Need a carpet cleaning machine,what are you using?

[Hotrod20]

What is a decent carpet cleaning machine? hot water extractor? or foam? what are you guys using in the detail shops?
Hotrod20

[TMD]

We're completely mobile, so we went with the Mytee-Lite II 8070. It's light weight and small enough to fit in our cargo van. Now, if we ever decide to get a shop we'll be switching over to the Mytee HP-100. With 130-something inches of water lift and an 11 gallon tank, not to mention the blower, the extra $600.00 is well worth it. It's just not very practical for a mobile unit.

[Bradshaw]

My advice is to go with a machine that has a atleast 100psi, much better and faster cleaning compared to 60psi

[rwisejr]

For me as I needed it to be very portable .It had to fit in the trunk of my car. I use the Aztec HotRod

[AeroCleanse]

I've found a steamer with Folex and a good APC works better for me than when I used an extractor.

[TMD]

I've found a steamer with Folex and a good APC works better for me than when I used an extractor.


I should probably add that with the Mytee-Lite II, pre-treating any stains with Folex or a diluted APC is necessary 80% of the time. Without doing that, you'd be sitting there all day making passes without acceptable results.

[Impressions]

I should probably add that with the Mytee-Lite II, pre-treating any stains with Folex or a diluted APC is necessary 80% of the time. Without doing that, you'd be sitting there all day making passes without acceptable results.

On real dirty carpets or seats I use a small air powered rotary with short bristle brush to agitate before I extract.
If carpet isn't to bad I mist with carpet cleaner than hand agitate than re wipe with damp towel

I'll only extract if I use rotary
the machine I use is part of a "detailing station" built by Detail Plus, the heated extractor/wet/dry vac system works great, not much I'm afraid to tackle

[tomwiller]

How about Carpet Steam Cleaning? Steam cleaning is one of the most popular methods for carpet cleaning on the market today. These steam cleaning machines are becoming more widely available at much more accommodating prices.

But for regular cleaning I suggest a high quality vacuum cleaner for day to day and weekly floor cleaning. A good vacuum will also help keep dust and other particles in the air at a minimum promoting a much healthier home environment.

[MobolWerks]

As a IICRC Certified Carpet Cleaning Technician, I can tell you will absolute certainty the proper process.

First, do NOT use a foam product. The problem with foam is that a soil-attracting residue is left in the matts, which means that while they may be clean as soon as you're done, they will not be clean a week or two later - dirt actually "sticks" to the foam and cannot be vacuumed out.

When it comes to cleaning matts, I would suggest the following (extremely cheep) way of doing it.

1) Fill up a square plastic tub (like one you would store winter clothes in) with water and an upholstery specific cleaner (use dillution ratio provided on the label)
2) Drop the matts into the solution and let sit until fully wet
3) For problem areas - scrub with either an upholstery brush or a soft-bristle brush
4) Remove matts from tub (also called an "immersion bath")
5) Treat any remaining stains with 303 fabric and vinyl cleaner (undilluted)
6) Rinse with a garden hose, pressure washer, or whatever you have
7) Apply a SOLVENT-based protectant, such as 303 High-Tech Fabric Shield or Chemspec's All Fabric Stain Shield

Scotchgard only protects against dirt and debris - a solvent based protectant protects against everything!

Hope that helps

[MobolWerks]

For actually carpet in the vehicle use one of the following:

1) 1 Gal. of warm water and 4 ounces of 303 fabric and vinyl cleaner
2) Matrix's Grand Slam(available at carpet cleaning supply company such as Jon-Don)
3) Chemspec Fast Dry Upholstery Shampoo (also available at Jon-Don)
4) Harvard's Upholstery Cleaner (also available at Jon-Don)

Again, protect with a SOLVENT-based protectant - this will last up to 1 FULL YEAR!!

[MobolWerks]

As towards a machine goes, because you are not gonna buy a 500 PSI machine - it would be in your best interest to simply clean first (by hand as mentioned above) and then follow it up with a simple Wet/Dry Vac to remove excess water