Hi Guys, The carpet in the car I've just bought has some nasty smelly organic stains and I need to go at them with the wet vac real hard. I've looked under the carpet, and it seems water-proof. Obviously there'd be bits cut out for seat bolts, etc, but otherwise it seems water tight. Am I safe to soak the carpet a little more heavily than normal, without fear of water being trapped in the underlay?
Carpet is tough stuff. If possible just pull all the seats out and the carpet and then hit it with the pressure cleaner. Soaking while in the car wont get stains out any more than using a wetvac. Ive hit the inside of a car with the pressure cleaner before now Just watch the elec-tricks (they can be under the seats and carpets too hence soaking can be bad)
The problem with using too much water on the carpeting is that it soaks the insulation underneath and that is difficult to dry. If it does not dry then you get mold growing and that's the last thing you want. If the carpet is really bad (ie someone died in the car and bodily fluids leaked onto the carpet) then you will have to remove it entirely to do the job properly. Let the chemicals do their job. Look up TOGWT's article on carpet cleaning and use the right kind of cleaner for hte first thing. Then use an extractor. Finally put a space heater or some source of heat to dry the carpeting really well. If you can afford a steamer, this will help too.
You are far better off to use quality products and allow them to soak then to soak the carpet. Go over the area as many times as is needed , but don't use too much water. As Richy said, if the underlay gets wet it'll never dry as most carpet is rubber backed and will trap the moisture.
