A day does not go by that we are not asked by detailers "how can I get the carpets/fabric upholstery dry so the moisture does not stink up the interior?"
There are a number of solutions that could be offered.
However, I think you will find this article quite informative in considering the entire issue of moisture in the interior and how to remove it.
After spending a great deal of time and effort to get the interior of the vehicle clean the customer asks the inevitable question, "How long will it take to dry?"
Many customers, especially the auto dealer, ask because of previous bad experiences with detailers who have over wet the carpets/upholstery and left the car wet and stinky.
No question when you put moisture in carpets and upholstery it is going to take some time to dry, not just to the touch, but dry completely.
Any carpet/upholstery that is wet after 24 hours can be susceptible to microbial growth (mold). And that will create nothing but trouble for you and your detail business.
LOW MOISTURE CLEANING
When asked how long a carpet/upholsery will take to dry, your answer really depends on many factors, such as the method of cleaning; the skill of the detailer and big the vehicle interior is and what you do to help remove the moisture after cleaning.
The skill of the detailer is very important because far too many detailers simply "over-wet" the carpet/upholstery.
Now, low-moisture cleaning methods should, logically, take less time to dry.
LOW MOISTURE CLEANING W/ AN ANGLE
Many detailers today believe that low moisture cleaning isn't necessarily about how much cleaning solution is used in the process. They believe that low moisture cleaning can be performed with a good soil extractor. Low moisture cleaning isn't about the amount of moisture applied to the carpets/upholstery but moreso as to the amount of moisture residue left immediately after cleaning.
GETTING FROM WET TO DRY
You might have noticed that when you clean a 2 seat vehicle drying occurs faster then when you clean a van or a Surburan, say.
Why? The residual moisture in the large vehicle is much higher than you realize, even though you follow the same cleaning methods.
IT IS ALL ABOUT PHYSICS
I don't know about you, but I was never any good at Physics and I opted to take study hall as an elective rather than something like Physics when I was in high school.
In any case, like it or not, we have to understand Physics to understand something as simple as drying carpets and upholstery in a vehicle interior.
So here we go....Physics comes into play here, that is, high pressure moves to low pressure in a given area. What this means is that if you do not create an atmosphere in the vehicle interior so moisture can move out, you will not have as dry an interior as rapidly as you would like.
As you shampoo carpets/upholstery in the interior of a vehicle, you increase the amount of moisture in the air, and that moisture needs to be removed from the air so that the moisture you create in the carpet/upholstery can evaporate.
If the air is saturated, you cannot have effective evaporation.
So air temperature, relative humidity, dew point and vapor pressure all come into play when attempting to rapidly dry carpets/upholstery during and after cleaning.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
As mentioned, using low moisture cleaning is the most obvious step to insure rapid drying, simply because there is less moisture used in the process.
Regardless of the cleaning methods use, detailers seem to feel that if they create sufficient ventilation by opening doors and windows they can accelerate drying.
However, what has to be realized here is that if the outside humidity is higher than the humidity in the interior of the vehicle, exchanging the air inside with the air outside will not lower the drying time.
On the other hand, if the outside air is hot, low in humidity then it is quite acceptable to use the air exchange method of drying.
If this is not the case then you have to use some type of "mechanical" means of drying, ie, interior air blowers (dryers).
DRYERS
You need to have an air dryer that generates a great deal of cfm, a typical dryer should generate at least 2100 cubic feet of air per minute to be effective.
Another point to rapid drying is that when you finish cleaning the front carpets/upholstery in the vehicle immediately place a set of air dryers in the front area to begin the drying process. This immediately sweeps away moisture above the cleaned carpet/upholstery to allow more moisture to take it's place. If this does not happen the moisture in the carpet/upholstery stays in the carpet/upholstery.
Gosh, I never knew Physics was so easy to understand. (lol).
This is actually an Italian thing: It is called "Bernoulli's Principle," and basically means that airflow across a surface reduces air pressure, which allows moisture to move into that area.
Think of it in terms of how airflow creates lift for an airplane. The same principle applies to the drying of carpets/upholstery.
