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Help removing excessive filth from upholstery


ansonivan
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I picked up a tow vehicle this week, a 1997 e150 with 178k on the clock and an interior positively caked with food/drink remnants. Google suggests soda water/brush/water blotting rinse for removing soda stains from fabric. Ditching all of the affected panels would probably be the best approach but I would like to keep them for sound deadening.

 

Any ideas appreciated.

 

What I'm up against:

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1286/4603218607_803d345dbb_b.jpg

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/4604872939_737a39f4a2_b.jpg

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1217/4604876645_13067bd8c1_b.jpg

 

 

The best part of the van right now; Hula Pig :)

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1078/4605483148_a20b0e48d1_b.jpg

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I'm not so sure you're just looking at soda stains, there, Anson. Where the drinks splashed you may have the drink stain and then have some mold/mildew stains as well. The professional detailers here will prolly have some good advice for you.

 

For what it's worth, my approach would be to try spot and stain remover specific to the type of fabric you're working on, then friction shampoo the area, then use an extractor to get out the dirt/shampoo residue. It's going to take a lot of time and effort, and I wouldn't try to short-cut the drying time either.

 

Whatever you decide to do, if when you're done there's still a lot of odor, I've got an industrial-strength ozone generator you can use at my garage.

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I tried fire already, the flames wanted nothing to do with beast van. :)

 

Bedliner might come into play on this project, I could ditch every scrap of fabric and go to town with the delightful textured coating. It would do a decent job of keeping noise down with the bonus of being pressure washable.

 

It does smell like death so anything is possible.

 

Doc, I'll almost certainly take you up on the ozone offer once the machine is reasonably clean and drivable.

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Oxi-clean, woolite & water are your friends here. Mix up and soak the area. Let sir for 5 or so minutes, apply more and start aggitating with a brush.

 

Finally wet with Hot Hot water (hotter than you can getout of a tap if possible) and vacuum the as much of everything up.

 

Repeat whole process as needed. That door could take a few tries

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Get a can of spotshot, soak it down let it sit for 1/2 an hour, then soak it again, and shopvac it out. I bought a truck that under the cup holders had the worst coffee stains I had ever seen, I did this twice, and you couldn't tell there was ever coffee spilt there.
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  • 1 month later...
The material on the doors cup holder is the same as headliner material. Buy you a piece and a can of spray adhesive and just replace, dont bother cleaning it because the foam backing is shot(I guarantee it). The seat covers can be taken off and thrown in the washer and put back on(they are super easy but may require hog rings to put back on. I have the pliers if you buy the rings). Everything else I would mix up some good cleaner and run through a little green clean machine, soak and suck out.
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I ended up pulling all the seats and carpet, I tossed the carpet since it was beyond help. I used a combination of oxi clean (not very effective) and knock out (aka purple power/any strong alkaline detergent) to clean the remaining trim.

 

Stink was greatly reduced but not eliminated. On advice from my wife I filled a spray bottle with 100% vinegar and completely soaked the interior from the headliner down. Stink is now 99% gone.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4647239791_1b7919fc95_b.jpg

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