nail polish from women who put on make-up in their vehicle for work (I did not ask if she was driving at the time)

I`ve used Optimum`s Carpet/Fabric Cleaner and Protectant diluted 1:3 as a pretty good fabric cleaner for most food and coffee/tea (AKA tannins) stains for the most part.
Professional carpet cleaning chemical manufacturers will also have a stain-remover. I use DSC Products Inc 42068 Sure-Pass Heavy Duty Spotter I buy from a local carpet retailer/cleaning service for most concentrated organic stains. It has replaced Folex for me.
For tar and oil, I use WD40`s Spot Shot that you can buy over-the-counter in the laundry section at Walmart.
For human vomit or urine (kids throwing up or "accidents") I recommend Poorboy`s World Enzyme Stain and Odor Remover first followed by a carpet/fabric cleaner.
For the red dye stains, check a wine shop. They may sell a fabric cleaner for those red wine stains, but i think its more for clothes.
For winter salt stains on carpet floor mats and footwells, I use Sprayway`s Salt-Off for Carpets. It does not work as well as white vinegar and boiling water, but you do not have the vinegar smell lingering for three or four days.

I assume you are manually hand-cleaning with a brush and "extracting" with an absorbent microfiber clothe. Choosing the correct type of brush and microfiber is important. Seams in seats and piping or stitching require smaller brushes. I am cheap; I "re-purpose" old tooth brushes with a medium or hard bristle hardness (soft are too flexible, but great for applying rubber/vinyl protectant to door seal folds, transmission shifter boots, or wiring bellows!).
Carpet brushes require occasional cleaning themselves. Old carpet fibers and human hair (remember the women getting ready for work in the vehicle?) get embedded and I use a long,shout sewing needle to pick and comb out the embedded debris. Don`t laugh; it works.
 
you said broad uses, Gtechniq I2-Tri Clean totally slipped my mind. I use it and have gotten some pretty deep stains out of light gray fabric seats, and it worked beautifully on the dash and door panels in the same car. Way too pricey imho, but I was impressed at how well it worked. It also has odor removers and anti bacterial stuff in it.
 
Lonnie said:
Red dye, like some wines or fruit drink, are also a real bugger to get out...
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Back when we had the dealership, we had some "Red Stain Remover" (from TOL, not sure where to get it now) that worked incredibly well, even on red wine. Might be worth looking into.

Inks from gel pens or ball-point pens or certain fountain pen permanent ink formulations or Sharpie markers are, well as the name implies, permanent.
Click to expand...
Sometimes you get lucky with IPA, it does a solvent-action on some "permanent" inks really well. Some.

EDIT: This is partially just a Note to Self that I gotta restock, but I just used a little of my remaining Protein Stain Remover (also from TOL) to get out some dried/set bloodstains on white cotton..lucky me, they came out great even though the stains had been there for a while. Some of those products really do work like magic :D
 
TOL was a really great source for specialty stain removers. It’s a lot tougher to find them now. I guess we need to do a lot more experimenting than we had to in the past now that TOL is gone.
 
I`ll either Amazon it or go to the local Floorcare store where they sell the stuff Pro Carpet/etc. guys use.

I`ve been discussing these products with Carnage, and apparently Meguiar`s even has them now. Though I will say that I`ve done better with the TOL powder, which I mix *STRONG*, than I ever did with premixed liquids...but hey, that was a while ago, maybe they`re better now.
 
I still believe ChemSpec makes some of the best professional carpet cleaning chemicals on the market, BUT they have a limited dealership/distributor network, and one of them was of the now defunct Top of the Line Detailing Supply (TOL, which is the acronym if you are wondering). Unfortunately before they stopped doing business, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) rules by state governments prevented shipping to some areas (like mine, Wisconsin).

While these product are, indeed, designed for commercial and residential carpet cleaning, many Autopians used (and STILL use) their products for vehicle carpet fiber cleaning. one of the best for floor mats and really dirty foot well carpets is Express Lane 2.0 Traffic Lane Cleaner. They also make a Paint, Oil, and Grease (POG) Spotter and Remover.
You can Google them yourself for number of internet vendors (no links: forum rules!)

​Another company that gets little attention is BioKleen. They make Carpet Kleen and Carpet Pre-Spotter. While these products are better known in the Recreational Vehicle and Boating industries, they do have some cross-over products for automotive use.
 
Lonnie said:
I still believe ChemSpec makes some of the best professional carpet cleaning chemicals on the market..​Another company that gets little attention is BioKleen. ..
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Yep. I`ve used ChemSpec for decades and know people who like BioKleen. Check with independent vacuum/extractor places.
 
Guys,

Any of you tired Folex for removing tea stains?

I tried Tuff Stuff but it did nothing at all on tea stains in carpet.

Thanks.
 
getgoing said:
Guys,

Any of you tired Folex for removing tea stains?

I tried Tuff Stuff but it did nothing at all on tea stains in carpet.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Two ideas...check out your local janitorial supply store and/or Meguiar`s Tannin Stain Remover.

Bill
 
Tannins are REALLY tough to remove, especially tea and coffee because those spills occur when the beverage is usually hot and it "sets" into the fiber.

You can try two household products you may have on hand.
The first is OxyClean Max powder and a toothbrush and a little elbow grease with vigorous brushing and then "extract" with an dampened absorbent microfiber. This is probably the safest method.
The second is to use hydrogen peroxide 2% solution that you find in the healthcare isle at most stores (Well not anymore due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the high demand for this product!). This one is "risky" as hydrogen peroxide will bleach or discolor some fabric material so use at your own risk or test it in an inconspicuous place first. Pour it on the toothbrush, not on the stain, and tap out the excess from the brush, then brush the stain. It may require three or more brushing applications and "extractions". Also if it is near any leather or plastic, you may want to protect that material with a towel from the droplets/overspray resulting from the brushing action. I doubt if it would hurt it those materials being 2%HP, but better safe than sorry.
I`ve used the 2% hydrogen peroxide to get out blood stains and it works pretty well IF the stain has not been there for a long period of time.

And yes, the suggestion to go to a place that sells "professional" carpet cleaning products is excellent and they may be able to provide you with a safe and specific product and cleaning methods for tannin stains.
 
I’m shocked you guys would bring drinks in your cars. Nothing but water for me in the rare event I do.
 
Bill D said:
I’m shocked you guys would bring drinks in your cars. Nothing but water for me in the rare event I do.
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Eh, the dogs have been in all of `em except the Jag (exposed stitching) and the S8 (heh heh, *we* have hardly ever been in it!) and they`re capable of a lot worse than some spilled beverages. During all-day roadtrips I`ll sometimes have a soda, and I bring Denny`s coffee home in `em all the time. But otherwise I`m the same way you are. Accumulatorette, OTOH, uhm...isn`t. OK, it`s her car, and she`s never had an awful "oops!", so whatever works for her is fine with me.

Hey, I smoked in all `em for decades (only ones that *ever* retained odors from that were Crown Vics for some reason, never happened in the Chevy LE cars or any others), and that had the potential for some real disasters, which did indeed happen a few times when I was young and less careful (AKA "irresponsible") :o
 
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