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Date:         Tue, 25 May 2004 20:02:14 -0700
Reply-To:     Stuart MacMillan <macgroup@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart MacMillan <macgroup@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Cleaning the fuzzy stuff
Comments: To: Scott Mccutcheon <ledogginose@yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To:  <20040525163304.88561.qmail@web90008.mail.scd.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Oh yeah, I forgot to post that!

The trick is you need one of those vacuum "power steamer" carpet cleaning machines with an upholstery attachment. They rent them everywhere now, but I have my own light duty Bissell unit that worked great.

The only way to get the dirt, grease, mildew, etc. out of that deep fuzz is to flood it with enough water and cleaner to loosen the grime and suck it back out. Any other kind of washing I've tried has failed, the stains just got bigger with my attempts at spot cleaning.

I probably went overboard, but I first sprayed Simple Green all over the top and brushed the stains. Wear a genuine organic vapor (paint) respirator if you do this, or the fumes will do you in. Then I used the power steamer with its cleaning solution followed by two rinses with plain water.

I had some water stains around the skylight vent (I also removed the inside frame and mechanism so I could get at all the fuzz), a small amount of mildew along the sides, a couple of greasy stains, and 20 years of accumulated grime. It all came out with only a trace of the worst stains (mildew) still visible. Spraying with a 10% bleach solution instead of using Simple Green might lighten severe mildew stains even more. Others may have suggestions on cleaners, but I'm convinced the key to success is the power steamer.

You also need a warm day (or garage) so the top can dry out!

The results were truly stunning, and you can clean the canvass, your carpets and everything else that's upholstered while you are at it. Not to mention everything in the house...

Have fun!

_____

From: Scott Mccutcheon [mailto:ledogginose@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 9:33 AM To: macgroup@COMCAST.NET Subject: Cleaning the fuzzy stuff

Stuart, can't wait-how did you clean the fuzzy inside of your pop top?

Scott

84' Westy

_____

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