Carpet lost cause??

J

japjoe7

New member
Here are some before and after pictures of the cleaning I did for the hand-me-down truck I received from my father. I have a feeling the stains I was trying to get out are coffee and they just wont budge. I sprayed Folex and let it sit for while then agitated, then APC'ed the area, and finally wet vacuumed it a couple times. What's left to do?



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Try a cleaner that is specifically designed for the removal of coffee. I have had great success removing coffee stains with Detail King's Hot Shot Plus.
 
You probably set the stain by not using a product specifically designed for Coffee. Is any of the staining lifting off onto your towel? I'd yank the carpet and blast it with the pressure washer. You'd be amazed how much better it would come clean.
 
David Fermani said:
You probably set the stain by not using a product specifically designed for Coffee. Is any of the staining lifting off onto your towel? I'd yank the carpet and blast it with the pressure washer. You'd be amazed how much better it would come clean.
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Agreed. Since you're already taking the interior out, I'd pull the carpet and do the pressure washing thing at a local coin-op. I've gotten coffee out with Folex, Adam's carpet cleaner, or Adam's APC on various occassions, but it could be different if that has been on there for years. Whatever you are using, go ahead and soak the area down with a lot of product - a light mist isn't going to cut it. Then agitate with that brush you have, and powerwash it. You may have to repeat this process 4-5 times, I think some of my tougher stains only came out after agitating twice, pressure washing out each time, then spraying down again with APC and going over it two more times with the little green machine.
 
Folex has the word coffee right on the bottle. I think I may take the carpet out since it's conveniently in two pieces already and try a pressure washer. I did use an older model Green Machine and it worked pretty good. I got it to the point where I was getting somewhat clear water out.
 
Welp, took the carpet out and brought it to the car wash...and...did nothing, looks the same. thanks anyway guys.
 
Too bad. Have you considered replacing it (cheaper than you think for a new look) or dying in a darker brown or black?
 
Just a quick OT question for you,japjoe7, regarding that gallon size of Awesome:



I've never seen a gallon size before. Where did you get it? Did you have to order it online? I just buy 4 32 oz bottles at a time at the dollar store, if that's cheaper.
 
Did you use hot water when vacuum? If you don't have a hot water extractor, heat up a gallon of water and mix the solutions in a spray bottle. spray it on the spot and vac it couple times. Those chemical solutions seem work well with hot water.
 
I have added vinegar to my folex before on really stubborn stains with good results.Like some of the others have replied , the stain being old and set by using other cleaners may not be removable. For a cheap fix you might try a interior upholstery color change spray or dye . I have done a color change on vinyl panels and seats but never tried it on carpet.
 
There are several things you need to do to remove coffee stains:



a. Use a tanin remover chemical. If you have used other chemicals you may have "set the stain" and it may be impossible now to remove.

b. Spray the tanin remover on the stain, let it dwell and lay a damp towel over it and shoot vapor steamer steam into the towel and hope for a heat transfer of the stain to the towel.



Worst thing you can do with a stain is try all types of chemicals not designed to remove stains. A true professional will know what they don't know and they will use products designed for what they were formulated to do. There are stain removers for just about every stain you can encounter. Purchase a stain removal chemical kit and work with that. Vapor steamers are not absolutely necessary but I can tell you that even a simple hand held unit can save you a lot of time and make you a hero with customers with it's stain removing capabilties.



Just some well intentioned thoughts and suggestions. Take what you like and leave the rest, or take none at all.



Regards

Bud Abraham
 
Brad B. said:
Too bad. Have you considered replacing it (cheaper than you think for a new look) or dying in a darker brown or black?
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Yeah I thought about it originally before I even started to clean it, it would cost about $100 to replace but it's for a "beater" truck I'm just gunna use for a daily driver to work IDK if it's worth it



Bill D said:
Just a quick OT question for you,japjoe7, regarding that gallon size of Awesome:



I've never seen a gallon size before. Where did you get it? Did you have to order it online? I just buy 4 32 oz bottles at a time at the dollar store, if that's cheaper.
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I actually got it at Walmart. I was just looking for a quick pickup APC and was in the cleaning section and saw it on the shelf for $5+ I think. Works pretty good.



DETAILERSTUDIO said:
Did you use hot water when vacuum? If you don't have a hot water extractor, heat up a gallon of water and mix the solutions in a spray bottle. spray it on the spot and vac it couple times. Those chemical solutions seem work well with hot water.
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I used a Green Machine extractor, not the newer hand held ones, with HOT HOT water. It worked pretty well but I guess not good enough for those friggin stains.



buda said:
There are several things you need to do to remove coffee stains:



a. Use a tanin remover chemical. If you have used other chemicals you may have "set the stain" and it may be impossible now to remove.

b. Spray the tanin remover on the stain, let it dwell and lay a damp towel over it and shoot vapor steamer steam into the towel and hope for a heat transfer of the stain to the towel.



Worst thing you can do with a stain is try all types of chemicals not designed to remove stains. A true professional will know what they don't know and they will use products designed for what they were formulated to do. There are stain removers for just about every stain you can encounter. Purchase a stain removal chemical kit and work with that. Vapor steamers are not absolutely necessary but I can tell you that even a simple hand held unit can save you a lot of time and make you a hero with customers with it's stain removing capabilties.



Just some well intentioned thoughts and suggestions. Take what you like and leave the rest, or take none at all.



Regards

Bud Abraham
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I appreciate the suggestions. I was looking for Mostenbocker but cant find any locally. That stuff is hands down, from my point of view, the best stain remover of all. I've been using it for years on everything but ran out recently.
 
I use COFFEE STAIN REMOVER from Bridgepoint. I first used it when we had our carpet cleaning business. Along with it I use a hot-water extractor. Pretty sure the lift in my extractor helps a bit. Its a fairly simple product to use - just follow instructions. Hope it helps.
 
AndyVo said:
I use COFFEE STAIN REMOVER from Bridgepoint. I first used it when we had our carpet cleaning business. Along with it I use a hot-water extractor. Pretty sure the lift in my extractor helps a bit. Its a fairly simple product to use - just follow instructions. Hope it helps.
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Wow, awesome! I'll check this out.



edit: lol that stuff has a HAZMAT warning on it! Just bought it, this better friggin work MR. Andy!! :hifive:
 
japjoe7 said:
Welp, took the carpet out and brought it to the car wash...and...did nothing, looks the same. thanks anyway guys.
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Reinforces my opinion that the coffee stain set into the fabric and actually altered the color of it. I haven't had much luck in these instances but maybe someone else could comment better.
 
Yes, after thousands of carpets cleaned, some coffee stains don't come out. I've used many different cleaners, including specific coffee stain removers and some stains are set.



It could be many factors that cause this. Coffee acidity, cream, sugar, heat, stain longevity, chemicals in carpet, or the carpet itself.
 
Are you sure it isn't rust? Was the truck ever in a flood situation or sat through a storm with the windows down? It seems to me I've never experienced a coffee stain so stubborn, but I have encountered rust stains that gave me a hard time. Best of luck!
 
OnTheSpotMobile said:
Are you sure it isn't rust? Was the truck ever in a flood situation or sat through a storm with the windows down? It seems to me I've never experienced a coffee stain so stubborn, but I have encountered rust stains that gave me a hard time. Best of luck!
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Yeah, there are rust stains too but they are separate from what I'm treating.
 
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