Steam cleaning interiors

I am looking into buying a steam cleaner for cleaning my seats, wheels, etc... Amazon has the McCulloch MC-1275 for around $100. What I do not understand is whether most steam cleaners are vacuum/steam combos or do they just blast steam? If it only blasts steam I don't know how this will do anything but soak my seats. The so called steam cleaners you rent at the supermarket are only good for household rugs. Suggestions? Also steam cleaning your engine is a bad idea (electronics), correct?

A good strong shop vacuum and bottle of Fabreze would likely be the grassroots solution for the interior. Steam cleaning is not that simple, and could leave you with more moisture than you started with, which might lead to mold and mildew, etc.

Wheels are a different thing; it's hard to beat a pressure washer and elbow grease/polish.

remove interior.

take interior to local self serve carwash

clean.

leave interior outside in the hot sun till dry

reinstall.

washing engine bays just takes common sense. I generally use up a bottle of engine degreaser on them first, then blow all that off with the aforementioned pressure washer.

Pull and pressure wash just like was stated above. Works great.

That carpet has almost 100k on it.

I have used rug doctor rentals from the store it works fine but I bet removeing the carpet and blasting it works better.

"steam cleaning" as Stanley steamer and the other hot water extraction (HWE) cleaners use is nothing more then blasting water into the fabric and using suction to pull it out to flush it clean after using a chemical to help brake up the grease or whatever.

with something like car carpet the pressure washer is going to be the best/cheapest way to go... as I recall thats how angryp did his miata car seats... pressure wash on a hot day... let dry... spray again... let dry... could always remove the cover itself and just pressure wash it.

I removed and power washed the tan carpet from my Jeep and i was surprised at ho nice it came out, even after carrying the remains of a blown transfer case in the back. A power washer, a hot day and a clothesline were all that I needed.

I don't think there was any insulation under it, though. If there was, I would have separated it and only done the carpet. I don't think that the insulation would ever dry and it would get moldy.

steam cleaners work great on the big flat surfaces in the car's carpet, but don't work as well on all the little bumps as it is hard to get a good suction to suck the water back out. So what you wind up doing is just wetting the dirt that will eventually dry back in place.

I once had the interior of my aunt's minivan professionally steam cleaned and it smelled like wet dog ever since. Worst part? She didn't have a dog.

Parking a car in direct summer sunlight w/ the windows cracked open will dry out an interior rather quickly. 120+ degree interior temps tend to do that-especially if you remove the front seats.

I'm still a fan of Blue Coral upholstery cleaner and a scrub brush. Scrub it and blot it out w/ a towel. Move to next section. It might not extract anything, but dammit, the carpet looks clean and smells nice. However, I'm not one of those cool autopia.com detailers who uses an extractor and microfiber towels to clean up messes.

I once used my steam cleaner to get the remains of a baked-in chocolate trifle out of the rear footwell of an Accord. Worked like a charm.

Yanking the carpet and seats and pressure washing works best. Just did an Escort that I was planning on a quick vacuum and some cleaning of the plastic, but I still had a few stains that I could not get up even with chemicals, scrubbing and vacuum. Hanging the carpet over a sawhorse I sprayed with a garden hose before spraying with a cleaner and scrubbing.

I was amazed at the volume of sand and dirt that washed out....I had dunes on the driveway!!

I have had a tan interior reveal a blue interior once I started cleaning....and it smells better too!

Bruce

er forgot to add...

the McCulloch MC-1275 you are looking at using REAL steam to clean... I know they really loosen up the grease and stuff from the fiber with no need for chemicals... also will do great things with tile and grout (although it'll take forever)... it doesn't extract like the HWE will... but it will extract a little using the microfiber or cotton cloth that comes with it... never used one but I know a few guys who used them for certain things when doing carpet cleaning...