Whats the Best way to shampoo carpet w/o an extractor?

L

LoiG37

New member
What is the best way to shampoo carpets, floormats, and seats without the help of an extractor?



I have:



Pressure Washer

Brush Tip attached on Rotary Buffer

Shark Steam Cleaner

Shop-Vac

Tuff Stuff

Folex

APC Shampoo







thanks
 
My opinion:

vacuum the carpet, brush the carpet, vacuum again, spray carpet cleaner, use brush on a PC or Cyclo to scrub, soak up with a towel, and probably vacuum again because the bush on a machine will bring even more embedded dirt to the surface or at least loosen it.
 
I'll add this onto what Danase posted- you could also use the steamer to blast more [stuff] out and help deep-clean things. Be a little careful as I melted some synthetic carpet with mine :o



And then *rinse* things thoroughly with either clear water or a rinse agent made for extractors. Just don't get things like carpet and uhpolstery so damp (think about the padding/etc.) that they'll never dry out.



To get the moisture out, I'd use the shop vac before switching to the towel, letting the shop vac get most of the water/etc. out Use a nozzle with a small opening to concentrate its suction.
 
what kind of carpet cleaner do you suggest? the Foam or Spray Bottle type? and how "damp" should the carpet be or could be? thanks
 
Ive detailed about 100 cars and I use Tuff Stuff/Resolve and an upholstery brush, just spray let it "foam" and use the upholstery brush to loosen as much dirt you can from the carpet then suck it up with a vac. But I would read all the comment before taking mine, they might have a better way. Its really hard to get all the dirt up without a carpet extractor which cost around $600.
 
Bbasso said:
Nothing like having the carpet out of the car ;)
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True haha, carpet mats you can use a pre cleaner and soak them in that and spray them off with a high pressure hose to get them clean! Just dry them with a air hose or put them in the sun, don't leave them in the car overnight or they will mildew :(
 
Darn it... I'm so disorganized... I can't find the threads right now, but both David Fermani and Grouse have *very* educational threads on carpet cleaning.



I try not to do interiors for hire, so I can't add anything other than to say you might want to find those threads.



Well, maybe one other thing... on lightly soiled carpet, Resolve Granules work quite well. They're quick and easy to use, too.



Edit: found David Fermani's thread: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/106012-my-process-manually-cleaning-carpets.html



still working on Grouse's.
 
Also, there's no harm in turning on the heater in the car (point it at the floor) to dry out the carpets. Don't set the heater to full heat if the carpets are exceptionally dirty, or you'll get top layer "browning."



From Nov. - March, it's just not practical to wait 8 hours for your customers' carpets to dry.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Darn it... I'm so disorganized... I can't find the threads right now, but both David Fermani and Grouse have *very* educational threads on carpet cleaning.



I try not to do interiors for hire, so I can't add anything other than to say you might want to find those threads.



Well, maybe one other thing... on lightly soiled carpet, Resolve Granules work quite well. They're quick and easy to use, too.



Edit: found David Fermani's thread: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/106012-my-process-manually-cleaning-carpets.html



still working on Grouse's.
Click to expand...



HURRY UP!! :laugh:
 
SuperBee364 said:
I'm *still* trying to find it. :o Does anyone happen to have it in their subscribed threads? Apparently I deleted my subscription to that thread accidentally.
Click to expand...



I think I know what you're talking about and I'll check when I'm home from work later... I changed my laptop since it was written so there's a chance it's gone
 
I use a product called ZEP High Traffic Cleaner. It works very well. It is a spray bottle type, I vacuum the carpets spray a good amount of HTC. After sprayed I brush it in and let it sit for a couple of min. Then I take a cloth and go over the carpets and before I vacuum them out again. You can use Folex to get rid of little stains before you use the ZEP. Works out pretty good for me.
 
I saw ZEP at Home Depot the other day and was wondering if it was any good. I also saw their degreaser and thought about picking it up as well. Anyone comment on that product?



Haha and it's funny Superbee should mention those threads because I had stumbled upon them a few weeks ago and came in here expecting to re-find the links :D



Thanks for digging them up again guys!
 
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