Hope this helps you understand the science of drying and results in faster and drier carpets and upholstery in your detailed vehicles.
Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS
There are a number of solutions that could be offered.
However, I think you will find this article quite informative in considering the entire issue of moisture in the interior and how to remove it.
After spending a great deal of time and effort to get the interior of the vehicle clean the customer asks the inevitable question, "How long will it take to dry?"
Many customers, especially the auto dealer, ask because of previous bad experiences with detailers who have over wet the carpets/upholstery and left the car wet and stinky.
No question when you put moisture in carpets and upholstery it is going to take some time to dry, not just to the touch, but dry completely.
Any carpet/upholstery that is wet after 24 hours can be susceptible to microbial growth (mold). And that will create nothing but trouble for you and your detail business.
LOW MOISTURE CLEANING
When asked how long a carpet/upholsery will take to dry, your answer really depends on many factors, such as the method of cleaning; the skill of the detailer and big the vehicle interior is and what you do to help remove the moisture after cleaning.
The skill of the detailer is very important because far too many detailers simply "over-wet" the carpet/upholstery.
Now, low-moisture cleaning methods should, logically, take less time to dry.
LOW MOISTURE CLEANING W/ AN ANGLE
Many detailers today believe that low moisture cleaning isn't necessarily about how much cleaning solution is used in the process. They believe that low moisture cleaning can be performed with a good soil extractor. Low moisture cleaning isn't about the amount of moisture applied to the carpets/upholstery but moreso as to the amount of moisture residue left immediately after cleaning.
GETTING FROM WET TO DRY
You might have noticed that when you clean a 2 seat vehicle drying occurs faster then when you clean a van or a Surburan, say.
Why? The residual moisture in the large vehicle is much higher than you realize, even though you follow the same cleaning methods.
IT IS ALL ABOUT PHYSICS
I don't know about you, but I was never any good at Physics and I opted to take study hall as an elective rather than something like Physics when I was in high school.
In any case, like it or not, we have to understand Physics to understand something as simple as drying carpets and upholstery in a vehicle interior.
So here we go....Physics comes into play here, that is, high pressure moves to low pressure in a given area. What this means is that if you do not create an atmosphere in the vehicle interior so moisture can move out, you will not have as dry an interior as rapidly as you would like.
As you shampoo carpets/upholstery in the interior of a vehicle, you increase the amount of moisture in the air, and that moisture needs to be removed from the air so that the moisture you create in the carpet/upholstery can evaporate.
If the air is saturated, you cannot have effective evaporation.
So air temperature, relative humidity, dew point and vapor pressure all come into play when attempting to rapidly dry carpets/upholstery during and after cleaning.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
As mentioned, using low moisture cleaning is the most obvious step to insure rapid drying, simply because there is less moisture used in the process.
Regardless of the cleaning methods use, detailers seem to feel that if they create sufficient ventilation by opening doors and windows they can accelerate drying.
However, what has to be realized here is that if the outside humidity is higher than the humidity in the interior of the vehicle, exchanging the air inside with the air outside will not lower the drying time.
On the other hand, if the outside air is hot, low in humidity then it is quite acceptable to use the air exchange method of drying.
If this is not the case then you have to use some type of "mechanical" means of drying, ie, interior air blowers (dryers).
DRYERS
You need to have an air dryer that generates a great deal of cfm, a typical dryer should generate at least 2100 cubic feet of air per minute to be effective.
Another point to rapid drying is that when you finish cleaning the front carpets/upholstery in the vehicle immediately place a set of air dryers in the front area to begin the drying process. This immediately sweeps away moisture above the cleaned carpet/upholstery to allow more moisture to take it's place. If this does not happen the moisture in the carpet/upholstery stays in the carpet/upholstery.
Gosh, I never knew Physics was so easy to understand. (lol).
This is actually an Italian thing: It is called "Bernoulli's Principle," and basically means that airflow across a surface reduces air pressure, which allows moisture to move into that area.
Think of it in terms of how airflow creates lift for an airplane. The same principle applies to the drying of carpets/upholstery.
Hope this helps you understand the science of drying and results in faster and drier carpets and upholstery in your detailed vehicles.
Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS
