Alternative for Hot Water Extractor and Steam Cleaners

[asap2stacks]

Hey everyone good evening, as some of you may know i went all in on opening my detailing business last month i bought almost all the equipment that is pretty much needed for getting the job done. After spending all my money on the Shop,chemicals, and tools at the beginning of the month i got to it and started advertising and detailing my A** off and so far i have been doing alright i have done 2 boats, 3 cars, 2 trucks, 2 suv, and 1 motorcycle. all the money i have made from the business i have been putting in my account saving to pay the rent for the shop and put towards a van so that i can go mobile as well because i have been loading up my car and going to some clients houses to do there vehicles when they can't come by the shop. Anyway i really would like to get a hot water extractor and steam cleaner to make the really dirty jobs fast/easier because we all know time is money... but i don't want to drop $850-$1,000 on theses tools at the moment until after i get the van. So what would be a good alternative for me to get to use for the mean time until i sort out my goals? a few people said try them pet shampooer vacs that are like $120 but I'm just not sure if it will work good... and as far as the steam cleaner i have no idea what to look for thats a decent price in my case, so i figured i would turn to my detailing brothers for advice!

[asap2stacks]

?

[Do1778]

Get a Wagner 915 off amazon they are $85 bucks. It's not a vx5000 but I assure you it will get the job done and for the money it's a great vale. I've had one for years and use it all the time it rocks!

[Calendyr]

There are several steam machine in the 100$ range that work well. The downside is usually a smaller water tank. So you can work around that. As for a hot water extractor, get a Bisell Green Machine or one of the other machines similar to it. You can put hot water in it, it will not be as effective as a hot water extractor but if you only use it to rinse the fabric it can do a good job and it's about a 100$ too.

The trick when you don't have a hot water extractor is this:
Put your carpet/fabric cleaning solution in a spray bottle. I use Meguiar's APC diluted 1:10 and it work well.
Spray the seat well so that every inch of it is covered with solution.
Use a brush to agitate. If you use a manual brush I suggest you brush up-down then sideways and finally in both diagonal to make sure to loosen up all the dirt and grime.
Then use the extractor to remove all the cleaning solution. Spray and extract until the liquid being extracted is clear.
Then use some towels to absorb the extra humidity. If you have fan you can setup it will help dry the fabric faster while you work on the rest of the car.

I am not a fan of steam, so I only use it when nothing else works.

[vanev]

A wet/dry shop vac is essential.
Use this for the extraction.
There are specific attachments you can buy that suck up water better than the standard attachments, and make the carpet dry very fast.

Now you simply have product choice and delivery method.
A trigger spray bottle, or 1 or 2 gallon pump sprayer can deliver the liquid to the targeted area.

This is a cost effective approach that can deliver results.
Not perfect, but effective.

[asap2stacks]

Thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Get a Wagner 915 off amazon they are $85 bucks. It's not a vx5000 but I assure you it will get the job done and for the money it's a great vale.

I've had one for years and use it all the time it rocks!




Where is the Amazon Detailing Discussion Forum? :laughing:

:dunno:



Since this is your first post to our forum,

Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


Just to note, while I'm sure you intend only good will it's kind of poor netiquette to join one company's forum and then tell others to to to another website to spend their money. Especially in your first post?

Not that I haven't ever seen this before after running and posting to discussion forum since the software was invented and released to the public in the year 2000.

I have article on that,


Discussion Forums - A relatively "new" invention... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-make-money-detailing-cars/24038-discussion-forums-relatively-new-invention.html)




Here's the link to the forum rules...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Forum Rules (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/24039-forum-rules.html)



Here's the pertinent one....


1. The AutogeekOnline discussion forum is exclusively sponsored by Autogeek.com. Product discussion should be limited to products that are available from Autogeek.com and PBMA's family of websites.

Links, videos or recommendations to competing products and companies that are not available through Autogeek.com will be moved to the Moderators forum and offenders will be warned or simply placed into the SELF-BANNED category of member groups on this forum.

