3D Upholstery & Carpet Shampoo

The science behind why you want a high foaming upholstery and carpet shampoo

One of the reasons everyone enjoys buying a brand-new car is because it’s new, meaning the outside is clean and shiny and even more noticeable - the inside is so clean and sterile. No one else has soiled the seats, the arm rests, the steering wheel, the center console, or the carpets. Part of the reason the inside of a brand-new car feels luxurious is because it’s so fresh and clean. It’s a universal phenomenon that people from all walks of life, describe a new car as having that new car smell. And this is because – everything is still spic-and-span clean, kind of like an operating room in a hospital – everything looks and smells surgically clean. 

It’s this clean factor, this overpowering perception that the inside of a new car is 100% completely clean and germ-free that makes getting into a new car so inviting, so welcoming. You want to get inside of a brand-new car because you know it’s so clean.

Sad news is, we can’t all simply go down to the dealership and buy a new car just because the inside of our current car loses that new car smell and starts to show signs of normal, day-in, day-out wear-n-tear.

What we can do is clean it. And the parts or areas of a car that get the dirtiest are any part or area that is made from some type of fabric, upholstery, or carpeting. Cleaning fabric, upholstery or carpeting is challenging because unlike smooth hard surfaces, where the dirt and grime is sitting on the surface and easy to wipe-off, with fabric, upholstery or carpeting, the dirt and grime can be both on the material and in the material. 

Another difficult aspect of cleaning fabric, upholstery or carpeting is once any liquids penetrate past the outer surface, or get behind or under the surface of the material being cleaned – how do you then remove any excess moisture? You need to remove any liquids or moisture, or this can lead to the formation of mold and mildew where you cannot see it or reach it to clean it.

This is why we made 3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Shampoo to be a high foaming cleaner. Foam is basically suds or bubbles. Bubbles are the product (a liquid) enveloped around pockets of air and it is these foam bubbles that sit on TOP of the surface where you want them so you can work them against the surface of the material and then wipe-off the residues.

This simple foam structure of the cleaner helps you to effectively clean the material while avoiding getting too much liquid into whatever is behind the surface of the fabric, upholstery, or carpeting.

In the case of cloth seats, there is foam cushioning under the top layer of fabric. Foam absorbs liquids. If you put a straight liquid cleaner on to the surface of a cloth-covered foam seat, a lot of the liquid will saturate past the cloth surface and go into the foam. Now the problem becomes, how can you get this liquid it out? Unremoved liquids are what can lead to mold and mildew issues inside your car’s seats. This same principal applies to carpets and even cloth-covered door panels, arm rests or center consoles.

When it comes to cleaning any type of fabric by hand – you want a high foaming cleaner so the cleaner will sit on the top surface. And that’s the science behind 3D’s high foaming Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner.

Besides the high foaming feature, 3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner uses 3D’s green technology to create a wide-spectrum cleaner that can tackle just about any dirt, grime, or stain that’s common to car interiors. This wide-spectrum cleaner also includes a proprietary bacterial enzyme, which completely eliminates foul odors, not just mask them over cover them up. 

And to really add some zing to the clean, we included what are known in chemistry jargon optical brighteners. These optical brighteners working with the cleaners, restore a crisp, richness-of-color to the pigments and dyes used to give your car it’s unique color scheme. 

And 3D’s chemists didn’t stop there, they also made sure this product leaves a residue-free surface to avoid future dirt build-up. 

If you want your car’s interior to look, feel and smell like a brand-new car, use 3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner to hand-clean any cloth, fabric, carpet, or upholstery. You can even use it to wipe down hard, non-absorbing surfaces like vinyl and modern coated leather.

3D on the outside of the bottle means you can trust the product on the inside of the bottle.

What is it? - Foaming upholstery, fabric, and carpet cleaner

What does it do? - Cleans carpet, fabrics, and upholstery by removing ground-in dirt, grime, food stains, liquid spills, pet stains, cosmetic stains, skin lotions stains and body oils.

When do you use it? - After first thoroughly vacuuming and removing any loose dirt and debris out of weave of fabrics, carpeting and textiles.

