I Hate Cloth Interiors!

[CleanFlow]

Pet hair. Nasty smell. Stains. Hard-to-reach areas. Trampled areas.

I recently detailed my sister-in-law's Maxima. It's a large car and there is cloth everywhere.

She enjoys taking her 2 big dogs places and doesn't put a sheet on the seat or anything. And she lets them get in her car wet. Ugh.

I first used a standard vacuum to get most of the crumbs and hairs out. Then I used a household carpet cleaner's wand attachment to attempt to remove some smell and give it an overall clean look.

It SUCKED!

It took an entire day to remove all the hairs and deodorize. When it finally dried out, I still found hairs and it still smelled of dog.

Is there a vacuum or steam clean thing or shampooer/extractor that will make my life easier and help me to enjoy this part of my hobby?

[TonyK]

I had a vehicle of the same type. I found using a emery stone and using it in a sweeping motion really helped get the fur out of the fabric so it could be vacuumed. Sucky part of the job that is for sure. I kept telling my self "this is going to make for an awesome before/after picture."

[VroomVroom]

Jobs like this are brutal, indeed. Short of going after a quality high-dollar extractor, I'll suggest some consideration of the Bissell Little Green. The only drag is that, well, it's little. For a full interior effort like that Maxima, you'll be making a lot of trips to empty and refill. However, if this effort is rare, and you're usually tackling smaller stains, floor mats, etc... the device is great.

[Alex22]

Duct tape can be your friend, just get a strip place and remove. Try it it also works with creases.

[CleanFlow]

So, emery stone, duct tape, and Bissell Little Green. Anybody else have success with other extractors?

[encoder]

AG also sells a rubber-bristled pet hair brush. It actually works great. I use it in the car and I tested it in our living room and it did pick up hair the Dyson left behind.

[CriticalDetails]

The German Upholstery Brush is great for removing pet hair. Since the dogs are getting in the car while they are wet a steam cleaner probably won't cut it. For heavily soiled clothinteriors a hot water extractor is the way to go.

How often do you detail vehicles like this? A good hot water carpet extractor is going to cost between $800-$1,200 extractor. If you only detail vehicles like the Maxima once in a while your money would be better spent on a steam cleaner.

[CriticalDetails]

Jobs like this are brutal, indeed. Short of going after a quality high-dollar extractor, I'll suggest some consideration of the Bissell Little Green. The only drag is that, well, it's little. For a full interior effort like that Maxima, you'll be making a lot of trips to empty and refill. However, if this effort is rare, and you're usually tackling smaller stains, floor mats, etc... the device is great.

Well said. There is no sense in buying a high-dollar extractor that is going to get used once a year.

[Bill1234]

I had to detail a mecedes station wagon. Dog hair was all embedded in the carpet. I found the sticky dogs hair brushes work best imo

[AutowerxDetailing]

+1 for those rubber pet hair brushes. They work amazingly well for dog hair in upholstery.

After steam cleaning or shampooing the carpets if there is still any smell after everything has dried a very cheap solution is CarPro So2Pure. I was very skeptical of this product when reading the "science" behind how it is supposed to work. All I can say is this stuff is amazing at actually getting rid of strange odors. Spray it on everything and let it do whatever it does. The smell will be gone and won't come back.