Drying mats/upholstery

G

genes

New member
I am hoping anyone could share their information about drying mats and upholstery. I am looking into hanging the mats from a clothes line, other ways also, and buying a propane heater (with fan) to dry them out. I was also thinking about drying the cars upholstery doing the same process. I have two iar movers but they just force cold air. Winter time is a problem here.

Has anyone done something like this? Any guesses on the amount of btu that would be needed? There are 33K to 55K units I was looking at. thanks
 
As far as mats are concened, I usually bring them inside. A dryer like the Metro Air Force Dryer can also aide in the drying of the carpets and seats. The key is to use an extractor with as much lift as possible to remove the moisture from the carpet.
 
genes said:
I am hoping anyone could share their information about drying mats and upholstery. I am looking into hanging the mats from a clothes line, other ways also, and buying a propane heater (with fan) to dry them out. I was also thinking about drying the cars upholstery doing the same process. I have two iar movers but they just force cold air. Winter time is a problem here.

Has anyone done something like this? Any guesses on the amount of btu that would be needed? There are 33K to 55K units I was looking at. thanks
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Spray 303, brush, Vapor-Steam then extract. Almost no drying needed.
 
brwill2005 said:
When you say extract after the 303 and steam process, you mean without rinsing right?
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That is correct.

We also use steam -vapor on very dirty leather seats and door panels.

You have to be careful !!!
 
Dent's & Details said:
I have found that Folex works beter than 303 with the vapor steamer. JMO
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Im interested!!!

Is their a measurable difference? Next time I will give Folex try.
 
Folex is a recommendation that GSRstilez has given a few times.

I 've been looking for a fabric shampoo to use with my Vapor Steamer since I purchased.

I tried lots of different ones not always 100% happy with them. Your APC tend to foam when you hit them with the steam and leave a residue in the carpet or seat fabric.

The folex at full strength dose not have that slick soapy feel. It will not foam with the steamer and I can't find any residue.

Example of its power.

Last weekend in the middle of the night my daughter threw up. The next morning as I was on my way out the door my wife told me my daughter left a little present for me. I figured my wife cleaned up what she could. No sir she didn't do a dam thing. That night it was dry and I figured for sure it had stained the light tan carpet in the room. Well after vacuuming up the big chunks I sprayed the area with folex 1 to 4 dilution. Let dwell for 60 seconds. Then using my extractor rinsed and sucked 90% of the stain. Second time I sprayed again with the Folex, hit it with the Vapor Steamer and the stain was gone I extracted one more time and that was it.

I was very surprised.

You can buy it at Lowes for around $15.00 a Gal.
 
Thank you for all your replies. This is what I am getting at. I have had occasions when I couldn't seem to get all the finite dirt particles out of the mats. I have a turbo tool that has a rotary brush on it and I normally use this to vacuum with. Even then there was still dirt. I have taken a pressure washer to my mats and blown all the dirt, grime off of them. Now the mats are extremely wet. I then extract the wetness off of them but in the winter there is no way to dry them. So after a few days this is what I have come up with.

I am going to hang a wire across two trees. I will use wood clamps to hang the mats from. I will blow the dirt off of them with the air from my compressor. then I will clean them. I am going to buy a propane heater, with air, and blow the hot air on them to dry in my garage.

The upholstery in the car is a different manner. That will happen with the heater and air movers positioned in the doorways to draw the warm air through the car.
 
Sometimes when I really have to, I let the car run for about 20 minutes or so with the heat on full blast with the window cracked a few inches. Just make sure to leave the window cracked enough so you don't chance locking the keys inside!



Always extract as much as possible before hand.
 
As far as mats, I just lay them outside in the sun for a while. As for the Inside of the car, they have heater units thatyou can attach to the air movers.
 
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