Cheap Vacumm Tool for Carpets

I did find this Dirt Devil Spot Scrubber Portable Deep Cleaner on walmart.com for 75, looks like it got really good reviews
 
The key is to pretreat the carpet and let it dwell. If you are on a budget, buy some Bissel tough stain remover and dilute it 50/50. Spray on and scrub and let dwell for a few minutes. Then Bissel spray and scrub and extract. Mix a very weak solution in your extractor.



You could also buy a 1 or 2 or 5 gal pump garden sprayer and then extract with a Shop Vac., the key is to find a small opening nozzle.



I used an extractor crevice tool on the end of my shop vac for years, you can hear the shop vac working if you have a good one.
 
Flawless Image said:
i know the feeling.. lost a **** load in the stock market, then what was left, they taxed the hell out of it.. let me know how the heated version works for you!
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I'm sorry to hear about that, government just takes and takes.
 
Well, being that I just pulled out my LGCM the other day to clean up something I spilled on the rug...and wasted about an hour and a half. The darn spray line kept clogging up and I had to take the wand apart and flush out the tubing which was filled with sediment from where I do not know. I have had this device for about 3 years and have only used it a handful of times. After I got done, the rug was so wet I had to go get my upright Hoover carpet scrubber and go over the area with that to get it dry...so my original intent to save some time over the big machine was lost.



Yes, the LGCM has been good for stains in the car, but the suction on it isn't really that good, meaning you can't get the carpet that dry. If you're detailing where you have access to hot water, I'm not sure a spray bottle and a scrub brush followed by a shop vac extraction isn't a better option than one of these. I have the heated LGCM, it's possible that the vacuum motor is wimpier on the heated version so the thing doesn't exceed circuit breaker limits, since the heater only runs when the vacuum is on.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Well, being that I just pulled out my LGCM the other day to clean up something I spilled on the rug...and wasted about an hour and a half. The darn spray line kept clogging up and I had to take the wand apart and flush out the tubing which was filled with sediment from where I do not know. I have had this device for about 3 years and have only used it a handful of times. After I got done, the rug was so wet I had to go get my upright Hoover carpet scrubber and go over the area with that to get it dry...so my original intent to save some time over the big machine was lost.



Yes, the LGCM has been good for stains in the car, but the suction on it isn't really that good, meaning you can't get the carpet that dry. If you're detailing where you have access to hot water, I'm not sure a spray bottle and a scrub brush followed by a shop vac extraction isn't a better option than one of these. I have the heated LGCM, it's possible that the vacuum motor is wimpier on the heated version so the thing doesn't exceed circuit breaker limits, since the heater only runs when the vacuum is on.
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I agree that the suction isnt THAT great.. I just have to go really slow. on floormats and carpets that are excessively dirty, I use a 3 gallon bucket with hot water/soap solution. Then I use a small scrub brush and a toothbrush to tackle the stain. But as far as the little green, it sucks out everything i need it to. It never gets COMPLETELY dry, but I just leave all doors open while i am finishing the detail. By the time im thru (another hour or two), its usually dry.



the Head of the Little Green is small and somewhat fragile, so when im sucking out the carpets, I grab it by the head itself and not the handle so i can apply heavy pressure. And I pull backwards. Seems to work pretty good for me. My shop vac, a 6.5 hp Rigid, is awesome for vacuuming the carpets, but it just doesnt seem to get all the water out after cleaning. maybe because the head doesnt really lock down to provide extreme suction, who knows..



also, I have found that the standard dog hair brush not only gets 99% of the hair out of seats and carpets, but it is also good for loosening up dirt and sand from carpets, making it easier for the vacuum to just run over the surface..



Just a few tips from my experience with interiors..
 
I should mention that the Hoover upright carpet machine that I bought (at Best Buy, I think) for shampooing the carpets in my house, also has a hose/wand attachment that I may try next time I would reach for the LGCM in the car.



