What is the difference between Auto Upholstery Steam Cleaning, Hot Water Extraction and Shampoo?
/ We have been specializing in Auto Upholstery Cleaning for 30 years, our service is ideal for really dirty vehicles. We are very successful at removing carpet salt-stains and cloth seat stains because we use a unique Cyclo-Brush shampoo process in conjunction with a drum vacuum system that has 10 times the suction of any regular shop vacuum and our industry leading forced hot air drying system to completely dry shampooed cloth seats. At Super Carwash Detailing we only offer Auto Upholstery Shampooing because it is the most effective process for removing stains. Auto Upholstery Steam Cleaning and Auto Upholstery Hot Water Extraction, two alternative methods for cleaning upholstery are better suited to a lighter type of cleaning, for less dirty upholstery.
Upholstery Steam Cleaning is the safest and most delicate method to clean automotive carpets and cloth seats. A gun is used to spray steam or hot water vapor under pressure onto the upholstery material surface and then the surface is wiped with a clean microfibre cloth, to lift-off stains and dirt. This is the ideal cleaning method for delicate fabric seats such as those on classics, or delicate interior auto carpeting on exotic cars such as a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley, because it does not risk damage to the material, nor leave it wet. It’s also ideal for cleaning low kilometer vehicles that just need freshening up, not stain removing. The draw back to Steam Cleaning Upholstery is that it does not remove the typical stains found in a daily driver vehicle, after its been driven for a few years.
The most common method used by Auto Detailers to clean Auto Upholstery is Hot Water Extraction. A spray of hot water mixed with a cleaning agent is confined within a tool so that once it hits the surface of the upholstery it is immediately sucked up, without sitting on the surface long enough to leave the upholstery wet. The advantage of choosing Hot Water Extraction is that it only cleans the top surface of the carpets and cloth seats, so that even if it is not powerful enough to lift deeper stains, it leaves the over-all appearance of the material looking cleaner and not too wet, to sit on. A thorough Hot Water Extraction of all carpeting and cloth seats with multiple passes as needed is generally the standard extent of upholstery cleaning for most detail shops. No matter how dirty the carpets and cloth seats are, any amount of Hot Water Extraction will improve their appearance. This is generally enough for vehicles that are 3 or 4 years old, just off-lease or around 100,000 km of regular driving.
Auto Upholstery Shampooing is the most effective method for cleaning carpets and cloth seats, that are heavily soiled or stained. Auto Upholstery Shampooing uses brushes to scrub the surface of carpet and cloth seats to penetrate into the material and lift stains from deep within the material, the cleaning chemicals and stains are then vacuumed up using either a vacuum or a Hot Water Extractor. Most Auto Detailers use a cordless drill with a brush attachment, we however, use a Cyclo-brush system that scrubs the surface of the carpets and cloth seats with a dual action orbital motion that increases dwell time of the cleaner and allows for deeper cleaning. Auto Upholstery Shampooing does unfortunately leave the cloth seats and carpets too wet to immediately use the vehicle, overnight drying or forced air drying is required before the vehicle can go. Detail shops generally charge more for deeply stained or heavily soiled vehicles because they would have to add Auto Upholstery Shampooing and the extra time required for drying, to a detail, that they would have only just Hot Water Extracted or Steam Cleaned. Auto Upholstery Shampooing is the only method that can properly clean heavily soiled vehicles, vehicles over 5 years old that have never been detailed or extremely dirty vehicles.
When you book our Complete Detail, we shampoo your carpets and cloth seats with the very best cleaning and drying system available. We only Auto Upholstery Shampoo, because Auto Upholstery Steam Cleaning or Hot Water Extraction can’t clean deep stains and heavily soiled vehicles as well as Auto Upholstery Shampooing. Importantly, we do not charge extra for heavily soiled upholstery, in fact we specialize in extremely dirty vehicles.
We’re worth the drive to Milton, Ontario. Although we do not offer mobile auto detailing, we have customers from all over the GTA. We have many clients from Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Brampton, Cambridge and Guelph who drive to Milton for our unique service. Customer’s do not have to leave their vehicles with us for the day, it takes exactly 3 hours for our Complete Detail no matter how dirty your vehicle is. Moreover, we completely dry shampooed cloth seats, you can sit on them and drive home, after exactly 3 hours when you book the Complete Detail Importantly, customers come to us from all over the GTA because we specialize in upholstery cleaning and pet hair removal.
