Carpet steam cleaner?

[Tim Downie]

We've got some grime in our carpets that just doesn't seem to want to shift
with regular carpet cleaning chemicals and I was wonder about investing in a
steam cleaner (perhaps one like this .Does anyone have any experience of this model or similar machines?
Tim

[Peter Parry]

That one appears to be the higher pressure sort which are somewhat better than the low pressure ones. As carpet cleaners they are a pain to use. You wrap a towel cloth or supplied pad around the larger cleaner head and do about a square foot of carpet after which you change the toweling or pad and go on repeating the process until you loose the will to live or watching Neighbours on TV becomes an attractive alternative.
A proper carpet cleaner will be far better. Steam cleaners don't get out dirt at the root of the fibres but just clean the top surface (not particularly well). Be very careful if using them on upholstery with a velvet type finish as they can alter the nap direction and leave very obvious marks which last for ever.
They are good for kitchen tiles and engine component degreasing.

[Mr Benn]

I have a Vaporetto steam cleaner which I use for carpets. However, I would not now recommend a steam cleaner for cleaning carpets - a shampooer works better. I have no idea if it would shift your stain but I suspect not. There are some stains on my carpet that I just cannot shift using either steam cleaning or using specialised detergents. My next step is to use a mild bleaching agent but not before testing it on a hidden bit of carpet to ensure that it doesn't affect the carpet colour, only the stain. Try some of the oxy cleaning agents available or something like sodium metabisulphite.

[Tim Downie]

I have hired a Carpet Doctor from one of the supermarkets before but I wasn't too impressed with that if that is what you mean by a "proper" carpet cleaner. I suspect that too many sticky drinks have been spilt by chilrden for any cold (or warm) shampoo system to remove.

Thanks for that. We have a suite with a synthetic suede surface. Would that suffer in the same way?
Tim

[Peter Parry]

If its at that stage you may not be able to get it right. I really doubt if a steam cleaner would do anything worthwhile.

Quite possibly, try somewhere you can't see first and leave it a day. What looks like a damp mark may be permanent!

[David]

On 13 Aug, 13:17, "Tim Downie" wrote:

A good clean will sort them out I think.
First pre-spray the carpet with a pre-spray detergent, then agitate the pre-sprayed carpet, clean the carpets with a proper machine and hot water....as long as the carpet isn't wool. Once you have shampooed the carpet you should go over with just fresh water and finally do some dry passes to removes as much moisture as possible.
Prochem chemicals are excellent.
Get a commercial machine such as:
commercial Prochem chemicals should be available from a local janitorial supplier.

[The Medway Handyman]

Completely & utterly useless for cleaning carpets.
If you have tried DIY without success, get a NCCA member in to do the job.