Carpet: Extractor vs Steamer

The second time I extracted, I went nuts on the floor mats too. The driver's side is still not perfect, but I think it's about as close as it's going to get. The fibers are pretty damaged.
 
In conclusion: When it comes to dirty carpets, I don't think steam cleaning can compare to a good extraction process. Steaming cleans the surface very well, but can't get rid of the dirt deeper down, or even really heavy surface grunge.

If the carpet is being cleaned on a newer vehicle, or a well maintained summer driver, I think steaming is definately the way to go. It is a lot faster, it uses no chemicals, and dries very quickly.

Where I find the steamer really shines is on vinyl surfaces, on the headliner, and seats. I'm looking forward to using it on leather surfaces as well. I was able to go over my whole car in minutes, and it left these surfaces sanitized, deoderized, and clean.



Both of these machines definately have a place in my arsenal of detailing tools. Cheers!
 
Great write up! The vehicles that I work with aren't all that bad so I think I'll be going with a steam cleaner, but I will be using a wet/dry vacuum after the steam cleaning. If you ever feel motivated to do a side by side wet/dry vacuum vs extractor go right ahead and this will be a perfect thread! good job!
 
:woot: Thank you so much! Excellent comparison. Great write up and pictures :xyxthumbs



I've been looking at that Aztec so your review was perfect! What type of acid rinse did you have in the water?
 
You be the man. Excellent write up. Gr8t attention to detail as was explanations of the process.



Santa's not "feelin" a extractor from me this season but damnmit I want one.
 
One of the best write-ups ever, good work. Ya you gotta love Canadian winters, -25C last week and +10C this week.
 
Thanks everyone!



Spilchy said:
I've been looking at that Aztec so your review was perfect! What type of acid rinse did you have in the water?
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I used Fibre Rinse by Esteam Cleaning Systems (http://www.esteam.com/). They are a local company here in Calgary. I think you would be successful with any acid rinse by a reputable company.



HomicidalSloth said:
You've had no problems using a steamer on headliners, with the glue coming undone or anything?
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While a healthy amount of steam comes out of the attachment with the mf towel clipped to it, it leaves the surfaces cleaned with it relatively dry. The surface is fairly cool to the touch a few seconds later. My guess is that you would really have to over do it on a certain area of the headliner to have any problems with it coming loose. If you were working on what you considered a very delicate headliner, you could turn the steam pressure lower to be extra safe.



The Daimer steamer has a dial right on the unit that smoothly adjusts the pressure anywhere between minimum and maximum. I would recommend this option over a 3 stage low-med-high switch that some units have on the handle itself, because the low setting might be too low to be useful, and the high setting is not sustainable, so you're just left with "medium" anyway.
 
thanks for the write up....now you have me rethinking my soon to be purchase...because if i dont buy the sensei, i can pick up the aztec extractor plus a commercial quality steamer...decision decisions
 
jchetty said:
thanks for the write up....now you have me rethinking my soon to be purchase...because if i dont buy the sensei, i can pick up the aztec extractor plus a commercial quality steamer...decision decisions
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I looked at the Sensei, but because I'm going mobile in the new year, it isn't practical for me to have a unit of that caliber (plus it is very expensive although I'm sure it's worth every cent.) If I was running my own shop I would definately consider it. The cost of this equipment can seem prohibitive and sometimes downright scary, but I'm betting it will pay off in the long run.
 
That's a fantastic write-up! Thanks for your time!



One of these days I'll have to get a heated extractor.
 
If I may ask, what did that Aztec cost? I went to link and no price was giving and I didn't feel like sending them my info right now.

Thanks



Oh yeah, superb write up. Appreciate it.
 
Reflections said:
In conclusion: When it comes to dirty carpets, I don't think steam cleaning can compare to a good extraction process. Steaming cleans the surface very well, but can't get rid of the dirt deeper down, or even really heavy surface grunge.

If the carpet is being cleaned on a newer vehicle, or a well maintained summer driver, I think steaming is definately the way to go. It is a lot faster, it uses no chemicals, and dries very quickly.

Where I find the steamer really shines is on vinyl surfaces, on the headliner, and seats. I'm looking forward to using it on leather surfaces as well. I was able to go over my whole car in minutes, and it left these surfaces sanitized, deoderized, and clean.



Both of these machines definately have a place in my arsenal of detailing tools. Cheers!
Click to expand...





You should try using the steamer with carpet cleaning solution and extract with a wet/dry vacuum, thats the way professional steam carpet cleaning machines work.
 
LangMan37 said:
If I may ask, what did that Aztec cost? I went to link and no price was giving and I didn't feel like sending them my info right now.

Thanks



Oh yeah, superb write up. Appreciate it.
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Thank you! I found it on a few websites for $600-$650 USD. Try a google search for "aztec extractor" or "aztec hot rod". You can also order it direct from Aztec. I don't know how much they charge. They wouldn't let me order it from them because I'm in Canada. They referred me to their Canadian distributor who had it listed for $1075 CAD. I talked him down to a much more reasonable price.



EdLancer said:
You should try using the steamer with carpet cleaning solution and extract with a wet/dry vacuum, thats the way professional steam carpet cleaning machines work.
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While I had not considered this idea, this machine specifies not to use any chemicals in the boiler tank because they may damage the solenoid valve. As well, the steamer does not convey a lot of moisture to the surface. This is one of the benefits of this machine. I do not know much about the specific type of machine you are referring to, but I don't think this steamer is intended for that method. As well, wouldn't a rinse have to be sprayed on before using the wet/dry vac to neutralize the soap? Once this is being done, it seems better to just use the extractor. The method you suggest also lacks the high PSI rinsing action the extractor provides. I may be misunderstanding your suggestion, but it doesn't seem practical to me in this particular scenario.
 
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