kia carpet HELP ME!!!

S

sweetextreme

New member
well i work at a kia dealership and we recently started doing certified cars, basicly that means there perfect in all aspects. now...some of you im sure no, kia carpets suck!!! i think if they switched to indoor outdoor carpet it would be an improvement. anyways. i could use some help on tips to clean them. salt stains are worse and i think its becuase how short it is. here at my steps

vaccume best i can with a 6.5hp rigid wet/dry vac.
mix hot water and RED HOT APC from auto majic in a bucket with hot water
then i take a wash mitt and i dip it in the water getting it sudsy. i rub it all over the floor and scrub with a medium to stiff brush, then i vaccume it up and then i wrap a towel around my brush and scrub to soak up extra. it always looks awsome right after...problem is it dries and then it just looks like crap again, debries stuck in the bugger and stains are back...not as bad. but bad enuf. these cars have to be perfect and my boss doesnt want me using any carpet die. btw the purpose of the wash mit to get suds so it doesnt soak it too much...maybe i should pre treat? any help is grateful. it also seems like i have to do this everytime i want to vaccume just to get the stupid thing clean...the kia soul and rio are the worst. hoping for some help thanks in advance. i can take pics tomorrow as i have one with a really bad stain
 
Sounds like you are getting too much soap on the carpets, and the more you put on, then the more you have to rinse out, and then the more moisture that is in the carpet, on the pad below, and then on to the floor.

I have a really nice Mytee Extractor and I still try to use as little water as possible, so I have not too much to extract, and it dries faster and hopefully all the soap is rinsed out.

I get very little help from the weather outside here in Western Washington, so anything I can do to limit the amount of moisture I introduce to the vehicle, the better.

Also try to find an APC that has as little foam as possible. I like to use Meguiars APC+ which foams way less than the other Meguiars APC..

Do you have access to a commercial steamer? That is another way to loosen up dirt, stains, etc., fast with very little moisture, but high heat, and then using another towel to remove the steam and hopefully the stain from the carpet..

Good luck with this !
Dan F
 
If your boss wasnt opposed to dye, that would be the way to go. Im familiar with this kind of carpet, and yes it does suck. Its like trying to clean velcro. Folex is a good choice. With it being a dealership, do you have sales reps that stop by such as Car Brite or Auto Magic? If so, get Car Brite's Blue Max, ignore the dilution ratios on the back and cut the stuff about 1:3, and scrub the carpet with that. You could also use their Xtra Duty or See Spot Go foams. Auto Magic makes similar products. Either that or talk your boss into buying an extractor.
 
sweetextreme said:
well i work at a kia dealership and we recently started doing certified cars, basicly that means there perfect in all aspects. now...some of you im sure no, kia carpets suck!!! i think if they switched to indoor outdoor carpet it would be an improvement. anyways. i could use some help on tips to clean them. salt stains are worse and i think its becuase how short it is. here at my steps

vaccume best i can with a 6.5hp rigid wet/dry vac.
mix hot water and RED HOT APC from auto majic in a bucket with hot water
then i take a wash mitt and i dip it in the water getting it sudsy. i rub it all over the floor and scrub with a medium to stiff brush, then i vaccume it up and then i wrap a towel around my brush and scrub to soak up extra. it always looks awsome right after...problem is it dries and then it just looks like crap again, debries stuck in the bugger and stains are back...not as bad. but bad enuf. these cars have to be perfect and my boss doesnt want me using any carpet die. btw the purpose of the wash mit to get suds so it doesnt soak it too much...maybe i should pre treat? any help is grateful. it also seems like i have to do this everytime i want to vaccume just to get the stupid thing clean...the kia soul and rio are the worst. hoping for some help thanks in advance. i can take pics tomorrow as i have one with a really bad stain
Click to expand...

The most important part of cleaning carpet is to remove as much (and more) soiling as possible before every shampooing it. Use a stiff brush (Try a copper brush and see if that will work with out removing the hair) to briskly brush the carpet and pull up as much embedded dirt and grime.

Vacuum it up, then repeat. You will be amazed at how much grime is really in there.

While an extractor is really the best way to go for shampooing, I have used the method you are using with good luck. You want to limit the amount of soap solution you are using on the carpet. Wetter is not better. (It just means more soap residue that you have to remove).

Work a section at a time, work the cleaner into the carpet and extract it with your shop vac to the best of your ability. Try to get it dry. Now come with a towel in a bucket of water and wring out the towel so it damp. Now repeat the shampooing process in the section, but use a second bucket only filled with water. This will remove any soap residue. Vacuum dry, then wipe with a dry towel. Try to fluff the carpet as much as possible to speed drying. The longer the carpet takes to dry, the more likely the stains and dirt will come back. This is know as wicking, and it is caused by the dirt being drawn up the fiber from deep the pile.

Your best bet (and time saving as well) would be to talk the dealership into purchasing a high quality carpet extractor such as the Mytee HP-1000 Grand Prix.
 
You work at a dealership and they don't have a hot water extractor? With the volume of cars most dealership have I can't believe that
 
With all that trouble then just replace the carpet IMO. But why don't the shop have a hot water extractor? This puzzles me when a dealership won't support it's personal with the right equipment to do the right job.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
With all that trouble then just replace the carpet IMO. But why don't the shop have a hot water extractor? This puzzles me when a dealership won't support it's personal with the right equipment to do the right job.
Click to expand...

My thought was on the volume and the time they give at dealership to get the cars done, so they can get them on the lot. Makes little sense to me, based on the dealerships I've been in
 
sweetextreme said:
vaccume best i can with a 6.5hp rigid wet/dry vac.
Click to expand...

This is also a big part of your problem. I have that same vacuum or at least one of Rigid's 6.5HP unit and the tools that come with it are too big. I managed to retrofit another tool on to mine that had a much smaller area to allow air and dirt and that increased the ability to suck the dirt out of the carpet. Todd is right, the more dirt you can get out of that carpet before you even get any liquid on it, the better your chances of removing any stains. I also retrofitted the air powered power brush that came with my indoor vacuum and that combination of beating the carpet and sucking really helps.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
With all that trouble then just replace the carpet IMO. But why don't the shop have a hot water extractor? This puzzles me when a dealership won't support it's personal with the right equipment to do the right job.
Click to expand...

New carpet cuts into the bottom line. If they are already in as deep with a car as they can be, things like new carpet cant be billed to the vehicle and the cost passed on to the customer. If they have $1000 tied up in a $8500 car, then things like new carpet arent out of the question.
 
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