Carpet and Seat Cleaning By Hand

[lancerplayer]

In reality, how effective can cleaning soiled carpets and cloth seats by hand without using an extractor?

If I follow the following method, will I get results necessary to tackle daily driver customer vehicles?

1) Vacuum loose debris
2) Apply product like Folex or 303 carpet
3) Agitate with brush
4) Wipe away with microfiber

Would some messes require a degreaser in addition to a carpet product?

If anyone has before and after pictures of soiled carpets/seats that they used to clean by hand, I would be very interested in seeing the results!

Thanks for your help!

[Audios S6]

A lot of people will use their vacuum to extract any fluid from the carpet. Sounds like you will already have a vacuum so that would be an easy adjustment to your method.

[wildwilly1]

I would use a shop vac to remove excess without question

[allenk4]

Dry Vacuuming should always be the 1st step

The folks at Meguiar's also suggest vigorously brushing the carpet before and during the vacuuming process

To expedite the process, there are carpet bushes that work with a PC.
Available on AGO

[Don M]

I would use a shop vac to remove excess without question

+1 I used my shop vac to good advantage for cleaning carpets and seats. I used a nozzle from a Bissell extractor that worked great for sucking up the water/soap.

[allenk4]

If you plan on using alkaline products like degreaser or APC, keep in mind you will need to neutralize to prevent resoiling

There is a good Youtube video by Meguiar's filmed at AG on the subject of interior fabric/carpet cleaning.

[tigerwash]

just use a shop vac and you should be good to go

[jarred767]

Dry brushing can be extremely beneficial when working with soiled carpets, and especially seats. Get a good soft interior brush for upholstered seats and a little more aggressive one for carpets and mats. After a good vacuum, go over the soiled areas via dry brush and a lot of stuff can come right up, then vacuum those areas again.

After that, I'm a huge fan of Meguiars APC and its versatility by using different dilutions - there are different approaches to seats and carpets - but there are other great products out there too. If you use a lot of product, a shop vac can be beneficial in sucking some stuff up after, but I personally like to use old microfibers as they pull gunk out of the carpets really nicely - and speed up the drying process at the same time.

This is actually the exact method I use on regular interiors and when Iget bad ones, I pull out the steam cleaner to help things out. Good luck!!

[Romach]

Think about a steamer as well! I used a steamer to clean seats and door panels on my wife's car after my kids (6 and 4).

It took about 40 mins from start to finish

Vacuum the carpets and seats
Spray with 303 fabric cleaner
Fill steamer and allow to heat up!
Steam clean the seat 1 at a time with a scrub brush attachment and then steam with the towel cover to remove all the dirt and water stains!

Same with other seats and door panels.

Finished it all off with a Daycota air bomb ( new car scent)

Also sprayed seats, door panels and floor mats with 303 protectorant to complete the job!

My wife and kids were happy

[PiPUK]

This is a case of it being very important to use the right product. Not all carpet/fabric cleaners are equal! Products which are intended for extractor use will often leave residues which can increase the rate of resoiling. With an extractor, the chemical is all removed and the problem does not occur. If you are going to be operating by hand, you really want to use a product which dries to a powdery residue - then you just come along and vacuum it away.

Unfortunately, I don't know the US market in this area so have no specific suggestions to make.

[BillE]

To add to PiPUK's note...check out your local janitorial supply store for a 'dry powder/foam' product. Just explain the situation to them, and I'd bet they will have an answer.

Also, you have the option of renting an extractor from wherever. Which is something I would recommend.

Bill

[lancerplayer]

Thanks for the reply everyone!

I was expecting most replies to say that purchasing an extractor is the only way, but I will give some soiled interior areas a try by hand and post the results.

Can I get recommendations for proper interior brushes? One for aggressive cleaning and one for less aggressive cleaning would be great.

[TrolleyVW]

Mother's makes a great stiff bristled nylon brush that I use often to scrub carpets and seats. Just be careful as it's rather aggressive.

For leather and vinyl that is not too dirty, I use a wheel woolie boars hair brush and just work APC into the seat and then wipe off.