Richy's Review: Mytee Lite II 8070 Extractor

[richy]

For years I have made it by with using my Gaia steamer when I have needed to extract something. It is a better steamer than it is an extractor. The pump died and now I had nothing and was in the market for an extractor. I wanted a heated one and the inches of lift were very important to me just like they were when I bought my Powr Flite PF51 wet vac.

My search started at Autogeek and I compared many different makes and models from a bunch of different sites. Ironically and sadly, AG had the Mytee Lite incorrectly listed at 85" of lift I think if I recall correctly. My PF51 has more than that so I didn't give it a 2nd look. I was starting to get confused looking at so many. I then hit upon the Mytee Lite II on a different site and it was listed as 130" of lift which is quite impressive! I forgot AG had the same unit listed with a lower value. After some negotiation with the owner of the other site, I was the proud owner of the Mytee Lite II extractor.

Here is a link for it after being corrected (I actually called Nick and told him) by AG:

Mytee Lite II 8070 Hot Water Carpet Extractor, carpet cleaning machine, hot water carpet cleaner


I didn't want to spend that much but when I compared everything it really seemed like the logical thing to do. Besides, my wife had recently paid Sears to do a carpet cleaning of some of our rooms and I wasn't really impressed, not to mention they left the carpeting fairly wet.

The one thing that people complained about was burning their hand on the connection fittings. I racked my brain about that and came up with a $0.89 solution that I'll share in a moment.


The first run for it was to do my stairs leading down into the basement. I didn't shoot any before shots but I deliberately stopped 1/2 through a step and did not finish the bottom section to show the before and after difference.

My thoughts on using the machine:

Easy about sums it up. Do the switches in the right order, and purge the lines of cool water and you get instantly very hot water. The suction was amazing. I don't think the 130" is an embellishment. The carpeting sure felt dryer than it did after Sears was finished, I'll tell you that!

My method: I used straight water in the tank and shot the stairs with some extractor carpet cleaning solution I have had for years (I bought a 5 gal pail of it years ago). I did not even agitate the area. I just extracted it up after letting it dwell for about 5 minutes. I added some vinegar to the recovery tank. There was no foam in there at all which is also a factor of using the proper soap. (The soap is from Roto Stat which is another carpet cleaning company). I didn't think I was going to write a review so I didn't do the mandatory dirty-water-in-the-bucket shot but I showed it to my girls who both said "EWWWWWWWWWWWWW".

My 89 cent solution for the fitting? I bought a foam sleeve you use for hot water pipes in your house and cut it to fit. Here it is:







Here are the stairs all done:




Check out the 50/50 shot on the stair and observe the dirty carpeting below:




A close up 50/50:






So, yes, it was a fairly substantial investment but I definitely believe it's worth it. No more paying Sears for a job that I can do better and will end up with dryer carpeting than what they leave behind. I am very impressed with this machine so far.

[Setec Astronomy]

Great tip for the hot fitting, Richy! Interested to hear how this machine holds up for you since there have been lots of users who have had problems.

[richy]

Great tip for the hot fitting, Richy! Interested to hear how this machine holds up for you since there have been lots of users who have had problems.

Thanks. Yes, I hear you on that. I read many many threads about the service issue. It seems either they're a lemon or excellent. The feedback seems to be at one extreme or another. I've read what to do to upkeep the machine and hopefully it will be enough to keep mine in good working order.

[Setec Astronomy]

It seems either they're a lemon or excellent. The feedback seems to be at one extreme or another.

Yeah, like a lot of internet reviews, but in this case it's kept me from pulling the trigger on one of these, that and what you said about the spec confusion and also how it's a "secret" that this machine needs a 20-amp circuit to operate, and they recommend a NON-ground fault outlet, which seems pretty inadvisable with something that sprays water at 120 psi.

[Dr_Pain]

Richy, your "fix" for the brass connector is genius! Why did I not think of that. If I would have, I would not have burned myself a few times (as in a half dozen time).

I LOVE my Mytee Lite 8070 and have had NO ISSUES what so ever! I do run it from a 20A GFI circuit and haven't seen any issues either!

[richy]

Richy, your "fix" for the brass connector is genius! Why did I not think of that. If I would have, I would not have burned myself a few times (as in a half dozen time).

I LOVE my Mytee Lite 8070 and have had NO ISSUES what so ever! I do run it from a 20A GFI circuit and haven't seen any issues either!

Thanks Claude. I was thinking about what people were saying about burning their hands as it was being shipped to me and thought that the sleeve would be worthy of a try. For such a cheap fix, it works well!

[BobbyG]

Hey Richy,

Nice review on the extractor!

I see we had very similar results and our conclusions were nearly the same.

I like the 50/50 shots and that heat protection was a brilliant idea!

I do agree with you that some of the complaints regarding the machine are due to either misuse and lack of general care and maintenance.

My garage is not heated so when the outside temp drops to zero or below, freezing does become a concern and I'm hoping someone from Autogeek or Mytee chimes in with a thumbs up or down on my idea for protection.

I pasted it below for additional viewing, hope you don't mind...


Winterize

• For those of us that live in the fringed North and need to store the unit until spring how should this unit be properly prepared?
• My thought is pouring in a gallon or so of RV waterline non-toxic antifreeze. Turn on the pump and cycle it through the spray nozzle completely flushing out any water that might remain in the system, especially the pump.
• I don't feel the heater needs to be on when flushing this fluid through the system.

I'm not sure whether this method of protection of permissible but it seems like a logical way to ensure adequate protection.

I'm hoping someone can comment on my protection method above.....

[richy]

Hey Richy,

Nice review on the extractor!

I see we had very similar results and our conclusions were nearly the same.

I like the 50/50 shots and that heat protection was a brilliant idea!

I do agree with you that some of the complaints regarding the machine are due to either misuse and lack of general care and maintenance.

My garage is not heated so when the outside temp drops to zero or below, freezing does become a concern and I'm hoping someone from Autogeek or Mytee chimes in with a thumbs up or down on my idea for protection.

I pasted it below for additional viewing, hope you don't mind...


Winterize

• For those of us that live in the fringed North and need to store the unit until spring how should this unit be properly prepared?
• My thought is pouring in a gallon or so of RV waterline non-toxic antifreeze. Turn on the pump and cycle it through the spray nozzle completely flushing out any water that might remain in the system, especially the pump.
• I don't feel the heater needs to be on when flushing this fluid through the system.

I'm not sure whether this method of protection of permissible but it seems like a logical way to ensure adequate protection.

I'm hoping someone can comment on my protection method above.....

Don't mind at all and in fact I think it's good advice. I remember reading on here somewhere that someone had left it in the garage over the winter to their peril. I'll be putting mine in the basement.

[ClayR]

Mytee sells neoprene Velcro pads at $9/pad that you can cover the hot brass connections. You get three free with the machine cord but adding one at the applicator is a burn saver.

[Setec Astronomy]

Mytee sells neoprene Velcro pads at $9/pad that you can cover the hot brass connections. You get three free with the machine cord but adding one at the applicator is a burn saver.

Sounds like something Autogeek should be selling, especially for the people that bought an extractor before they were including these.