Why use 3D Upholstery & Carpet Shampoo over other options? - This high foaming carpet and upholstery cleaner keeps the cleaning foam on the surface where you want it, not simply soaking and saturating into and under the surface where you don’t want it. Powerful cleaning agents, optical brighteners, and bacterial enzyme odor eliminators clean while restoring a factory new bright appearance with a residue-free, fresh lemon scent.

Diluting 3D Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner

3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner is sold as a concentrate. Before using this product, you must dilute it. The dilution ratio for general cleaning is a ratio of 1:16 – or 1 part concentrate to 16 parts water. The number 16 in the expressed ratio is the ratio number.

Dilution Formula

When using U.S. Standard ounces as our unit of measure, a dilution formula is expressed like this, Final volume divided by ratio number = ounces to add to final volume container.

Dilution for a 32-ounce spray bottle

To figure out a dilution level to make a 32-ounce bottle of ready-to-use product, here’s the formula. 32 divided by ratio number = number of ounces to add to 32-ounce bottle. To correctly mix 3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner at a ratio of 1:16 the equation would look like this, 32 divided by 16 = 2 ounces per 32-ounce bottle.

Dilution for a 1-gallon jug

Using the same above formula, only substituting 128 ounces for 32 ounces but still using 16 as the ratio number, the dilution equation would look like this, 1-gallon = 128 ounces. 128 divided by ratio number = ounces per gallon.

To correctly mix 3D’s Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner at a ratio of 1:16 the equation would look like this, 128 divided by 16 = 8 ounces per gallon.

In simple terms, using a clean, 1-gallon mixing container, you add 8 ounces of upholstery & carpet cleaner concentrate and then fill the rest of the container with clean water and mix thoroughly. This will make 1-gallon of ready-to-use upholstery & carpet cleaner at a 1:16 dilution ratio.

Next you will want to pour this mixture into a clean spray bottle. To create a thick foam, you’ll also want a foaming spray head. A normal spray head will not work as well as a foaming spray head.

• High foaming formula stays on top of surface – less saturation under surface.
• 3D’s proprietary bacterial enzymes completely eliminate foul odors. 
• Optical brighteners restore and enhance original colors.
• Cleans and removes dirt, grime, drink spills, food stains, body oils, pet stains, etc.
• Safe for all fabrics, upholstery, and carpets – even vinyl and coated leather.
• Concentrated formula – One 16-ounce bottle makes 2 gallons of RTU product
• Customer pleasing, fresh lemon scent leaves zero residues behind.
• Hypo allergenic – won’t cause allergic reactions – formulated for use by hand.
• 3D’s Green Earth Technology – Biodegradable, Prop 65 and V.O.C. compliant.

IMPORTANT: Always work on a cool surface in the shade.

Professional Technique Tip – Dry Extraction - Always start by vacuuming any upholstery or carpet to be cleaned. This is called dry extraction. The idea is to remove as much of any loose dirt possible by lifting it out of or off of the surface. By removing dry, loose dirt first – you don’t risk liquefying this dirt with your spray liquid cleaner and then having to remove it. It’s easier, faster, and more effective to remove loose dirt via air extraction or even via blowing out the fabric, carpet, or upholstery with compressed air than it is to remove it once it’s wet.

Step 1: After vacuuming, spray 3D Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner directly onto surface to be cleaned and immediately scrub the surface with a horsehair or textile brush. 

Step 2: Use a clean, absorbent cotton terrycloth towel or absorbent microfiber towel and wipe and blot the cleaner and any emulsified dirt off of and/or out of the surface. Repeat this step switching to a fresh, dry towel often to absorb and remove as much residue as possible.

Step 3: Re-vacuum surface to lift out any remaining residues and then give the surface a final wipe with a dry towel.

Step 4: After all interior surfaces have been cleaned, wiped and/or blotted dry, place an air mover, or fan inside car and turn to the highest setting. Roll windows down about 1 inch so the air mover or fan can circulate air in and out of the car to evaporate and remove any remaining moisture. Run fan for at least one hour in normal ambient temperatures and humidity. Longer for colder, moist climates.