Repeated linking and recommendations of products not available through Autogeek.com may result in a permanent ban. Moderators have the right to edit any posts that contain links, recommendations or other information pertaining to competing companies that are not associated with Autogeek.com



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We never ban anyone on this forum - a person bans themselves by breaking the forum rules. So the above is just a heads-up in case you're new to the world of discussion forums.

I'm not a Moderator on this forum, I'm more the how-to guy and I don't really like making posts like this one. I do like to use posts like this as a teaching moment for all the other members and lurkers that will read it so they understand how forums work and can and should avoid breaking forum rules.

The other Moderators on this forum may remove your post, just a heads up.



:nomore:

[briarpatch]

Mike....forum rules aside....do you have an answer for the original poster? I'm in a similar situation, and would love to hear your solution

[Mike Phillips]

Mike....forum rules aside....



:laughing:





do you have an answer for the original poster? I'm in a similar situation, and would love to hear your solution




Sure I do and they're similar to what someone else posted and that's to get a good shop vac and work by hand. In my 3-day detailing class I show how to clean interiors the old fashioned way and that's with a brush, an upholstery cleaner and some cotton towels to blot out the liquid followed by vacuuming. It's not pretty, it's not fast and compared to a hot water extractor it's not near as efficient but for his parameters it will work.

I also did a interior cleaning job yesterday and took pictures to write a how-to article to show how to do it. Since my last post I've already detailed an engine bay and took pictures to write an article about how to do it.


If he's going to do a lot of interior work then I'm going to recommend the MyTee HP60 Spyder Hot Water Carpet & Upholstery Extractor (http://www.autogeek.net/mytee-hp60-spyder-carpet-extractor.html). It's designed for high volume work and it won't cost the OP money it will make him money.



I'm attaching a new extractor wand to one today I'll take some pictures for the forum.

:)

[dcjredline]

Not picking on anyone in here and its not specific to detailing either.

I see alot of people thinking they need $46,000 worth of "stuff" to start a business. Start SMALL and work up. When you start making $ then buy your "stuff" to help you do the job easier. When you are starting out you dont even know if you are going to get 1 customer let alone enough to pay back a huge loan and rent and lights. SLOW DOWN the "normal" way is not the best way. There are a HUGE percent of businesses that fail in the first year because of this.

[ScubaCougr]

I can second the pressure sprayer and wet vac method...been using that all month while my extractor is being fixed.

I would also NOT buy a vehicle. Just more overhead to pay for each month putting you farther behind. When the business is big enough for two crews, then look at making one mobile, giving yourself two "locations". Until then, focus on making your existing shop as busy and profitable as possible.

Michael
Great Reflections Detailing
Vancouver, WA

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[WeekendDIY]

I can second the pressure sprayer and wet vac method...been using that all month while my extractor is being fixed.

I would also NOT buy a vehicle. Just more overhead to pay for each month putting you farther behind. When the business is big enough for two crews, then look at making one mobile, giving yourself two "locations". Until then, focus on making your existing shop as busy and profitable as possible.

Michael
Great Reflections Detailing
Vancouver, WA

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Very good advise...but devils advocate here...not being argumentative.

He has to go where the money is. If his only job(s) for the day are only available to him away from his shop I don't think it's wise he pass on it. A bit of a tough situation to be in. He has to take what he can get and be selective later. Just an opinion from the other side. He may have to stick to his current vehicle for the moment.

Maybe a small trailer??

[dcjredline]

Then go mobile and don't pay rent. You can what if and spend money chasing it all day long. Yes he cannot ignore the mobile customers if they are paying, but don't spend more if you can get the job done with what you have and save up with that money to buy a vehicle.

[gregpack]

Then go mobile and don't pay rent. You can what if and spend money chasing it all day long. Yes he cannot ignore the mobile customers if they are paying, but don't spend more if you can get the job done with what you have and save up with that money to buy a vehicle.


Good advice IMO.

One thing about a fixed location- There is usually water, electricity, and sewer bills at a minimum. All of these eating up profits. OP, have you figured how many details do you have to do a month just to pay for your location? Staying lean in the beginning ensures chance for success.