Carpet / Cloth Seat Cleaning with shop-vac

[muscle]

I want to clean my carpets, carpet floor mats and cloth seats using the shop-vac method. I plan on using Folex for spot removal. Can you recommend a cleaner / shampoo and a particular brush I should use?

What do you use to apply the cleaning solution? A regular spray bottle?

Has anyone used this method for couches and tough inside carpet stains?

Thanks!

[tuscarora dave]

Folex is all that I use. I hit the spots and stains heavy and allow to dwell for 20 minutes then mist the rest of the carpets with Folex before agitating with a brush. After all that I mist with water and then extract with a shop vac pulling the vac nozzle very slowly over the carpets and other fabric to be sure to get maximum removal of soil and water. Allow to dry. I use trigger spray bottles for this and do the interior before doing any exterior work so that the interior has sufficient time to dry before the customer gets the car back.

These carpets were badly stained with dirt, coffee and black grease stains.I pressure wash the dirt from the mats after the Folex and scrubbing steps before extracting the water. Folex was described to me as witchcraft in a bottle. I agree.

[opie_7afe]

for carpets/floor mats i use meguiars APC+ @ 10:1 dilution spray on carpets let dwell for 10-20 minutes(have not used folex yet but know it works wonders on bad stains) then i do as tuscaora dave does and use my small pump sprayer filled with water to mist carpets. then i use the nozzle from a normal carpet cleaner and use those to suck up the water. the nozzles really help suck up the maximum ammount of water because the suction is more concentrated(i got my nozzles for free from the bulk waste disposal yard) then i go over carpets again after sucking up the water to help dry them out alittle and make nice stripes in the carpet. now for cloth seats i use meguiars apc+ at 10:1 misted on seats then take my steam cleaner with a microfiber around the wide spread nozzle and works awesome to remove stains ect. only thing i found it not to remove is rust stains in my seats(even removed the covers and tossed them in washer). best of luck to you hope my info helped.

[clintb]

Folex was described to me as witchcraft in a bottle. I agree.

Love the Folex and it's pretty darned cheap at HD.

[ScubaCougr]

FWIW, I actually found that APC was better at removing the normal dirt. For spots and stains, Folex is all I use. Cheap, local and works like mad.

[5Toes]

What is shopvac method exactly? Link??

[ScubaCougr]

What is shopvac method exactly? Link??

It's an effective and cost effective method of cleaning fabric and upholstery for those who can't justify an extractor or steamer.

1. Spray with APC, OPC or desired cleaner
2. Scrub with brush
3. Use wet vac to suck solution out of fabric. (I've found this works best with a 'duck foot' style nozzle that mimics the narrow triangular opening of an extractor, but YMMV)

[muscle]

Thanks, everyone.

What brushes do you suggest?