A question someone asked me about cleaning carpet in automobiles:
I am in the process of fully detailing my car and need the interior carpets cleaned. They are not severely stained, mainly just dirty from years of use. I read the DIY carpet cleansers commonly leave a residue in the carpets promoting mold and such, so steam cleaning is the way to go.
First, is this true? And second, do you clean automobile carpeting? Finally, do you rent any equipment?
This is how I replied:
DIY cleaning products usually lack the effectiveness to obtain professional results. The equipment available to consumers, lack strength mainly in vacuum. If you can’t properly rinse out the product you are using, you risk re-soiling issues. If you can’t effectively remove moisture you have a potential for bacteria and odor problems. Cleaning carpets in automobiles is possible but you need to understand that if the carpet has been neglected, satisfactory results will be limited. Soil will break down and wear out the fibers and even after it has been cleaned light will reflect differently on the worn fibers giving an appearance that it is still soiled. Automobile carpet will hold a lot of soil so even after you vacuum and it looks good and you think it is removed, there is still more hiding deep within. I will clean automobile carpet but do not rent equipment, sorry.
I hope this helps anyone with questions about DYI cleaning products or automobile carpet cleaning.