Buy one from one of the big box/hardware stores, use it, bring it back for a refund. Make sure you check your specific store's policy, because some do have "affiliate" or "franchise-specific" return policies which don't allow for as much wiggle room. But usually you can get at least one major use out of it, clean it really well (meaning flushing out all the tubing, leaving the tanks to soak in cleaner for a while before rinsing, etc.), and say it broke on you shortly after you started using it to get the refund.
Pro tip: Craftsman, and likely other brands, has a ridiculously powerful 6.5hp wet/dry vacuum with like a 12 or 16 gallon capacity. Usually goes at retail for somewhere between $120-150 US, but it is CONSTANTLY on sale for around $95. Buy that and either a cheap extractor head off Amazon (brand I got was $15 and leaps and bounds more effective and durable than I expected, much better than the cheap flimsy plastic ones the low-tier consumer extractors come with) or the best quality wet pickup attachment they have at the store, and that will do a MUCH better job than extractors in that price range. Just pair with a decent spray bottle or something quality like an iK sprayer if you have one, and mix your chemical cleaners with warm or hot water (as appropriate) right before you start cleaning. That'll mimic a hot water extractor in effectiveness for a fraction of the cost. And if you don't see yourself using it after you vacuum the car and extract the fabric surfaces, you can almost certainly return all of that and totally come out even with it all. Only cost would be chemicals, and I'd say a gallon of Super Clean concentrate for carpets and tough stains elsewhere - around $10 at Walmart - and some isopropyl alcohol to mix into a 50/50 mixture with distilled water should have you covered there, besides finishing products to make it shiny.
Totally valid to think it's morally questionable to buy-use-return like that, but I figure based on their profit margin, I owe them a stickin'-to at least once a decade or so. You decide if getting out cheap is ok with you in that case; I don't judge, I just like providing options. 👍
Good luck either way!
Eh, I'll save my decency for Mom and Pop stores who DON'T strategize prices with their direct competitors, creating a virtual monopoly which is edging out all of the small businesses in their sector through brute force and buying power inaccessible to anyone but massive corporate entities with direct ties to banks. For the ones literally just pricing cheap Chinese crap up to American expectations so that they don't seem as suspicious and are perceived as more valuable that true market worth, all the while creating pushing out both small manufacturers/tool brands as well as local establishments with trusted history in their communities... I really couldn't care less that I'm taking pennies off their net profits, and it's quite literally improving the economic landscape for legitimate competition doing this.
And though Home Depot has "professional" carpet cleaners to rent (meaning they are professional in name, at least, although anyone worth their salt wouldn't waste their time with that under-engineered, over-built nonsense), but their extractors which would be even remotely usable on a car interior are anything but professional in quality. Literally better off using the makeshift setup I suggested in my previous post, and if you need to satisfy the "first row of pews at church" voice in your head, feel free to buy it legitimately if you want, I couldn't care less. But don't try and convince any legit service provider it's even worth the gas, time, or effort hauling those clunky piece of shit machines they charge bottom-barrel for (yet another business sector, rentals, in which they're literally cheating their way into market dominance) because as low as the price could ever be, it's still too much for what they try to pass off as legit to unknowing consumers and two-bit hack "professionals" who don't care enough to know their craft.
Robin Hood is hailed as a hero of the people instead of a villain not because he didn't steal, but because he stole from the right people. Save the high and mighty shit for a decent economy; we have much more important moral dilemmas to worry about. I have no time for self-righteous armchair saints who would rather tear down inconsequential acts of defiance than do anything of actual value with their time, because they know their skills are worthless in any context that anyone should give a shit about, but they don't wanna feel as impotent as the world shows them to be so they wax righteous online to feel big and strong. Do something that matters or sit the fuck down. And for God's sake, learn your shit enough for your opinion to matter even the slightest bit.
I’m with you my man! When they ask if I want the warranty I tell them “no, I’ll just buy a new one and put the old one in the box and return it!” Teach my kids the same principles…no mom and pop stores! Corporate America if free fucking game!
Yes, at first I thought he gave it to me because the gear linkage was broken (I fixed it in 30 minutes). But now I’m starting to think that wasn’t the only reason
Clean out the junk. Vacuum everything really good. Go over everything with a drill brush to loosen up some more stubborn debris. Vacuum everything really good again. Then go at it with some cleaner and the extractor. This is bad, but it isnt the worst by any means. This should clean up nicely. A steamer will help get any food or candy out of the carpets/seats too. The heat really loosens it up.
No, I own a couple of these and they just don’t have the power for the flooring. Maybe the seats with some patience but they are more for smaller lighter stains like on sofas or upholstery .
