anything I need to know about cleaning interior with steam cleaner?

[GSKR]

Steamers are great for removing pinstripe and graphics,not so in my opinion doing interiors but they do work great for certain stains in upholstery.Definently a wow factor when someone sees you using it especially being mobile.

[TTQ B4U]

I have used mine and love it. I have a McCulloch MC1385 and find that it cleans door panels and consoles perfectly without any chemicals. Use with care of course but otherwise it's great.

Carpet and seat wise, I really see it helping. After letting cleaning agents like Folex or now I'm starting to use McKee's dwell, the heat really helps to emulsify and break up the stains. From there I use an extractor and pure water with a touch of vinegar to help neutralize the surfaces PH. Lastly a couple good wipes with a white towel reveal how well it's worked.

[Eldorado2k]

I have used mine and love it. I have a McCulloch MC1385 and find that it cleans door panels and consoles perfectly without any chemicals. Use with care of course but otherwise it's great.

Carpet and seat wise, I really see it helping. After letting cleaning agents like Folex or now I'm starting to use McKee's dwell, the heat really helps to emulsify and break up the stains. From there I use an extractor and pure water with a touch of vinegar to help neutralize the surfaces PH. Lastly a couple good wipes with a white towel reveal how well it's worked.

How exactly do you use the steamer on carpets and seats? Triangle attachment? Bare scrub or with a towel over it while scrubbing? If so what kind of towel?


Sent from my iPhone

[TTQ B4U]

How exactly do you use the steamer on carpets and seats? Triangle attachment? Bare scrub or with a towel over it while scrubbing? If so what kind of towel?

I use the triangle tool mostly. I don't use a towel over it as one I make 3-4-5 passes over a 2x2 or so section, I hit it with a simple bissel extractor that I have. The one I use is similar to this one. Works great. Then once done, I have small 16x16 white Terry cloth towels that I buy in bulk packs of 24-48 each from the local store (rather inexpensive ones) that I use to do my final wiping. I really like these towels as they are not too thick, easy to use, cheap and if ever need back I can toss them out over time and simply replace them. They clean up really well though even after nasty interiors. I just soak them in a bucket with bleach and laundry soap overnight, rinse and then toss in the washer on high.

I am considering and almost bought an expensive Steam Extractor, but I didn't only because I'm not busting out multiple interiors in a day and I'm not sure time wise or effectiveness wise if I personally will see value in one.....yet. Not off my list but just not yet.

[Eldorado2k]

I love terry towels too. I get em 16"x24"



I use poly/cotton blend towels for carpets, and softer 100% cotton towels for cleaning leather.


Sent from my iPhone

[Crispy]

Please tell us what is the model of your steamer?

It is a Mytee Firebird VS1500.

[Crispy]

Please tell us what is the model of your steamer?

It is a Mytee Firebird VS1500.

[choijw2]

So I received MC1375 steamer today and thought it would be good for weekender.

it has good review but mine is I guess defect.... it does not shoot consistance steam.
Im going to return this and will look for different steamer...

any recommendation for $200 price range?

[Eldorado2k]

So I received MC1375 steamer today and thought it would be good for weekender.

it has good review but mine is I guess defect.... it does not shoot consistance steam.
Im going to return this and will look for different steamer...

any recommendation for $200 price range?

I have a McCulloch 1285 and I know how you feel in regards to the steam not being perfectly constant [or as constant as we would expect it to be] I've spent alot of time working myself up about it while holding down the button and holding the nozzle up in the air. Lol.

But in the end, it doesn't seem to matter as much as you'd think. It's more of an issue against our OCD than it's effectiveness.

I pretty much use it 90% of time to clean leather interiors using either Megs D101 or Megs D181 Leather Cleaner as a pre spray then hit it with the triangle attachment with a terry towel over it. Be careful using it on some dashboards, as for some reason the vinyl used on some vehicles dashboards can sometimes temporarily whiten/fade due to the heat. Kinda scary at 1st, and you feel the need to instantly wipe some leather conditioner to help bring it back... Door panels are usually fine except be careful not to saturate the control buttons.

Don't steam the window sills/rubber seals! You'll screw up your windows for that detail as all you'll do is put a bunch of moisture in the door panels and your windows will be endlessly wet and streaked and just horrible on every level. Never steam down into the window sills. Trust me. Steaming into the vents is pretty useless as well as the actual heat doesn't even reach that far into the vents to actually do anything besides look kinda cool in front of a customer. You don't need any room temperature moisture in the vents...

I've never been impressed using it to clean carpets. Same with upholstery. Door jambs a sorta cool.. But leather, it's worth it for this task alone.


Sent from my iPhone

[Eldorado2k]

It can and will disinfect soiled carpet/upholstery if you need it to though. Think nightmare situations such as pet urine in carpet, nasty smells, etc, etc... In those type of situations I will use it on carpets and fabrics, just keep in mind you'll have to clean up all the moisture from the cleaners, steam, and soil afterwards. And you will leave moisture because in order to truly disinfect the steam has to directly hit the spot for 5-10 seconds non stop. But it's hard to beat that kind of clean when you absolutely need to.


Sent from my iPhone