Interiors: APC vs Dedicated Cleaner

AustrianOak82

AustrianOak82

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I have always used 4:1 APC to clean all of interior carpets and upholstery, including headliners. I usually topped with Folex just to make it easier to remove stains and odors, plus it smells good. I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the differences between APC for interiors vs a dedicated carpet and upholstery cleaner. There have been a few interiors that I have done that seemed to still have some lingering odors, despite the use of steam. I was wondering if a dedicated cleaner might tackle those better than just a standard APC & folex combo. Thanks.
 
If you're using APC, the only chemistry you have going for you is an alkaline cleaner and surfactants, maybe a little glycol or butyl ether depending on the product. Pretty sure that folex is just a surfactant cleaner.

Find your local carpet cleaning distributor and take a look at what they have to offer. My results have improved dramatically since buying dedicated products. You can expect them to cost a bit more than APC per gallon of concentrate, but they have similar or better dilution ratios (1:10 or 1:64 often). A lot of these products rely on an extractor so do your research; pretty much all the bottles will have clear instructions for different use methods.
 
Not a pro ,so take this with a grain of salt--but I like using a dedicated carpet/upholstery cleaner. I find APC needs to be "washed" out/off lest you get re-soiling when the surface gets wet and that makes it tough for carpet unless it's specifically made to do so (i.e. I find Tuff Stuff is fairly effective on carpet/upholstery). Folex seems best for the job :-)
 
Audios S6 said:
If you're using APC, the only chemistry you have going for you is an alkaline cleaner and surfactants, maybe a little glycol or butyl ether depending on the product. Pretty sure that folex is just a surfactant cleaner.

Find your local carpet cleaning distributor and take a look at what they have to offer. My results have improved dramatically since buying dedicated products. You can expect them to cost a bit more than APC per gallon of concentrate, but they have similar or better dilution ratios (1:10 or 1:64 often). A lot of these products rely on an extractor so do your research; pretty much all the bottles will have clear instructions for different use methods.
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I actually lease my shop space from a carpet cleaning business, which works out well. Not sure why I didn't think of that. I will see what he recommends for carpets/upholstery. Thinking now I could probably get a better price for bulk cleaner from one of his distributors.
 
If nothing else, I believe the dedicated cleaners leave a much fresher scent than APC.
 
I use APC on interior plastics only. And I dilute 1:10.
For leather I use a dedicated leather cleaner.
For carpets/upholstery I use CG Lightning Fast with an upholstery brush and rinse well with just hot water in a bissell.
For carpeted mats with rubber backing, I'll use CG Fabric Clean as I prefer to use that with a hose because it foams a lot.
 
Folex,megs apc,leather cleaner/conditioner,cg lightning and fabric clean,quick interior Detailer and Zep extractor shampoo💵
 
richy said:
Folex is a great product for carpets and so is Zep Premium Carpet Concentrate. See this terrible interior I did and contrasted the Zep to APC:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/91059-rescued-hell-1969-corvette-convertible.html
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The 2 products I now use for carpets as well. Zep Premium Carpet Shampoo works excellent and leaves a fresh scent in my opinion. For vehicles with a little odor that the owner doesn't purchase the higher end shampoo package, I'll spray liberal amounts of Zep Air & Fabric Refresher after a thorough vacuum and panel wipe down.
 
Why would you "top" with Folex? Is the APC not cleaning well enough?

I use dedicated cleaners so I don't have to worry about dilutions. I'd never touch leather with 4:1 APC.

Folex for most fabrics, megs APC at 10:1 if the plastic is dirty, usually use a quick interior detailer for most surfaces. And a ph balanced leather cleaner.
 
tpr1634 said:
Megs d101 10:1 works well 4:1 stronger if needed.
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Did you read my question?
KMdef9 said:
Why would you "top" with Folex? Is the APC not cleaning well enough?

I use dedicated cleaners so I don't have to worry about dilutions. I'd never touch leather with 4:1 APC.

Folex for most fabrics, megs APC at 10:1 if the plastic is dirty, usually use a quick interior detailer for most surfaces. And a ph balanced leather cleaner.
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I just always have. The Folex smells better than the APC so it helps with that.
 
Talking about scent I always find chemical guy products amaze me
AllClean+
Innerclean
Silk shine
Leather serum

And not forgetting Meguiars M40 :p
 
AustrianOak82 said:
Did you read my question?

I just always have. The Folex smells better than the APC so it helps with that.
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I'd skip the APC and just use the Folex then. Your doing twice the work and wasting product.
 
Wow, I just realized I put 4:1 when I meant 10:1. I only use 4:1 on wheel wells and tires!
 
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