Question about a car valet

gebbel

I'm not happy when valet guys tell me they have to run the car with the heaters on for 2 hours afterwards to dry the seats. Just have a bee in my bonnet about it.

But I'd like the job done as the car needs it.

Is this me being completely irrational?

michael999999

Yes.

gebbel

michael999999 wrote: »

Yes.

So they all require to do that Michael?

michael999999

gebbel wrote: »

So they all require to do that Michael?

Anytime I've seen an interior shampooed they have always had the heating on full blast for a few hours afterwards.

Ded_Zebra

There's no way I would let someone idle my car for hours nor would I do it to any car myself.

I've never had a valet do my seats for me but I have shampooed a number of car interiors. They have all been dry within 24 hours by just parking them with the windows cracked on a dry day. For driving them before they were dry I would have just thrown a plastic bag over the seats.

Mr Detail

I do this for a living and I would never leave a persons car running for that length of time. There is an issue around letting water sit on material for a long period of time for obvious reasons (it will start to smell) but I do not believe there is any need for 2 bloody hours of your car running, especially not this time of year.

Two main problems here I reckon:

One is that the person is just using to much water when its not needed. When you pay extra for a seriously deep interior clean it may be necessary but in these situations the car is usually kept for a couple of days anyway, in which case the seats can be dried out of the car.

secondly is that people are lazy and cut short the amount of passes they do removing excess water. A good vacuum gone over a seat a few times will leave it surprisingly dry, all things considered.

A valeter will not want to give back wet seats because a stain may re-appear when dry.

This is what i do in my business.

This time of year I do the seats as normal, usually finish the car as much as possible outside with windows or doors open. In most those cases the seats are over 90% dry, I give a plastic cover and instructions to crack a window and remove the cover once they are home.

In winter, I do the same as above if possible but in most cases I run a heat gun over the seats for a couple of minutes to aid in drying (not always possible I know) and time consuming which is why others will just run the car.

I ask all customers when the car is dropped off if they need 100% dry seats on collection, if they do I spend a little bit more time making sure they are as dry as possible by vacuum and some heat gun to finish them off.

Steel Dog

Would a dehumidifier not be useful to dry the seats?

mik_da_man

Steel Dog wrote: »

Would a dehumidifier not be useful to dry the seats?

Yes, but would take hours...

vinnie13

Steel Dog wrote: »

Would a dehumidifier not be useful to dry the seats?

i throw one in mine overnight seems to work grand

JAMES VTI S

Two hours is a bit too much i think (saying that diesel engine a s**t for heater while just ideling) , half and hour to an hour with the windows opened just an inch with the seats all the way forward and the back laying flat, heaters pointing to the feet so the hot air goes under - up - and all the moisture goes out the window.

If you don't dry some cleaners ASAP they will smell of cat pee pee, according to the company anyway.

Mr Detail

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

Two hours is a bit too much i think (saying that diesel engine a s**t for heater while just ideling) , half and hour to an hour with the windows opened just an inch with the seats all the way forward and the back laying flat, heaters pointing to the feet so the hot air goes under - up - and all the moisture goes out the window.

If you don't dry some cleaners ASAP they will smell of cat pee pee, according to the company anyway.

I avoid most apc on fabric for this reason. Ha ha. Have had some seriously stink car mats in particular after letting it dwell and dry on there.

antodeco

Can anyone recommend a good valeter in Dublin?

JAMES VTI S

http://eliteautoclean.com/ (Ian is sound as a pound)
http://www.flawless.ie/

To name a few, I could go on.

uck51js9zml2yt

Got my car dine by the guys in the square multistorey car park last week. Took 5 hours but they did a great job.
The name eludes me at the minute

Mr Detail

Elite auto clean if you want the best in my opinion.