Inexpensive steam cleaner/extractor?

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Based

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I have a truck I want to sell in about 6 months and I want to get the coffee stains out of the carpet (and maybe clean the back seats, I need to check). The stains have been in there for a long time because they were there when I bought the vehicle 1.5 years ago.

I don't have the money to spend 500$ on an extractor. I'm googling trying to find either an extractor or a steamer for under 200$. Are there any out there worth buying? Thanks.
 
Try Folex 1st, before you buy any equipment

Brush the carpet vigorously

Vacuum thoroughly

Spray the spot with Folex

Dwell, one minute

Blot with white cotton towel

Spray with Folex

Agitate with stiff brush

Scrub with white cotton towel, changing to a clean side of the towel frequently

Vacuum

Post Before & After pictures on AGO Forum
 
allenk4 said:
Try Folex 1st, before you buy any equipment

Brush the carpet vigorously

Vacuum thoroughly

Spray the spot with Folex

Dwell, one minute

Blot with white cotton towel

Spray with Folex

Agitate with stiff brush

Scrub with white cotton towel, changing to a clean side of the towel frequently

Vacuum

Post Before & After pictures on AGO Forum
Click to expand...
Already tried that a couple of times with several different cleaners. The cleaners I used work great on my house carpet but not really at all in my car. No matter how much I get on the paper towels, there's still just more and more in the stain. It's like there's a gallon of coffee in one little spot...
 
Paper towels do not have any nap and will be ineffective for this purpose

If you follow the steps exactly, you will see improved results
 
allenk4 said:
Paper towels do not have any nap and will be ineffective for this purpose

If you follow the steps exactly, you will see improved results
Click to expand...
So by cotton towel you mean a towel I would use to dry dishes?
 
Sounds like the coffee soaked through the carpet and may be wicking up from the padding. So many attempts may be needed.

Depending on where the stain is, might consider pulling up the carpet to get under the carpet to the pad for faster removal.
 
Based said:
So by cotton towel you mean a towel I would use to dry dishes?
Click to expand...

Dish towel, bath towel any white 100% cotton towel

I find that the cheap ones from.Bed Bath and Beyond work as well as any

Look for the ones that have looped ends as opposed to split ends. They seem lint less and scrub better
 
WP_20141130_15_01_14_Pro.jpg


These are the type of cotton towel I use
 
Rent a Rug Doctor with the upholstery attachment from a local grocery store.

Use Folex and plenty of hot water in the Rug Doctor and extract and extract after the stain is gone. The suction on the Rug Doctor is fairly decent. Not as good as a dedicated high quality extractor but it only costs around 20 bucks to rent.
 
oldmodman said:
Rent a Rug Doctor with the upholstery attachment from a local grocery store.

Use Folex and plenty of hot water in the Rug Doctor and extract and extract after the stain is gone. The suction on the Rug Doctor is fairly decent. Not as good as a dedicated high quality extractor but it only costs around 20 bucks to rent.
Click to expand...

:iagree: (You beat me to it)

Bill
 
Pressure wash all the door jambs and use a sopping wet wash mitt on the radio while you're at it. [I couldn't resist]

Seriously, pick up Folex at Lowes and a box of 40 white terry towels from Costco, something like $14. I'd rent a Rug Doctor only if I had to do carpets in the house at the same time, otherwise Folex and elbow grease are simpler for stains and more cost effective.
 
I have some dedicated spot remover from the local carpet cleaning supply store. When it doesn't do the trick on certain stains I have been known to reach for the Folex. Lately I had a Firebird show car with white and blue crushed velvet interior in for a pre-show correction and coating. The passenger seat had a large coffee stain. When I asked the owner what happened he said his wife is now banned from drinking coffee in the car. He replaced the carpet and got as much of the stain out of the seats as possible. Plans were to have it recovered. I drug out my Folex and after three attempts it was gone. I followed this with a foam cleaner on a wool pad and rotary ( Nathan Flannell method ) to brighten up the whole interior.
 
Ok well I went and got some folex and I used it on the stain. Folex works way better than the other cleaner I was using (tough stuff or good stuff or something like that). But still the stain just KEEPS ON COMING!!! I think it is indeed coming up from the carpet padding.

There are spots little and big everywhere on the carpet.

Would a steamer make it way easier or should I just keep scrubbing with the folex? I'm kind of on a budget. I'm trying to sell this truck and I need to get these stains out, detail the outside, and replace about 300$ in suspension parts (all labor by me). I don't want to spend too much and not get enough back.
 
Soak the stain with hot diluted vinegar, blot with a hot, damp microfiber towel, then rinse with clean water. Blot dry. Then start again with Folex and clean MFs.
 
You may be at the point where the quickest most thorough procedure would involve removing the carpet from the truck

There are lots of videos on how to remove the seats:

[ame="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uyKB-sKtJwo"]How to Remove a Seat From a Car - YouTube[/video]


Once out of the car you can determine if it is coming from the padding or even rust under the pad and carpet

Your cleaning options are also more numerous once the carpet is out. You can power wash it, use a full size Rug Doctor, steam from an iron technique, etc.

Good Luck

Post some before and after pictures
 
After many tries at spraying folex then dabbing with a towel, the stain is pretty much gone. I forgot to take pics tho :(.

It was night time so I have yet to see it in daylight but I will tomorrow. I will probably have to spray+dab a couple more times tomorrow. But thanks guys I appreciate the help with a cost effective method of getting these stains out. I will do this on the other stains. Folex really works a lot better than any other carpet cleaner I've used before it.

Another question though, how much should I be looking to spend on materials to wash+clay+polish+wax my truck... I'm debating whether I should do it myself or get another person to do it. I've never detailed a car before and while I do want to learn I don't want to #### up the truck even more and make it harder to sell...
 
If you are planning on selling this truck in 6 months and never buying another car...you should definitely hire a Detailer

If this is not the case, your current truck will be great practice for the next car you buy

As far doing a decent job on the current truck to prep it for salewithout spending much money:

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax applied by hand will do wonders for most neglected paint

Clean and dress the engine compartment. That way when you pop the hood for a prospective buyer, it will look like the maintenance was kept up

Dress the tires and finish deep cleaning every nook and cranny of the interior and you are set to sell
 
allenk4 said:
If you are planning on selling this truck in 6 months and never buying another car...you should definitely hire a Detailer

If this is not the case, your current truck will be great practice for the next car you buy

As far doing a decent job on the current truck to prep it for salewithout spending much money:

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax applied by hand will do wonders for most neglected paint

Clean and dress the engine compartment. That way when you pop the hood for a prospective buyer, it will look like the maintenance was kept up

Dress the tires and finish deep cleaning every nook and cranny of the interior and you are set to sell
Click to expand...
Ok thanks. That wax looks like some good stuff. Should I bother claying before the wax or will the wax be enough? The truck has probably never been clayed in its 11 year life... I've owned it for almost two years and I sure haven't done anything but run it through the wash lol.
 
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