Please help!!

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Tarn

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Hey Guys!!!

I really need some advice here im in a weird boat Haha.

Here is my situation i have a mobile detailing business which is fairly new and i always promise my customers the best results because i believe i should be able to do what any other shop can do ( been detailing for 3 years now on my own car and friends)

How ever the seats and carpets have always given me problems not being bright enough or removing 90-100% of all stains and my customers are not happy which means i am not happy!!

I use a VX5000 steamer which i bought for $1200 which i thought from everyones reviews i could get the same results as a extractor in the same time

Well it takes me 3-4 hours to complete a interior detail on a car and i am not getting rid of 100% of all stains so what am i doing wrong? I use the steamer i use shampoo i scrub? and now i guess i have to get another 1200 machine extractor to make my detailing faster and better?

Can anyone please give me advice i have customers who deserve better and i want to get better.
 
You may never get 100% of stains out. You cant promise that to customers. Set their expectations lower and over deliver. An extractor will not get every single stain out of every single fabric. Im not going to say they are a waste or junk either. We say it alot here on the forum. Underpromise and over deliver.
 
Thanks for the advice!

So do you still think that i should get the extractor then if it will give me better results and a faster time? i want to be able to give atleast a brighter cleaner look which for some reason i cant get with the steamer all the time will it be the same with the extractor?
 
It's also always good to do a walk around before and after a detail as well to point out what you may have issues with and what you where able to remove. Tell them them the steps you took to remove/attempt to remove a stain and always point out the details that you did on the vehicle as well.
 
IMO if you own a detailing business, you should own both a steamer and extractor as both serve their purposes...
 
You should also look into brush attachments for your power drill if you have one, they also do magic as far as loosing up the dirt on carpets. Make sure you always do a pre spray I start with water then a apc
 
If you are trying to achieve that bright effect, try any Oxy cleaners it should work. Also, if you want the easy way, then any optical brightener products should do the trick.
 
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Tarn said:
Hey Guys!!!

I really need some advice here im in a weird boat Haha.

Here is my situation i have a mobile detailing business which is fairly new and i always promise my customers the best results because i believe i should be able to do what any other shop can do ( been detailing for 3 years now on my own car and friends)

How ever the seats and carpets have always given me problems not being bright enough or removing 90-100% of all stains and my customers are not happy which means i am not happy!!

I use a VX5000 steamer which i bought for $1200 which i thought from everyones reviews i could get the same results as a extractor in the same time

Well it takes me 3-4 hours to complete a interior detail on a car and i am not getting rid of 100% of all stains so what am i doing wrong? I use the steamer i use shampoo i scrub? and now i guess i have to get another 1200 machine extractor to make my detailing faster and better?

Can anyone please give me advice i have customers who deserve better and i want to get better.
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Hey man, just read your thread and reminds of the time when I first started detailing. Some reasons the carpet might look so dirty is because of the steamer. Steamer is great but without an extractor, no carpets will ever be cleaned fully. What kind of chemicals are you using to clean the seats or carpets? What I like to do when I clean seats or carpet is get a steamer and warm the soiled fabric. Then I would spray some cleaner and scrub. Next get the extractor and extract the area slowly. I would repeat this process until the carpet is clean. You can check if a carpet/seat is clean or not by getting a white tissue and rub the area that has been cleaned. After final extraction, I would steam the area once again with a cloth.
This is how I do it but might be time-consuming. I aim for perfection, and can get about 98% stains out. Buy an extractor!
 
For the best outcome seek a carpet cleaning tradesman store.There very knowledgeable and have all the tanners traffic lane cleaners and such.
 
Maestro Sam said:
Hey man, just read your thread and reminds of the time when I first started detailing. Some reasons the carpet might look so dirty is because of the steamer. Steamer is great but without an extractor, no carpets will ever be cleaned fully. What kind of chemicals are you using to clean the seats or carpets? What I like to do when I clean seats or carpet is get a steamer and warm the soiled fabric. Then I would spray some cleaner and scrub. Next get the extractor and extract the area slowly. I would repeat this process until the carpet is clean. You can check if a carpet/seat is clean or not by getting a white tissue and rub the area that has been cleaned. After final extraction, I would steam the area once again with a cloth.
This is how I do it but might be time-consuming. I aim for perfection, and can get about 98% stains out. Buy an extractor!
Click to expand...

