Carpet cleaning - shampooing machines

[RichK]

Hi All,

Few years ago I was able to rent a small carpet shampoo machine. It looked like an upright vacuum cleaner, but had a 2-3 brushes and a shampoo dispenser. It was great for a good scrub of a carpet.

I would then follow up with one of these bigger "flushing" machines, which get the some dirt out, by flushing the carpet, but are useless for cleaning it. It was a good combo.

I no longer see these shampooers. Disappeared off the surface of the earth. Anyone know why these 2-3 brush shampooers are no longer available? Rental places look at me funny, when I ask for them :-)

I see some machines that Sears (and similar) sell with puny brushes and flushing, but these are not serious cleaning machines.

Rich

[Hound Dog]

Rich

I shampooed my carpets for years, even bought a good carpet shampooer.

When I moved into my new home I decided to have the steam cleaning pros take care of my rugs.

Best decision I have made in a very long time.

Their work is excellent, my rugs are always clean and the price for the cleaning is not all that expensive.

The rug cleaners can be here, do the cleaning and be gone in a fraction of the time I would have needed just to do my living room. They, since they have much more powerful and proper equipment and don't use harsh cleaners, do a superior job too.

Do yourself a favor, give them a try.

[a]

I bought a Hoover Steam Dual V.. It has green brushes with a hand tool (no pun intended).. I have used this machine about 10-15 times since I live in an apartment with a gf and a dog things get messy..

This machine ran about $300 US from HHGreg..

I used the pro's once.. they gave me a $200 clean job (for 800sq ft).. very nice however I was on their schedule and the cleaning only lasted about a month..

bottom line.. if you like a DIY job buy a hoover and use it. It will pay for itself in the second cleaning.. Yes it is plastic.. So mine is showing age, However I have not had a problem yet.. It will trip circuits if you have it on a 15amp or less... By the anti alergic solution.. DO NOT USE THE CHEAP KIND OR "CREATE YOUR OWN" It will clog the hoover and your out $300 bucks..!!!..

I have noticed that the "rent kind" including "rug doctor" have worn out brushes unless you get a brand new one.. So it will do a horible job and possibly ruin your carpet..

If you must use the pros get a few estimates and ask if they move the furniture for no additional cost..

Joe

[Stormin Mormon]

I got a couple of that kind of thing at auctions, and garage sales. Don't know if they are avail now days.

When you do laundry, it's a wash cycle, then rinse. Makes sense for carpets, too. Scrub cycle followed by rinse.

[RichK]

My point exactly. For some reason these machines have disappeared.

Rich

[Kyle Boatright]

Most carpet manufacturers recommend hot water extraction, AKA steam cleaning. This system doesn't soak your carpet like some others.

You don't want to get carpet truly wet, because that can cause the carpet or subfloor to mildew. Also, the latex that binds the carpet together loses strength when it is wet, and if you walk/move furniture/etc on wet carpet, there is a good chance that the wet latex will fail and your carpet will be ruined.

[Harry Everhart]

About 10 years ago - I bought a Carpet Shampooer at Sears for $129. It is chrome and has two large - about 7 inch - swirling brushes. It dispenses a shampoo that foams up and surrounds dirt particles making them easy to vacuum up later when the carpet is dry.

It does an excellent job - I still use it about once a month - and my neighbors love it and borrow it often.

Very simply - like shampooing your hair - you add shampoo - then lather it up with the shampooer - let it dry - then vacuum up the dirt.

The carpet looks fresh - clean - fluffy - just like when you shampoo your hair :-)

I have used it on my two homes - one in PA - and one I just bought in FL. The Florida one had dogs before me. We used the shampooer to remove dog odor. We went to a pet shop and bought "special" carpet shampoo for dogs. It did a great job.

I liked the feeling of having my own shampooer and being able to do small jobs without wasting time renting a big shampoo system. This one works - and Sears still sells the machine and shampoo.

Harry

[RichK]

Thanks Harry,

----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Everhart"

Will give Sears a visit. it may be what I'm looking for. I would not use it much and was hoping to rent, but don't see it anymore. Perhaps buying, will make sense long term.

I agree with Kyle, that if you overdo on the liquid, you can mess up the carpet, but being reasonable with it, should not damage it.

Rich

[Harry Everhart]

The dispenser puts out small amounts of liquid. It holds about a gallon of (10 water to 1) shampoo mix. You can do four rooms easily with one gallon of the mixture. In the scheme of things - that is not much liquid

- plus the liquid separates and coats the dirt. Mine still works fine after 10 years of monthly use.

Sears also sells a gallon of shampoo for like $13. One gallon of shampoo makes about 10 gallons of solution. That will last you about a year of monthly use. I do not buy the shampoo - my neighbor buys me a new one every time she uses the shampooer :-)

Good luck one whatever you do. If you were here in FL - I would let you borrow mine to try.

Harry

[Kyle Boatright]

You guys are scaring me. Monthly Shampooing? Frequent cleaning ain't good for your carpet. The fluorochemicals (sp?) that give most residential carpet their stain protection (e.g. stainmaster) and the topicals (e.g. Scotchguard) are both stripped from the fiber during cleaning. The more you clean, the more protectant you remove, and the more often you need to clean...

[RichK]

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in

Understood. Harry does it monthly, I'm closer to once a year :-) And traffic areas mainly. Right now, I get down and use a brush with spray cleaner. If I had a machine, I'd do a larger area and maybe do it twice a year.

Carpets are great hiding grounds for dirt, pollen etc. Most of that is extracted by they flushing process, but before I flush, I'll to take care of the dirt in some places.

Rich

[Oscar_Lives]

Anyone know about the dry chemical carpet cleaning (Chem-Dry) process? We have a guy here in town really pushing it over hot water extraction.

[Kyle Boatright]

Again, manufacturers recommend hot water extraction. Extensive tests have been done to confirm that this is the *best* method. I have not dug through the tests, but I'm sure reading them would be really fun. ;-)

If there is a synopsis, you'd probably find it by googling Carpet and Rug Institute and Carpet Cleaning.

Trust me on this one. I'm an engineer with the world's largest carpet manufacturer. The company doesn't manufacture or sell carpet cleaning equipment, so it doesn't have a dog in the "which method is better" fight, other than to recommend the method that is going to make the consumer happiest.

Unhappy carpet customers result in buyers going to hard surfaces when their carpet wears out, and that's bad for my job...

[Bob_M]

FYI -

at someone's recommendation a year ago my wife and I elected to have our carpets cleaned via the Chem-Dry method. Result was not as good as prior cleanings with more traditional methods.

Next time we plan on trying a commercial "steam" extraction contractor.

Bob

[RichK]

----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob_M"

Does this process "flush" the carpet, or just deposit some chemical to loosen the dirt and oil? Unless, it extracts the dirt, it just leaves behind more, than it started with.

I feel the "steam extraction" is good to get pet dander, crumbs, etc out of the carpet. It does not do much for dissolving the dirt and oily residue. The so called steam, seems to be heated water of questionable temp to be useful.

Rich

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

We got something like that. I have a wife and a son. Needs about monthly cleaning, couches too.

I recently had to buy several parts for it. this plastic contraption is not really that durable. I actually need a few more. Its not soundly built. None of this hoover junk is. But it is easily repairable, and that works for me at least.