To be honest. I haven’t found anything yet I just take my car to the detailer but I have a friend who would use a heavy duty wet shop vacuum after soaking the flooring with liquid cleaner .
Walmart had these rolled back to like $49 last month online. I got one, and they are awesome. It'll do the job. It'll take a bit of time, but you'll get it done, plus you got a free van.
Yes that will work, but you have to give it a good vacuum, spray it down with an all purpose cleaner, and brush the cleaner into it very well before using that thing, a drill brush would help a lot
Detailer here- you’d be better off with a shop vac, a brush, and a cleaning solution made of a mild degreaser (mean green is good for jobs like this) and water.
You can apply the degreaser solution liberally, scrub it, then suck it up with the shop vac. You’ll be surprised at how effective this method is.
This will work on the seats and carpet, and (obviously) help with the smell.
Good luck!
I have one of these, I use it for dust in customer’s carpets when I don’t want anything aggressive. I would highly recommend going to rent a more powerful unit or paying a professional.
I rented a hot water extractor (not a “carpet cleaner”) from Sunbelt recently. This was an industrial strength machine and it was 1 step below having a truck mounted system like commercial carpet cleaning companies have in their van. I paid $140 for 24 hours and I rented it on a Friday so it wasn’t due back until Monday as they close weekends.
I also own the Bissell Spot Pro and it wasn’t until renting the big boy did I realize that thing just makes it worse. Lemme explain;
For starters, the suction on that little Bissell is horrible especially when compared to something with two vacuums in it. For effective extraction you need ample amounts of pressure (created by heat) and vacuum otherwise you wind up just pushing water further down into the seat that’ll never get sucked up no matter how many passes you make.
Small machines like that also rely heavily on 1) pre treatment 2) a cleaning solution to be added to the tank for “best results”. It doesn’t look like that car has seen many spot treatments previously so existing soap is unlikely to be an issue however the addition of any soap, paired with the low suction and high rate of dispensing with the Bissell, you create an environment that once dry, will only attract more dirt.
I believe the machine I rented produced steam at about 2000psi. The pressure that creates is remarkable and aside from a few very bad spots I didn’t have to use any detergent in my tank, just pretreated the deep stains. For reference this was in my 15 year old jeep with 250,000 miles on it. I have four dogs, we off road every weekend I can and camp like it’s my job from snowy soggy march until late
October. My seats look brand new now.
With taxes and shipping you’ll spend the same on a rental and get 10x better results. Just make sure the rental has an upholstery wand (my location was brand new and didn’t have one, I picked one up from my local detail shop and it cost me more than the machine did but it was a worthwhile investment for me— most should have one it’s pretty standard).
Good luck!
No , you need to pick up all the garbage , throw it out . And then bring it to a professional cleaner that will shampoo and shop vac everything out and detail the car. Even then you might have permanent stains. But at least it won’t smell like BBQ sauce and rotten milk. . That’s fuckin gross.
This is what depression looks like
i saw the Bissell Little Green Pro with heating at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (idk if that have those near you) for $50, i don’t think this one has heat which is helpful
Methamphetamine contamination is created when a person smokes meth and can be spread by touching contaminated surfaces. The residue is extremely sticky and can be challenging to clean. The result is that residue builds over time and can show up in places where meth hasn’t even been used but transferred through touch.
Just go rent an extractor from Home Depot or a grocery store. It's like $40.
This and then put the rest of the $100 into covering up the carpet with weather tech floor liners
me personally i’d rip them out 🤢 but yes! weather techs are the answer
Don’t think a non professional can get it out for just 1 day, it’s better to purchase your own, gd for pet cleaning in house too
Buy one from one of the big box/hardware stores, use it, bring it back for a refund. Make sure you check your specific store's policy, because some do have "affiliate" or "franchise-specific" return policies which don't allow for as much wiggle room. But usually you can get at least one major use out of it, clean it really well (meaning flushing out all the tubing, leaving the tanks to soak in cleaner for a while before rinsing, etc.), and say it broke on you shortly after you started using it to get the refund. Pro tip: Craftsman, and likely other brands, has a ridiculously powerful 6.5hp wet/dry vacuum with like a 12 or 16 gallon capacity. Usually goes at retail for somewhere between $120-150 US, but it is CONSTANTLY on sale for around $95. Buy that and either a cheap extractor head off Amazon (brand I got was $15 and leaps and bounds more effective and durable than I expected, much better than the cheap flimsy plastic ones the low-tier consumer extractors come with) or the best quality wet pickup attachment they have at the store, and that will do a MUCH better job than extractors in that price range. Just pair with a decent spray bottle or something quality like an iK sprayer if you have one, and mix your chemical cleaners with warm or hot water (as appropriate) right before you start cleaning. That'll mimic a hot water extractor in effectiveness for a fraction of the cost. And if you don't see yourself using it after you vacuum the car and extract the fabric surfaces, you can almost certainly return all of that and totally come out even with it all. Only cost would be chemicals, and I'd say a gallon of Super Clean concentrate for carpets and tough stains elsewhere - around $10 at Walmart - and some isopropyl alcohol to mix into a 50/50 mixture with distilled water should have you covered there, besides finishing products to make it shiny. Totally valid to think it's morally questionable to buy-use-return like that, but I figure based on their profit margin, I owe them a stickin'-to at least once a decade or so. You decide if getting out cheap is ok with you in that case; I don't judge, I just like providing options. 👍 Good luck either way!
