Have you ever stopped doing a vehicle that's too bad?

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RMarkJr

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Hello there! So I got a vehicle today that was carpets and seats only. Not a newer year and its a truck. I figured about 3 hours based on other cars I have done. I see it and its pretty bad ... but not as bad as I have gotten before.

Well I started the carpets tonight and so far I have sprayed and scrubbed about three times. Sprayed and used the steamer. At this point I dont know how many towels I have gone through that look really bad almost black. Then I got a big tire brush and dipped that in diluted fabric cleaner and let it soak the carpet with several dips, scrubbed that and then vacuumed it up really well. I did that tire brush thing again on a spot that's about 1x1 Ft...vacuumed, then I went to mop up the rest of the water, and I still went through two towels that still got completely dirty.

All of that was JUST on the passenger floor board!! At this rate this is going to take me waaayy longer than the 3 to 4 hours max I had in mind. Annnd I am getting the floor way wetter than what I want to do.

I am at a loss and its not coming up anywhere near as good as I want it. I am seriously thinking about calling him tomorrow and saying that I am not the person for the job on this one.

Have any of you ever had to do this? and if so what did you say to the customer and how did they respond?


Oh and I have been spraying Folex and Megs APC and Folex and Super Degreaser. Here and there APC and Super Degreaser alone. Super Degreaser is mixed 4:1 and APC is 10:1. The carpet cleaning solution in the bucket is some Carpet Cleaning From Chemical Guys.. I think Fabric Clean, which is about 4oz in about 2.5 gallons of water.
 
First off. APC and super degreaser aren't the chemicals you want to be using on carpets because they leave a sticky residue behind. Secondly if you are doing any kind of major interior jobs, an extractor is a necessity!

That being said, if your feel you can not do the task, politely explain to the client what is going on.
 
Dr Oldz said:
First off. APC and super aren't the chemicals you want to be using on carpets because they leave a sticky residue behind. Secondly if you are doing any kind of major interior jobs, an extractor is a necessity

That being said, if your feel you can not do the task, politely and explain to the client what is going on.
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ya I dont have an extractor... but I havent needed one yet and the carpets I have done were way worse than this one. I pretty much saturated the carpets twice and vacuumed, which is way more water than I usually use. I just dont know why they are not coming clean on this one.

ok so APC and Super Degreaser not the ones to use ... what is the right ones to use for really bad carpets?
 
Saturating the carpets isn't a good idea as insulation and padding under carpets will get ruined. I apologize for not being to suggest a chemical to use for you method but I believe your on the right path with Folex. I have heard of people using woolite but can not confirm if it applicable or not.
 
Really sounds like this is a job for an extractor TBH b4 u go pulling your hair out.
 
Dr Oldz said:
Really sounds like this is a job for an extractor TBH b4 u go pulling your hair out.
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Ya thats what I was starting to think ... but never needed one before ... the spraying heavily, scrubbing to get good suds, and vacuuming is usually enough to get it clean. It's just not on this one for whatever reason
 
I used to do my neighbors 2011 Nissan X trial But have stopped due because it will stay clean

the interior this is for 48 hours then back to filth, I dont care if she pays... I have the wright to walk away and i did.

She know has a car so dirty when i sat in it the other day.... i was like in my head (YUK)
 
Tasmania said:
I used to do my neighbors 2011 Nissan X trial But have stopped due because it will stay clean

the interior this is for 48 hours then back to filth, I dont care if she pays... I have the wright to walk away and i did.

She know has a car so dirty when i sat in it the other day.... i was like in my head (YUK)
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ya this is a paying job and this is not a refusal to not do it again... This is me considering to stop doing it ... call the customer and tell them I am not happy with how it is coming out before its close to being done.
 
RMarkJr said:
ya this is a paying job and this is not a refusal to not do it again... This is me considering to stop doing it ... call the customer and tell them I am not happy with how it is coming out before its close to being done.
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No you should finish the job you quoted. When you quote 4 hours and it takes you 2 do you give them 2 hours credit on the Bill? Finish it the best you can don't be a quitter
 
As others noted, this sounds like a learning curve moment. Take it as that and complete things as best you can regardless of time. I'd go buy an extractor and change up products. I'm no interior expert as I don't do a ton of them but I use Folex, an MC1385 Steamer and small Bissel Extractor with excellent results. I use the Bissel with a low grade vinegar and water mixture to bring down the alkalinity of the chemicals used.
 
