Steamer put micro wrinkles in leather seat.

**Mattarbenz** · 06-17-2017, 12:40 AM

Ok so I'm detailing a 2015 F350, the owners said please focus on the driver seat because their dog had left them a liquidy bowel movement surprise while traveling. They said they cleaned it up as best they could with what they had available on the road. This was about 2 weeks ago. They did not advise what they cleaned it with, however they called me right after it happened, I told them if they had it cleaned up pretty good they could steam a small towel in the microwave and let it sit on the poo area and wipe off until I could get it in.
I finally got it today and was surprised to see that it looked perfectly clean too me, the wife said if you put your nose down close you can still get a trace of smell... Ok.
So I vac'd the creases out, spayed a microfiber with 10:1 apc and wiped it down.
Fired up the steamer and secured a towel over the upholstery end turned it down to a pretty low flow and started to go over the seat bottom. Right in the left rear corner where the wife said you could smell a trace of dog poop the surface of the leather micro wrinkled up like it plastic that had been held over a camp fire. No other area reacted like this.
I have rubbed in wg leather conditioner about 5 times hoping that the spot will hydrate and reverse this action but I am at a loss here....

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**Eldorado2k** · 06-17-2017, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Mattarbenz

Fired up the steamer and secured a towel over the upholstery end turned it down to a pretty low flow and started to go over the seat bottom.

What exactly do you mean by this? Which steamer do you work with?
Ford truck? I'm assuming that's not actual/real leather? If it's actually vinyl [as it appears to be] my 1st guess is that you may have left the steamer on the area for too long causing the "plastic" or vinyl or leather if you wish to call it that to actually melt.. It looks like melted plastic in the pic.

Also, what kind of towel did you use to cover the steamer nozzle? If you used microfiber it could possibly be that the microfiber itself melted into the pleather which might just be what you're looking at. Just 1 more reason I use cotton terry towels whenever I use the steamer.

**DBAILEY** · 06-17-2017, 01:45 AM

Yeah, looks like the plastic(vinyl/urethane) coating on top of the leather got too hot.

**Mattarbenz** · 06-17-2017, 02:43 AM

The steamer is a vapamore forza
1000, you can dial the psi down to a low output which I do when steaming seats so I don't get my hand that is binding the towel around the upholstery head. I was working in the same speed as I always have, and done the whole back seat. It was a cotton terry towel, there's nothing stuck or on the seat, it just shriveled right in that spot.
I'm wondering since that is the exact spot that they were complaining about if some cleaning agent was used and saturated into the area that the steam reacted with?

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**DBAILEY** · 06-17-2017, 05:29 AM

I would try to find out what they used as a cleaner. Maybe there was something in the diarrhea, digestive enzymes or something, that made the coating separate from the leather. Then the heat affected the coating and it shriveled up because it was not attached to the leather like normally?

**Eldorado2k** · 06-17-2017, 05:42 AM

Unfortunate situation. Seems like you did everything correct.

**GSKR** · 06-17-2017, 06:20 AM

Well now that stinks.Now they will blame you and want it repaired.Common sense when you use these hot steamers. I personally would of sprayed a enzyme cleaner first.Good luck on this one .

**Mattarbenz** · 06-17-2017, 07:28 AM

Yes, I never thought about enzyme.. The bad part is the seat looked just fine, I wasn't even attacking a stain or a visible problem, and I couldn't really smell anything but thought at least I'll stream it and disinfect the area. I'll probably be in for a replacement seat bottom cover at least.

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**dcjredline** · 06-17-2017, 09:54 AM

Man, that sucks. This is what scares me about steamers for interiors. Same with heat guns. You gotta be sooooo careful. Hope they understand and dont try to murder you (financially speaking) for a mistake.

**Eldorado2k** · 06-17-2017, 10:22 AM

Using a steamer to clean interiors can sometimes wind up as risky if not more than using a rotary to polish the paint...

Closest call I've ever had with a steamer on someone else's car was when I was in the process of steaming the dash on a Cadillac when I suddenly noticed the wood trim on the dash begin to warp/melt before my eyes. I was like "no no no please no"! Lol. I stopped just in time and the customer never mentioned it so yea... Could've been a disaster. Lol.