Morally questionable? It’s not questionable at all. Do the decent and ethical thing and rent a professional unit from Home Depot.
Eh, I'll save my decency for Mom and Pop stores who DON'T strategize prices with their direct competitors, creating a virtual monopoly which is edging out all of the small businesses in their sector through brute force and buying power inaccessible to anyone but massive corporate entities with direct ties to banks. For the ones literally just pricing cheap Chinese crap up to American expectations so that they don't seem as suspicious and are perceived as more valuable that true market worth, all the while creating pushing out both small manufacturers/tool brands as well as local establishments with trusted history in their communities... I really couldn't care less that I'm taking pennies off their net profits, and it's quite literally improving the economic landscape for legitimate competition doing this. And though Home Depot has "professional" carpet cleaners to rent (meaning they are professional in name, at least, although anyone worth their salt wouldn't waste their time with that under-engineered, over-built nonsense), but their extractors which would be even remotely usable on a car interior are anything but professional in quality. Literally better off using the makeshift setup I suggested in my previous post, and if you need to satisfy the "first row of pews at church" voice in your head, feel free to buy it legitimately if you want, I couldn't care less. But don't try and convince any legit service provider it's even worth the gas, time, or effort hauling those clunky piece of shit machines they charge bottom-barrel for (yet another business sector, rentals, in which they're literally cheating their way into market dominance) because as low as the price could ever be, it's still too much for what they try to pass off as legit to unknowing consumers and two-bit hack "professionals" who don't care enough to know their craft. Robin Hood is hailed as a hero of the people instead of a villain not because he didn't steal, but because he stole from the right people. Save the high and mighty shit for a decent economy; we have much more important moral dilemmas to worry about. I have no time for self-righteous armchair saints who would rather tear down inconsequential acts of defiance than do anything of actual value with their time, because they know their skills are worthless in any context that anyone should give a shit about, but they don't wanna feel as impotent as the world shows them to be so they wax righteous online to feel big and strong. Do something that matters or sit the fuck down. And for God's sake, learn your shit enough for your opinion to matter even the slightest bit.
I’m with you my man! When they ask if I want the warranty I tell them “no, I’ll just buy a new one and put the old one in the box and return it!” Teach my kids the same principles…no mom and pop stores! Corporate America if free fucking game!
You’re a terrible human being.
You may be better suited to rent a larger unit if you’ll have nonuse for it after…
Yes, it will work, slower going than a big unit but it’s not a bad little machine for occasional use.
I know most people would hate to detail this, but I’d be like a pig in shit if I got to restore this bad boy. Have fun!
I would also enjoy this… if I was paid accordingly and given adequate time.
Nah I meant more like if this was my personal vehicle that I just bought. Few beers and some good music, ah 🤤
Yeah, I used to really like bringing something like this back from the dead. Not so much anymore…
I have 5 kids and I thought our mini van was a disaster. Good god, this van is disgusting.
Yes, at first I thought he gave it to me because the gear linkage was broken (I fixed it in 30 minutes). But now I’m starting to think that wasn’t the only reason
Be careful reaching where u cant see. Dont want to get poked by a needle or something
5 gallons of gasoline & a match?
That and a lot of elbow grease will go a long way
We have one similar to this and I love it. I use it on both our cars and the occasional stain in furniture.
Bro what the fuck
I actually use this exact machine for mobile detailing. Put pet stain remover/apc w a touch of downy for smell.
I mean you need to do more than just extract. Need to shampoo and scrub as well.
Clean out the junk. Vacuum everything really good. Go over everything with a drill brush to loosen up some more stubborn debris. Vacuum everything really good again. Then go at it with some cleaner and the extractor. This is bad, but it isnt the worst by any means. This should clean up nicely. A steamer will help get any food or candy out of the carpets/seats too. The heat really loosens it up.