Ditch the steamer and honestly even the extractor once you get your cleaning proces down. That might be fine on cream puffs, but anything dirtier will need some good ole fashion scrubbing. Process over products.

Here's what I would of done:

**Dry brush and pre-vac (tornador) the surfaces to break up/lift away the compressed soiling.(most important part that people forget)

**Pre-soak stains with appropriate cleaner (APC/ enzyme / Solvent)

**Dedicated carpet shampoo (suds) applied to fabric one 1/4 of a section at a time. Scrub into carpet really well. You'll see the dirt rising in the suds as you scrub.

**Slowly vacuum to lift away wetness and topical soiling.

**Dry towel section to further lift wetness and soiling.

**Allow to air dry until completely dry
 
yep .. thats it... I think I am done with this one. no matter what I do the towels still come dirty and it dries with brown spots and the brown line accross the part thats by the door... the backseat area i tried to do is just as bad..

That backseat area I tried soaking with Folex.. then sprayed APC .. and then poured fabric clean straight of out the bottle and added more water for suds.. suds turned brown . vacuumed it up. Then I went into sudsing it up again and vacuumed .. one more time with that .. then went through three more towels with no sign its getting better and it still looks like hell.

I guess I am not going to spend the time to do it, just to give it back looking like that still, and expect him to pay me. I think his carpets just need to be replaced at this point.
 
What expectations did you talk to the customer about? Was the interior trashed, and you told them you would get it like new again? When I was detailing cars for money I made it very clear what I could and could not do when it came to a trashed interior. A minivan that transported a bunch of kids around for years and rarely cleaned is not going to be like new when its full of stains and junk... I explain the process that I use and that's it. Especially when it comes to stains, I tell them if they spilled bleach on their favorite pair of pants no matter what process they use the pants will still be stained.


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There is no way of knowing what has been spilled on that carpet, or how many times. By wetting the carpet, you may be wicking up spills that have saturated the carpet, padding, or whatever else is under the carpet. Who knows, maybe even rust from the floorboard or adhesive from the floorboard! Spilled Coke, left to be absorbed and dried in the carpet can be very corrosive.

Maybe the customer can shed some light on the problem you are having by telling you what sort of liquids have been spilled on the carpet!
 
BlackMDX said:
There is no way of knowing what has been spilled on that carpet, or how many times. By wetting the carpet, you may be wicking up spills that have saturated the carpet, padding, or whatever else is under the carpet. Who knows, maybe even rust from the floorboard or adhesive from the floorboard! Spilled Coke, left to be absorbed and dried in the carpet can be very corrosive.

Maybe the customer can shed some light on the problem you are having by telling you what sort of liquids have been spilled on the carpet!
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he just bought it and is cleaning and fixing it up to sell before long. So I am sure he has no idea.

The first several times I tired by not getting the carpet very wet and it didnt look like it did anything to it at all. I dont think that was enough to wick back up .. now when I saturated and vacuumed up several times .. ya that could have done it. Then I went back over it lightly after it dried and it just dries back to the same. I think it just needs to be replaced
 
WindyCity said:
What expectations did you talk to the customer about? Was the interior trashed, and you told them you would get it like new again? When I was detailing cars for money I made it very clear what I could and could not do when it came to a trashed interior. A minivan that transported a bunch of kids around for years and rarely cleaned is not going to be like new when its full of stains and junk... I explain the process that I use and that's it. Especially when it comes to stains, I tell them if they spilled bleach on their favorite pair of pants no matter what process they use the pants will still be stained.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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pretty much I told him what I would do to it and that I could make it look a lot better. Well .. its not looking a lot better or much better really.
 
A quality steamer would make life much easier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've used Folex, oxiclean, Castrol Super clean, woolie and
BISSELL OXYgen BOOST.

I always avoid over saturating, by spraying, scrubbing with a brush and then vaccum with a shop vac or Bissell spot clean I have to extract the water. And then dry with microfibers and leave the doors open if hot with fans running air through.

Are you able to post pics? I also hate cleaners that foam a lot or require a lot of rinsing. So I use Folex and Bissell cleaner a lot.
 
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