Seats Bleeding Orange After Extraction?

[Vanquish Auto]

Has anyone else experienced this? After extraction the seats will start turn a orangish color on the surface. It almost always happens on Impalas and some Toyota’s. I think it is the dye they use in the seat foam bleeding once it gets wet. But I’m not totally sure on that.

Anyway does anyone have a solution or know how to prevent this from happening?
Thanks

[MarkD51]

Hi,
There's no way that I know of to keep it from happening. Maybe others have some tips?

Not only the Foam Dyes, but also pulling up stains from old spills like Soda Pop, Juices, etc.

I've had this happen more times than I can count, just this week in fact on my friend's 2008 Impala with Grey Upholstery. Her's I think was more spill stains rather than dyes.

The only thing I know how to do, is after extraction you must again go over the seats with a bucket of warm water with some solution, or some Folex, a clean wash cloth, and take the dampened wash cloth and again lightly wipe them down on their surfaces without saturating them.

Then after they dry, you might have to repeat the wipe process again till gone.

[Vanquish Auto]

Sounds like a good routine. I had a similar routine. Then I started using a water claw for awhile. Then I switched to steam extraction. Steam extraction has been the best thing so far. But I had one bleed on me this morning and I figured I would get on here and see what other people have done about this problem.

[SWETM]

Are you only useing water in the extractor or is it chemicals in it too? Does it help with going over it a few times with only water in the extractor to get it well rinsed?

[Vanquish Auto]

I’ve tried it both ways. Like MakrkD51 was saying you don’t want to rinse it too much. You want to get it cleaned then use less and less water to rinse it until it stops coming to the surface of the fabric. Sometimes it’s a pain.

[SWETM]

How is the power with without any water added? Or do you have a vacuum that can handle to suck up water? Thinking so it's drying some at the same time you suck up the water. Could be a very porous foam with alot of foam residue in it. Since the steam extraction works best it's hard to get it really deeped cleaned.

How about if you protect it afterwards when you got it as dry as possible. With a protection that sheeting the water if spilled something on it. It could be blocking it from coming up anything through it too. Just thinking out loud.

[briarpatch]

This is one of the reasons I avoid extraction. Old stains/spills wicking back up from the seat foam drives me nuts.

[MarkD51]

In the old days and before I ever used extraction methods, I'd use a shampoo, or just walk into any big box auto parts store and buy Blue Coral, Westleys, Glory, or any other carpet shampoo in a can I could find.

Apply, and then do this.....

A warm-hot bucket of clear water, a small washcloth, and maybe a small brush and go to work.

Not such a good method for carpeting, buy I usually got pretty decent results on the seats.

[Vanquish Auto]

SWETM that works pretty well. The faster you dry it, the less it will bleed through. But if they are really dirty you have to use more water and that always makes it worse. As far as protection. I don’t know if it will still bleed though after a coating has been applied. Most people who drive late model Impalas don’t spend the extra money for a coating. It would be nice if they did.

MarkD51 if they are really bad. I will kind of do the same thing. I will wait until they are completely dry and wipe them down with a stain remover and a microfiber. If you spray the stain remover directly on the microfiber in stead of the seat it still works well enough to remove the bleeding. But it doesn’t saturate the seat to cause it to bleed more. This is my method if it still bleeds after steam extraction. It’s been good so far.

[Coach Steve]

That, my friend, is called "wicking". You will lose your mind trying to stay ahead of it with an extractor. Best thing I've found to do is let it dry, then use a damp cl;oth and wipe the surface of the area in question to remove the orange color then stop!