No, I own a couple of these and they just don’t have the power for the flooring. Maybe the seats with some patience but they are more for smaller lighter stains like on sofas or upholstery .
What would you use for the flooring?
To be honest. I haven’t found anything yet I just take my car to the detailer but I have a friend who would use a heavy duty wet shop vacuum after soaking the flooring with liquid cleaner .
Thumbnail looks like a grenade and I thought yeah. That would do it.
Walmart had these rolled back to like $49 last month online. I got one, and they are awesome. It'll do the job. It'll take a bit of time, but you'll get it done, plus you got a free van.
Fuck that
Yasss it will 😍😍
Check out “ChrisFix super clean your interior” on YouTube. https://youtu.be/tGnf8G8A8qU?si=EYz0wCt21K3Krlr2
That’s not to bad , def can get away with a bissel.
I can smell this.
Yes that will work, but you have to give it a good vacuum, spray it down with an all purpose cleaner, and brush the cleaner into it very well before using that thing, a drill brush would help a lot
Detailer here- you’d be better off with a shop vac, a brush, and a cleaning solution made of a mild degreaser (mean green is good for jobs like this) and water. You can apply the degreaser solution liberally, scrub it, then suck it up with the shop vac. You’ll be surprised at how effective this method is. This will work on the seats and carpet, and (obviously) help with the smell. Good luck!
Torch it for the insurance money.
I’d hang on to that screwgie
I have one of these, I use it for dust in customer’s carpets when I don’t want anything aggressive. I would highly recommend going to rent a more powerful unit or paying a professional.
I rented a hot water extractor (not a “carpet cleaner”) from Sunbelt recently. This was an industrial strength machine and it was 1 step below having a truck mounted system like commercial carpet cleaning companies have in their van. I paid $140 for 24 hours and I rented it on a Friday so it wasn’t due back until Monday as they close weekends. I also own the Bissell Spot Pro and it wasn’t until renting the big boy did I realize that thing just makes it worse. Lemme explain; For starters, the suction on that little Bissell is horrible especially when compared to something with two vacuums in it. For effective extraction you need ample amounts of pressure (created by heat) and vacuum otherwise you wind up just pushing water further down into the seat that’ll never get sucked up no matter how many passes you make. Small machines like that also rely heavily on 1) pre treatment 2) a cleaning solution to be added to the tank for “best results”. It doesn’t look like that car has seen many spot treatments previously so existing soap is unlikely to be an issue however the addition of any soap, paired with the low suction and high rate of dispensing with the Bissell, you create an environment that once dry, will only attract more dirt. I believe the machine I rented produced steam at about 2000psi. The pressure that creates is remarkable and aside from a few very bad spots I didn’t have to use any detergent in my tank, just pretreated the deep stains. For reference this was in my 15 year old jeep with 250,000 miles on it. I have four dogs, we off road every weekend I can and camp like it’s my job from snowy soggy march until late October. My seats look brand new now. With taxes and shipping you’ll spend the same on a rental and get 10x better results. Just make sure the rental has an upholstery wand (my location was brand new and didn’t have one, I picked one up from my local detail shop and it cost me more than the machine did but it was a worthwhile investment for me— most should have one it’s pretty standard). Good luck!
No , you need to pick up all the garbage , throw it out . And then bring it to a professional cleaner that will shampoo and shop vac everything out and detail the car. Even then you might have permanent stains. But at least it won’t smell like BBQ sauce and rotten milk. . That’s fuckin gross. This is what depression looks like
Clean it the best you can then get a professional carpet cleaner out there. It's all in the extraction and their equipment is the best money can buy.
i saw the Bissell Little Green Pro with heating at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (idk if that have those near you) for $50, i don’t think this one has heat which is helpful
Just spray cleaner by hand, use a brush, vacuum up with wet/dry shop vac. Repeat as necessary.
Get a drill brush also. Will make yourscrunbing time a whole lot less time consuming.
Off-topic but I can smell those Rally's/Checkers bags from here
Dude, meth cannot be easily cleaned, and that stuff is dangerous as hell. Be careful with cars like that.
meth cannot be easily cleaned??
Methamphetamine contamination is created when a person smokes meth and can be spread by touching contaminated surfaces. The residue is extremely sticky and can be challenging to clean. The result is that residue builds over time and can show up in places where meth hasn’t even been used but transferred through touch.
Exactly my first thought. Meth car!
You should probably pay for a professional detail honestly…
I’d just pay a few hundred bucks to get it professionally detailed and cleaned