Review: BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner

[JustJesus]

BLACKFIRE Pro Detailer`s Choice Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
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A huge THANK YOU goes out to Meghan and Autogeek for providing this product!

Product Description from Autopia Car Care
BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner will is formulated with gentle components that will not damage the delicate fibers of your interior. BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner goes to work quickly, allowing you to cut a large chunk out of your interior detailing routine. BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner will remove a wide variety of stains, mud, grime, dirt, and other contaminants from your cloth interior, leaving behind a flawless, stain-free finish. BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner will effectively work on any non-suede cloth surface of your interior or even your exterior.

My Review

Subject: 2014 Kia Sportage
Location: Bell, CA
Time Period: November 2018
Weather: In the low 80s.

Products & Tools
- Blackfire Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner (BF310)
- DeWalt 20v Max Vacuum
- carpet brush
- detail brush
- Kirkland brand MF towels


BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
Cost: 24.99 (as of 11/28/18)
Size: 32oz
Scent: Not sure. But pleasant
Consistency: sprayable liquid







First up, I took the driver’s floor matt. Yes, it needs to be replaced at this point. Well, sooner would have been better. My bad.

I started off with the carpet brush to….well, to brush things off the matt. I then vacuumed the area.


Looking better! But we know it can get cleaner, right? Yes, I know it can because I’ve only ever vacuumed it. Never took cleaners to it.



I sprayed the BF310 directly onto the matt. I let it sit a brief moment before I agitated lightly with the detail brush. I did this to spread the product around for more even coverage, and to get into the carpet fibers a bit better.


I then let the BF310 dwell for one minute, as per the instructions (I need to confirm on the bottle, which I don’t have with me at this moment). Once the timer beeped, I took the MF towel and wiped away the dirt.


Here’s a closer shot of the MF after it lifted away some of that dirt. It took several more wipes to try and get it all, and dry the matt at the same time


Here is the result after that easy work. Looking much better! Even better in person. The matt looked refreshed, in it’s darker black color.


Thinking that the matt was darker in part because it was still a bit damp, I put it aside before finishing the rest of it. I wanted it to dry more to see what it would look like. This shot was taken about 12 minutes later. It’s not as sharp as it was, but still better. In person, yeah….even more so.




Subject: Generic matt
Location: Bell, CA
Time Period: November 2018
Weather: In the low 80s.

The Kia’s matt was placed aside to dry, and I pulled out a generic matt I had put aside for this review. This matt has been in this dirty state for a long time! Also, it’s a different color so it’s easier to se the grossness of it ��


Same tools and process as before. I did this one in sections, though. First, the top half. I followed up with the lower left corner, and finally finished off the rest of it. VERY noticeable improvements. But, you can see for yourselves….


This pic shows how much stuff is coming off. And this was just the top portion!
(or top and lower left? Oops)


Looking better?


Let’s keep going, yeah?


This didn’t come out perfect, but that wasn’t my goal. My goal was to QUICKLY do a clean up to remove as much as possible, in a short amount of time. Had I been chasing perfection, I would have brought out the Little Green Machine (with hot water extraction). End result after a simple spray and wipe.


Going back to black Kia matts. This time, the rear passenger matts. Not a 50/50 style per se, but one matt that was done, vs one that was just vacuumed. There is a difference, and it is improved.


I kept wiping and flipping the towel to a fresh side. I did this until I felt it was enough and there was less dirt coming off.













And a final side by side. Picture doesn’t do it justice. But I’m sure even here, you can still see a difference.


Conclusion: One thing I should mention: Work in an area with proper ventilation. When I first started, I was working out of the hatch area of the Kia Sportage. Think of it as a cave. Not good. I coughed a little and thought maybe I needed better ventilation. I opened one door and I didn’t cough after that. While maybe the scent of the BLACKFIRE Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner isn’t harsh, it may still be strong enough to affect your breathing. Work safe

Okay. This stuff is good. I liked that I didn’t bring out the Little Green Machine and got results that are better than just vacuuming, and bring more black to the matts. I couldn’t help but think I should have cleaned the matts this way sooner. Then again, I don’t like doing interiors.

For as quick as this went, and the results I got from it, I’m very happy with the cleaner.

Another great product from Blackfire.
Link.... https://www.autopia-carcare.com/blackfire-carpet-upholstery-cleaner.html#.W_8WHWhKiUk

 

[Lonnie]

JustJesus:
You clean floor matts much like I do using a microfiber towel to extract/absorb out the dirty residue. That as been one of the "Achilles` heel" to getting carpeting and clothe fibers clean: finding an absorbent microfiber that is durable enough that it will not shred or lint when used aggressively on such fiber types, especially carpets. I assume that when you say Kirkland that these particular microfiber clothes come from Costco. How are these Costco clothes in terms of absorption and durability? I also assume you use them because of initial cost, AKA they are cheap and almost considered disposable.

One thing I am curious about, that you will probably never encounter in Southern California, is BF Carpet Cleaner`s ability to clean salt-stains from fabric mats. Salt stains are the bane of vehicles with such mats driven in the winter here in the upper Midwest. I used to use hot water and vinegar, but I have a product from Sprayway (Yes, the same company that makes the foaming window cleaner that is a forum-favorite by many Autopians) called SW-557 Salt Off. Does it work "better" than hot water and vinegar? NO, but you do not have to deal with the lingering and somewhat offensive vinegar odor, so that is the trade-off. It was about $6.00 US for an 11-oz by weight spray can, which will probably do about 8-10 mats, depending on how much you need to use per mat. Hardly economical compared to hot water and vinegar, either. The plastic-brush top cover is a nice bonus that allows you to scrub it in and break up minor hardened salt build-ups. Major hardened salt built-up requires a hammer and brass wire-brush before attempting to use any carpet cleaner of any type!! (Yes, I know, change out the OEM carpet mat to a vinyl-rubber mat for the winter and spring would make life much easier and save the OEM mat for the summer and fall. Sorry to highjack this thread, since it IS a review about Blackfires` Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner)

 

[JustJesus]

Hey Lonnie

Normally, I don`t clean interiors with towels....actually, I normally just vacuum. I really don`t like doing interiors. The times I`ve done it, I lose myself in the details and next thing I know, several hours have passed. A lady saw me detailing a Civic and asked me for a quote. I walked over and we talked about it. hehe, she asked about interiors, and I flatly said, "I don`t do interiors."

I`ve used regular 100% cotton in the past, and feel the Kirkland/Costco towels do absorb better. Been a while since cotton, but that`s what I recall. I don`t get overly aggressive when wiping with towels, though. One test spot ago, I saw how delicate some carpet/upholstery material can be, so I tend to be more gentle, while keeping an eye on the material I`m working on and adjust accordingly.

Yes! I was using the Costco towels because they come out to about 50 cents a towel. That`s insanely cheap. My "throwaways" go to my wife for house duty. They seem to be holding up well to house duty and through regular washer/dryer use. Sometimes I wonder if I really need special MF soaps and gentle dryer cycles!

Nope. Not in Southern California. It rained twice last week, and we are expecing 2 more days this week. I can`t remember the last time it rained! It`s so infrequent here, I know some car guys who don`t bother having their windshield wipers in place to achieve a cleaner look. [shrug] But I`ll be adding your post to my notes, in case I ever *do* deal with those types of conditions.