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Date:         Mon, 18 Aug 2003 03:48:16 EDT
Reply-To:     THX0001@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         George Goff <THX0001@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Update on upholstery problem...
Comments: To: jjmojo@SUSCOM.NET
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

In a message dated 8/13/03 9:29:17 PM, jjmojo@SUSCOM.NET writes:

<< Well, I decided to try using just water with a little Dawn soap and a

brush. No luck...now my seat looks like someone spilled coffee all over

it....The more water I put on it...the more "Brown" juice that comes

out. I think it's the foam underneath that is making the seats turn

brown. Anyone else ever had this problem...the exact same problem?. . .

. . . Any thoughts? >>

Jesse,

Stop worrying about the foam dissolving. The brown color is caused by dirt which has yet to be rinsed away. The dirt which has floated to the surface may also have a lot of cigarette tar in it. As I have said before on this list, in cleaning a car's upholstery the rinsing is more important than the washing. I have cleaned seats with the covers in place and with them removed. Both require a thorough scrub with detergent and much rinsing with prodigious amounts of water. One solution I used was a home-brew of Tide, ammonia and vinegar in water. It worked great. For the last interior which I cleaned, I first scrubbed the material with Castrol Power Clean, then I wash it with a generic powdered detergent. It worked great,too.

I prefer to remove the covers from the seats. It is the only way to rinse them completely and end up with the upholstery looking absolutely like new. Also, with the covers removed, most of the water can be extracted from them by spinning them in a washing machine. Of course, it is a lot more work to remove the covers.

One risk with washing the covers while they are still on the seats is that the rinse will not be as effective. If the seats are not rinse enough, they might look clean but they will have a slight tacky feeling to them. If you leave the covers on the seats, hose them off until you think they are rinsed, them hose them some more. While you are rinsing them, keep kneading the surfaces to help float away the dirt. You will see gallons of brown water run down the drain.

Once rinsed, go over the surfaces with a wet/dry vac several times. One good way to dry the seats is to put them in the van along with a dehumidifier.

Whichever way you go, remember the important thing is to rinse them thoroughly.

George


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