steam cleaner or hot water extractor?

**ride5150** · 04-21-2011, 02:40 PM

Im starting a mobile detailing business soon and am contemplating between buying a steam cleaner or a hot water extractor. i know that with a steam cleaner ill be able to do interiors with less effort, like cleaning the dash and all the small crevices. im sure a steam cleaner will be easier to use since itll blow dust out of the hard to reach places and cup holders...and will make it very easy to clean leather seats

the only issue i have is with cleaning the upholstery. with an extractor, i can deep clean the fabric seats and upholstery well, and probably without much effort. pretreat and scrub with brush IF necessary then go over w extractor, or just use the extractor alone without scrubbing and pretreating first if stains arent too bad.

with a steamer, ill have to spray down the seats + upholstery with shampoo, scrub with the triangle brush attatchment while steaming, extract with my shop vac, then probably go over the area again with just steam this time (to "rinse" out the soap), and then extract with the shop vac again.

if theres a bigggg stain, like a large tomato juice spill, it seems that it will be much easier to clean with a hot water extractor than with a steamer. just extract w extractor, vs spray with shampoo + steam + scrub +extract + steam again + extract again. and it seems like an extractor will do a better job.

what do you use to clean upholstery? what procedure?

other thigns to consider, i was thinking about getting the "Vapor Clean II" steamer by vapor clean-$369, or the duramaid mini hot water extractor-$640. theres almost a $300 price difference

**AeroCleanse** · 04-21-2011, 02:51 PM

If you use a steamer on fabric you don't need to extract as well. They are dry a lot faster as well.

**James K** · 04-21-2011, 03:09 PM

Personally I would get the steamer first. You could always add a Bissell Little Green Machine for $100. It does hot water extraction. Does it do it anywhere near as good as an Aztec, negative. However, you will probably use the steamer more. I have the BLGM and plan on adding a steamer way before upgrading my mini extractor.

**Midnight Blue** · 04-21-2011, 04:03 PM

Having worked for a Janitorial Supply Distributor for several years I have had a lot of experience in working with commercial carpet extractors.

We carried a line of Minuteman floor care machines including two commercial carpet extractors. I used to take the smaller unit in my SUV to demonstrate the effectiveness of these machines to my customers.

I also used it on my brothers 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse that he bought and was restoring. The carpets and cloth upholstery were filthy and greasy. We tried cleaning them with the normal carpet cleaning solution but it would not take out the grease. We then sprayed the carpets with an industrial degreaser, used a brush to agitate and then used the carpet extractor to clean the seats and carpet. Results were like brand new!

You need the high pressure suction of the extractor to remove the soap and chemicals from the carpets and upholstery.

You might be able to duplicate these results with a Bissell steam cleaner as suggested in an earlier post.

If this is to be a major component of your detailing service than somewhere down the road you should consider a carpet extractor.

Midnight Blue

**ride5150** · 04-21-2011, 09:51 PM

i really dont know anymore, i wish i had the funds to buy both. i rlly only need the steamer to ease cleaning of the dashboard, to get into all the little crevices and cupholders etc. also to clean leather seats.

for the fabric and uphholstery tho i would rlly rather have something that extracts right away.

maybe i should buy the extractor, and then a cheaper steam cleaner?

like the durmaid mini hot water extractor for carpets and upholstery, and a McCulloch Heavy-Duty MC-1275 steam cleaner to help with interior hard surfaces, crevices and leather seats?

what do you guys think? good idea?

**dad07** · 04-21-2011, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by ride5150

i really dont know anymore, i wish i had the funds to buy both. i rlly only need the steamer to ease cleaning of the dashboard, to get into all the little crevices and cupholders etc. also to clean leather seats.

for the fabric and uphholstery tho i would rlly rather have something that extracts right away.

maybe i should buy the extractor, and then a cheaper steam cleaner?

like the durmaid mini hot water extractor for carpets and upholstery, and a McCulloch Heavy-Duty MC-1275 steam cleaner to help with interior hard surfaces, crevices and leather seats?

what do you guys think? good idea?

you can own both....Wagner 905 steamer ( $97 @ Lowes) Bissel little green machine ($93 @walmart)

This is what I currently use.....down the road? Aztect and vx5000

**AeroCleanse** · 04-21-2011, 10:21 PM

I have yet to meet something I would need an extractor for that my steamer couldn't do.

The Tornador also works great, if a little slower.

**ride5150** · 04-21-2011, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by dad07

you can own both....Wagner 905 steamer ( $97 @ Lowes) Bissel little green machine ($93 @walmart)

This is what I currently use.....down the road? Aztect and vx5000

do you just clean your own cars or run a business? ill be doing this full-time over the summer and want to make sure my equipment is good "enough"

**Da Fats** · 04-21-2011, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by ride5150

i really dont know anymore, i wish i had the funds to buy both. i rlly only need the steamer to ease cleaning of the dashboard, to get into all the little crevices and cupholders etc. also to clean leather seats.

for the fabric and uphholstery tho i would rlly rather have something that extracts right away.

maybe i should buy the extractor, and then a cheaper steam cleaner?

like the durmaid mini hot water extractor for carpets and upholstery, and a McCulloch Heavy-Duty MC-1275 steam cleaner to help with interior hard surfaces, crevices and leather seats?

what do you guys think? good idea?

Save the money... Buy that steamer, i have it and you can't beat it for the price. I have not touched my LGM in a year since I gained my faith in the steamer. I keep my LGM around in the event I find something that wont steam out with Folex and the steamer + terry cloth rag over the corner attachement.

I think you can get the same results with both but the steamer is faster. I consider the LGM whenever I have to use heavier soaps on a stain.

**ride5150** · 04-21-2011, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by Da Fats

Save the money... Buy that steamer, i have it and you can't beat it for the price. I have not touched my LGM in a year since I gained my faith in the steamer. I keep my LGM around in the event I find something that wont steam out with Folex and the steamer + terry cloth rag over the corner attachement.

I think you can get the same results with both but the steamer is faster. I consider the LGM whenever I have to use heavier soaps on a stain.

yeah but what if you have a really large heavy stain, like a kid spilled juice all over the floor? if i use the steamer then i have to pretreat, spray cleaner, scrub/steam, extract, spray cleaner, scrub/steam, extract, and keep repeating this over and over again until its gone.

it just seems like a steamer without a built in extractor would be more benefecial for hard to reach hard surfaces, while a hot water extractor would be better for upholstery and carpets. it constantly applies solution and extracts, i dont have to do it seperately like with a steamer

ill be running a business with this, so i really cant half-ass an interior shampoo...i just wish the extractors that could stand daily-use were cheaper

im kindof set on buying the mccullouch 1275 in addition to a hot water extractor, im just looking for an extractor that will be good enough to use on a daily basis but wont be $700...