Steam Cleaning - Interior Techniques

P

pingable

New member
What techniques are you guys using with the steam cleaner and Interiors ?



For the doorjambs, APC and then the nozzle with triple holes seems fine.

Do you degrease the hinges afterwards ?





What techniques are ya'll using on seats, leather , headliner ??? , seatbelts, etc ?

Just curious....
 
I use the nozzle that puts out a straight stream of steam to get into the AC vents and creases of dash and such that I cant get too with a vacuum. Then for the carpets/seats/leather/dash/headliner I use the triangle attachment with a microfiber or terry cloth wrapped around it with a rubber band or tie. I then turn down the power of the steam depending on what material I am working with. When using the triangle end with the towl on it to go across the seats/carpets/dash/steeringwheel/headliner you will be in shock at how much dirt is lifted from the surface that seemed so clean! Once the towel becomes too dirty I will switch to a clean one. Headliner is held on by an adheasve so be CAREFUL to not heat it up and melt it off! Also be careful with how hot you use it on leather and plastic as to not melt it. In my expierences you don't need TOO much heat to clean surfaces on the interior of the car. Its also great to use on wheels that have baked on brake dust that is in hard places to reach. Cleaning the engine carefully is also a great way to use it. The steamer is an amazing tool that I use for so many different surfaces, carefully though as it can do more damage than good if used incorrectly.

-Nick
 
I have only recently been using a steamer, but I find it more and more useful every day. I just started using on wheels, as mentioned above, and it beats ripping my hands apart scrubbing between spokes any day.



My techniques are pretty much identical to Can You Hear Me. Careful how much you clean door jams, however, because you don't want to take the grease away from the hinge. For the doors, dash board, and center console I basically use the steamer to blast out dirt from the cracks then will dampen the plastic with the steam while hitting stubborn dirt more directly. I wipe off with a MF and a sprits of Megs Hyper Dressing and its good to go... all in about a minute.



As already stated, be careful with directly steaming plastic and leather. Not only can it damage the material but it will also remove the dye.



For the steering wheel (and other often touched plastics/leather, door pulls, shifters, steering column stalks, etc.), I usually heat it quite a bit to remove all the body oils. By this I mean constant heat, not higher heat. You can see the dirt and oil melting right off the surface if it is bad enough.
 
todd, Thanks for the advise on the door jambs. Never thought about that! I will make sure to avoid doing that when working on a customers s500 this weekend : D

-Nick
 
swirlnuts said:
what units are you guys using?
Click to expand...

I use this. I love it!

es2100offer.jpg


Euro Steam - Providing New Generation Vapor Steam Systems & Solutions "Since 1992"
 
How are you steaming the leather ? Are you making passes on it ? Or very slow passes on it ?



My concern is 2fold. Leather Dye and also glue whether it be on dash or headliner.
 
These are my techniques for leather:



Seats, doors, steering wheel

Use the steam pressure to blow out cracks, crevices, and seat belt clips. I have my hand right on the leather to pull apart the seams, so it is definitely not too hot. I then make a few quick passes over the rest of the seat to moisten the leather then wipe with a dry or damp MF. If there is some tough grime, I will hold constant steam until you can physically see the spot coming out.



Learning to do this is the same as learning to spray a car with a pressure washer. You can do damage to paint at 2000 PSI if you hold the nozzle too closely... same with the steam nozzle. I move very quickly when cleaning headliners because they can be very delicate. I wouldn't worry about glue on the plastic pieces of your car.



BTW, the leather never gets more saturated with water than it would if I cleaned with traditional leather cleaner. If some seats are extremely nasty, I will wipe with a MF damp with Megs leather cleaner.
 
I'm using this one: Commercial Steam Cleaner | Factory Direct Prices and it's working out bette for me than the lesser models I'd used previously.



Yeah, gotta be careful...so far I've melted the plastic clip for a hood-prop rod and I also melted a bit of syntetic carpet :o Depending on how powerful your unit is, you might not want to spray the steam directly at the leather from close range.



I wear rubber gloves to avoid any ouches, I've blistered myself but good a few times.



I have mixed feelings about using the steamer on A/C vents...blasting the [stuff] down deep into the ductwork just rubs me the wrong way; it's still in there.



I don't find myself using it for doorjambs all that often; I usually wipe things down with a solvent instead, then polish and LSP. I don't worry about getting the lube off hinges/etc. as I just relube them (very carefully, no excess lube).
 
I had been using steam cleaning services of DetailXperts in my years that I spent in the US, spoiled by them :s.



Now I am moving back to my country and I know I will not find services like those there, so I want something to back me up there. what should I do?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top