interior products to cover all upholstery carpet stain problems

[Rod73]

I'm curious what a lot of people's go to products for different upholstery problems. Looking to make sure I have an answer to every problem. I've learned and experienced Chemical Guys Fabric Clean deal with a variety of stains very well. Are there situations which you would rather use Chemical Guys APC than the latter or a no rinse like Folex or Ultima Shampoo. Excited about triggering a discussion about interior cleaning.

[eich]

As I've gathered, these are the general things one can include when one wants to clean something.

-Heat
-Mechanical agitation
-Solvent/Surfactant
-Detergent; i.e. a chemical reaction with a stain. Oxidizer, saponifier, acid etc


Agitation and a solvent (water is a solvent after all) could be where it ends for for a basically clean material, but you just want to remove dust or something. Cheap and easy.

A healthy and benign step-up would be to cut the surface tension of the water with a surfactant, which is basically what "soap" does and then add heat to excite the molecules and help them "scrub" on a microscopic level.

Beyond that it depends on the stain. For the fabric surfaces which are going to always be subjected to greasy body parts or other objects, consider something containing phosphates (e.g. trisodium phosphate). It goes beyond just loosening the grease molecules (which is what surfactants do), but it chemically alters it with a high PH and basically turns greasy films to soap, and then allows it to come off. But on a slick surface, grease may come off just fine with a solvent.

Let's say there's a non-greasy stain...nail polish. Well, then you want to start thinking about hardcore solvents. Alcohol...acetone.

And then there's the consideration of the compatibility of your chemical with the surface which is stained. One would want to keep hard-core solvents (d-limonene or acetone) off of things like painted interior controls, or glued surfaces.

So...that's where a basic understanding of chemicals and materials comes in handy and reduces your exposure to liability.

[wdmaccord]

Fabric Clean works well but is a pain in the a$$ to extract because it foams so much. I only use it on carpeted mats that I can rinse with a hose (rubber/plastic backed). For everything else I use Lightning Fast. I would guess it is similar to Folex but it dilutes 1:20 and at $10 for 16 oz., that is pretty cheap making 2.63 gallons or $3.80/gal.

[Mask]

To clean:
Meguiars D101
Optimum power clean
To maintain:
Meguiars QID

Regards

[Calendyr]

I have done research on stains and information is really hard to come by.

I have found info on types of stains but not on products to use to remove them. There are several types of stains (protein, tanin, blood, sugar, etc) and no one product can deal with them all. I would love to find some info regarding this, so if someone has it, please share.

One thing I will mention is that many type of stains will become permanent if you apply heat to them. So unless you know exactly what type of stain it is and know it is safe, NEVER apply heat to a stain.

[BillE]

I have done research on stains and information is really hard to come by.

I have found info on types of stains but not on products to use to remove them. There are several types of stains (protein, tanin, blood, sugar, etc) and no one product can deal with them all. I would love to find some info regarding this, so if someone has it, please share.

One thing I will mention is that many type of stains will become permanent if you apply heat to them. So unless you know exactly what type of stain it is and know it is safe, NEVER apply heat to a stain.

ABSOLUTLY the truth!

Thanx for bringing that up.

Bill

[eich]

That is particularly true of protein stains, where one could denature and harden it. Egg, for example.

[Rod73]

I have done research on stains and information is really hard to come by.

I have found info on types of stains but not on products to use to remove them. There are several types of stains (protein, tanin, blood, sugar, etc) and no one product can deal with them all. I would love to find some info regarding this, so if someone has it, please share.

One thing I will mention is that many type of stains will become permanent if you apply heat to them. So unless you know exactly what type of stain it is and know it is safe, NEVER apply heat to a stain.
I've noticed the lack of information on this topic! It's a big part of my motivation to start this discussion. For a lot us you know we are really into taking care of paint. But for the average non autogeek it's about their very neglected interior.

[Rod73]

Fabric Clean works well but is a pain in the a$$ to extract because it foams so much. I only use it on carpeted mats that I can rinse with a hose (rubber/plastic backed). For everything else I use Lightning Fast. I would guess it is similar to Folex but it dilutes 1:20 and at $10 for 16 oz., that is pretty cheap making 2.63 gallons or $3.80/gal.
I had that issue (getting the chemical out) with the Chemical Guys APC. I came back another day and used the Fabric Clean and applied a bit less to the seats than with the APC and finished with a shop vac. The results on the greased microfiber upholstery were good. I did just order a Fiber Rinse product to make this process more effective in the future