Hey maestro!

I'm glad it reminded you of when you first started, i really appreciate your info helped me a lot!

I use a extractor fluid HD by carbrite as my shampoo to spray on and then steam, spray again, scrub, and wipe with a terry or microfiber. I repeat until the towel comes out with little dirt on it ( I find i can never get it perfect even with four passes!)

I had a car today which i rented a extractor to see what kind of results i can get with it. Firstly i made the mistake of renting one that doesn't heat the water so i'm guessing its a lot weaker then a heated extractor?

Anyway i can tell that yes it would make my life easier but if i keep scrubbing with the steamer and lifting with a towel i can get close to the same results and the extractor with a heater is $2500 CAD which i'm not sure is a good investment which i can spend advertising instead. I have just started and i'm not getting high end clients who are willing to pay $200 for a complete full detail. I usually get around $100 for doing the interior of a car and some people expect perfect results! i am trying my best to impress everyone until the day i get high end clients and a brand name to earn the $200 a detail.
 
If you spilled dirt, oil, soda, juice, and coffee on a shirt and wore it every day for three years, and then finally took it to a professional cleaner, would you expect every single stain to be removed 100 percent?

I think the best solution for you that you can implement RIGHT NOW is to learn how to set realistic expectations with each customer. As someone has already said "under-promise and over deliver" is a great way to set appropriate expectations. There have been a few times where I just flat out tell people they need to replace the floor mats and ask if they'd like me to throw them away.

An extractor will definitely help on heavily soiled interiors. A steamer works great on lightly soiled fabrics, especially seats. On floor mats and carpeting where there is ground in dirt and grime I think an extractor is a must have tool.
 
Tarn said:
Hey maestro!

I'm glad it reminded you of when you first started, i really appreciate your info helped me a lot!

I use a extractor fluid HD by carbrite as my shampoo to spray on and then steam, spray again, scrub, and wipe with a terry or microfiber. I repeat until the towel comes out with little dirt on it ( I find i can never get it perfect even with four passes!)

I had a car today which i rented a extractor to see what kind of results i can get with it. Firstly i made the mistake of renting one that doesn't heat the water so i'm guessing its a lot weaker then a heated extractor?

Anyway i can tell that yes it would make my life easier but if i keep scrubbing with the steamer and lifting with a towel i can get close to the same results and the extractor with a heater is $2500 CAD which i'm not sure is a good investment which i can spend advertising instead. I have just started and i'm not getting high end clients who are willing to pay $200 for a complete full detail. I usually get around $100 for doing the interior of a car and some people expect perfect results! i am trying my best to impress everyone until the day i get high end clients and a brand name to earn the $200 a detail.
Click to expand...

Nice man, love your work ethics. There is a time when you come across a very dirty car, you will most likely need a extractoor to achieve great results. Rubbing with a steamer towel will overtime lead to using numerous amounts of towels to clean up the whole car. For stains, use a heating iron to transfer the stain from the carpet to the towel. Might not work on all stains, but for me, I get most of them out using these methods. Also, I have been using the Mytee Extractor Lite II, which was about $800 on sale and it is one of the best professional extractors I have used. Think about buying one in the future if you want to achieve great results!
 
Hey @Tarn, do you know what the stains are? Oil, grease, gas or food? I have access to some new products that are specifically formulated to specific stains. PM me and I can send you some to try.
 
Tarn said:
Well it takes me 3-4 hours to complete a interior detail on a car and i am not getting rid of 100% of all stains so what am i doing wrong? I use the steamer i use shampoo i scrub?
Click to expand...

When it comes to upholstery and carpet, surfaces where liquids will penetrate into... an extractor will do a better job of cleaning.

Steam machines are more for topical cleaning while extractors are for deep or sub-surface cleaning.


Also... here's a friendly tip in this article...

How to write a good title for your thread




:)
 
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