smell from carpets not drying?

[pinoyheat551]

Its already winter here in new england (30 degree weather) and i no longer have the luxury of leaving the car out in the sun to dry. I had a couple of customers call me back saying that their car stunk due to the carpet. What can be done if its winter and snowing? Or do i simply say its normal?

 

[autoaesthetica]

You need to completely extract the moisture, allow to dry using some sort of air moving method and IF you HAVE TO return them damp inform the customer let them know to run their foot heaters and crack their windows.





Just don't leave them soaking wet and return them without telling someone.

 

[Ron Ketcham]

Poor process of cleaning the carpets.

Leaving them too wet, activates the bacteria and their "food source", customer turns on his heat, they start feeding and you get the odor.

Would gather you are not using an extractor, and leaving excess moisture in the carpets and seats.

While there are several products available to "cover up" the odor, there are a few that actually cause the bacteria to die without the use of toxic chemicals.

The one I know is from my old company, Odor Terminator.

It is non-toxic, put about 2 oz in each gallon of cleaning solution when you clean, then when done cleaning, then"mist" the "entire surface" with the product, undiluted..

It does things very simple, bacteria must feed on a source every few seconds to a few minutes, depending on which bacteria is present.

The product makes the food source unattractive so they don't feed and without food, they die, IE-odor is gone in a few minutes to an hour.

It "must be misted on all the surfaces" to work.

Miss a spot where there are bacteria present and they will continue to eat and produce the odor.

Works great on milk, vomit, blood, etc any organic food source.

It has no odor it's self, however, when applied in large quanities, it may produce a "clorine" smell", that is due not to the product having clorine in it, but it has eliminated all the other odor sources so one starts to notice the "clorine" that is in all treated water.

Get this, you can drink the product and it will not hurt you, it is truly non-toxic.

Grumpy

 

[imported_DetailDan]

Get this, you can drink the product and it will not hurt you, it is truly non-toxic.

Have some sitting right here, might give it a try.

 

[Accumulator]

Its already winter here in new england (30 degree weather) and i no longer have the luxury of leaving the car out in the sun to dry...

Since winter and the need to clean carpets kinda go hand-in-hand, I'd sure want some kind of forced-air heater if you're gonna be doing more than just floormats (those can generally be dried with whatever heats your shop). And yeah, get some of the ValuGard Odor Terminator, it *does* work, but as noted you can't miss any spots with it.

 

[lostdaytomorrow]

Definitely utilize fans and heat of possible. Wet carpet is a very bad problem to have.

 

[David Fermani]

Once you start/cause an interior to develop an odor, it can be tedious to remove the smell and will require recleaning with dedicated anti-microbial cleaners.



What is your process for cleaning carpets? Regardless of the time of year, you should institute careful measures into your interior regiment to do a thorough vacuuming and drying of the carpet prior to returning it to the customer. Don't allow water/wetness to sit on the surface any longer then it has to. After slowly vacuuming it is wise to towel the fabric to lift away additional wetness. I don't suggest using heat to dry the carpet either as it tends to cause wicking. Medium temps ran through the vehicle's HVAC system along with air movers will 100% dry them in no time.

 

[Accumulator]

I don't suggest using heat to dry the carpet either as it tends to cause wicking..

Could you please expand on that? Yeah, need you to school me again



I only use significant heat (from the radiant heaters) on floormats, and I've never had any problems with those but I'd still like to learn more about this.

 

[lostdaytomorrow]

I'd also like to hear about said wicking of automotive carpet as a cursory google search yielded nothing productive.

 

[David Fermani]

Could you please expand on that? Yeah, need you to school me again



I only use significant heat (from the radiant heaters) on floormats, and I've never had any problems with those but I'd still like to learn more about this.

On dirty carpets (especially), there's going to be reminants of soiling and chemicals in the carpet after cleaning. Even if you're extracting. When you introduce heat to this condition it can be like going 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. Meaning that after you clean the carpet, heat will cause browing/crystalizing that will require additional work to correct. That's why I prefer (and have had great luck) using cool to medium temps to speed dry carpets. This eliminates this from occuring most of the time. And, if anything strange returns, it will usually only take a damp towel to lift away.

 

[lostdaytomorrow]

Didn't think about contaminants crystalizing due to heat but that seems plausible. Good idea on not using warm heat in that case.

 

[Accumulator]

David Fermani- OK, now I follow. Maybe I rinse rinse rinse so much that I've been able to avoid that...but again, all I've really heated up are carpeted mats.

 

[David Fermani]

Probably. If you're removing all the dirt/chemical from the fabric then it will greatly reduce any side effects with forced heat drying. With floor mats, I'm usually able to pre-soak>scrub and powerwash (most mats) and get them totally clean. More of a challenge when you're doing interiors that are heavily soiled.

 

[MichaelM]

On dirty carpets (especially), there's going to be reminants of soiling and chemicals in the carpet after cleaning. Even if you're extracting. When you introduce heat to this condition it can be like going 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. Meaning that after you clean the carpet, heat will cause browing/crystalizing that will require additional work to correct. That's why I prefer (and have had great luck) using cool to medium temps to speed dry carpets. This eliminates this from occuring most of the time. And, if anything strange returns, it will usually only take a damp towel to lift away.

To add to this, if you're using an extractor use a rinsing agent in your solution tank. These will reduce/eliminate browning.



As far as drying goes we use multiple fans daisy chained together with a heater on one of them in the colder months. We don't point the heater on anything in particular, just let it circulate the warm air around.

 

[Ron Ketcham]

Probably. If you're removing all the dirt/chemical from the fabric then it will greatly reduce any side effects with forced heat drying. With floor mats, I'm usually able to pre-soak>scrub and powerwash (most mats) and get them totally clean. More of a challenge when you're doing interiors that are heavily soiled.

What most fail to understand if that "organic" sources of debris are not normal dirt, they are a "food source" for bacteria, which when provided moisture, air and a "food source" will create offensive odors.

Pure "dirt" is easy, food sources are a breeding ground, BIG DIFFERENCE!

Grumpy

 

[David Fermani]

To add to this, if you're using an extractor use a rinsing agent in your solution tank. These will reduce/eliminate browning.



As far as drying goes we use multiple fans daisy chained together with a heater on one of them in the colder months. We don't point the heater on anything in particular, just let it circulate the warm air around.

Nice unit. I agree with the concern with directing heat directly at the surface, but to warm the air. I just haven't had had luck in situations where people set the car dial to the highest heat and directed it to the floor. Can be recipe for a crispy brown surface.

What most fail to understand if that "organic" sources of debris are not normal dirt, they are a "food source" for bacteria, which when provided moisture, air and a "food source" will create offensive odors.

Pure "dirt" is easy, food sources are a breeding ground, BIG DIFFERENCE!

Grumpy

Agreed. It's a must to be able to identify the condition you're trying to treat prior to attempting anything. People get carried away with the concept of "All Purpose Cleaners" being the only product needed for cleaning an interior.

 

[Accumulator]

.. People get carried away with the concept of "All Purpose Cleaners" being the only product needed for cleaning an interior.

Wonder how many people have Protein Stain Remover on the shelf :think: I'm uhm...well acquainted with that product, what with the pets and all