I guess I consider the kind of question that was posed by the OP in regards to "do I have to buy a $600 extractor" is kind of like the question "do I have to buy a PC for $130 or can I just get this orbital polisher for $30?"...IMO you almost always wind up having to buy the more expensive piece of equipment anyway. If you're just fooling around in the driveway as I was/am, then the LGCM may be a way to increase the enjoyment of your afternoon, but I'm not sure how good a stepping stone investment it is for someone who is doing this for money.



That isn't to say that it wasn't worth $20 to Flawless. It's absolutely better than nothing and if it's warm enough and you have time to air out the car to get the carpet dry you will be fine. As Flawless noted, the head is a bit fragile and I developed a crack in mine from extracting floormats over and over...which if I had to do now I would try pressure washing.
 
Thats right, I got my brush at Wal*Mart.

I have one of those Bissel LGCMs, it works pretty good! I cleaned the interior of Convertible Camaro with it, I thought the results were excellent!

I am sure there are better machines but for less than $100, its hard to beat.



I bet the pro guys have Stainless steel, steam\vacuum, Mega Hyper Ultra Turbo cleaners! I can't justify buying that many acronyms for DIY work but I would love to have one!
 
I keep saying that once the LGC breaks, I will buy a nicer extractor, but the little thing keeps hangin in there! and it does get the job done..



Its like comparing a Z06 to a Murcielago. The Lambo is the bad *** on the block, but when it comes down to it, the Z06 isnt THAT far behind, AND its 1/5th of the price! good analogy?
 
Flawless Image said:
I keep saying that once the LGC breaks, I will buy a nicer extractor, but the little thing keeps hangin in there! and it does get the job done..



Its like comparing a Z06 to a Murcielago. The Lambo is the bad *** on the block, but when it comes down to it, the Z06 isnt THAT far behind, AND its 1/5th of the price! good analogy?
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In my eyes there are no better looking sports cars then a corvette :)
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I should mention that the Hoover upright carpet machine that I bought (at Best Buy, I think) for shampooing the carpets in my house, also has a hose/wand attachment that I may try next time I would reach for the LGCM in the car.



I guess I consider the kind of question that was posed by the OP in regards to "do I have to buy a $600 extractor" is kind of like the question "do I have to buy a PC for $130 or can I just get this orbital polisher for $30?"...IMO you almost always wind up having to buy the more expensive piece of equipment anyway. If you're just fooling around in the driveway as I was/am, then the LGCM may be a way to increase the enjoyment of your afternoon, but I'm not sure how good a stepping stone investment it is for someone who is doing this for money.



That isn't to say that it wasn't worth $20 to Flawless. It's absolutely better than nothing and if it's warm enough and you have time to air out the car to get the carpet dry you will be fine. As Flawless noted, the head is a bit fragile and I developed a crack in mine from extracting floormats over and over...which if I had to do now I would try pressure washing.
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If I was going to detail cars for a living I would invest in a good extractor for smaller jobs (like the ones I do right know). I might just go with the lgcm for the time being and if quits Ill go back to shampooing carpets by hand with a little water and a lot of scrubbing haha :)
 
used to use the LGBM heated version...pretty good for 100 bucks..



now use a mytee lite II, and its a HUGE step up! deeper cleaning and hotter water = cleaner interiors
 
salty said:
..I used an extractor crevice tool on the end of my shop vac for years, you can hear the shop vac working if you have a good one.
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I use a nozzle with a small opening that was originally made for a Bissell Big Green Machine. I whittled up an adaptor for shop-vac duty and I still use it now that I have my nice Ninja Extractor. The small opening makes the vac/extractor work harder so we'll see if it causes any problems..but the small opening makes for a *much* more effective extraction, leaves things a lot drier than any other nozzle I've tried.
 
Accumulator said:
I use a nozzle with a small opening that was originally made for a Bissell Big Green Machine. I whittled up an adaptor for shop-vac duty and I still use it now that I have my nice Ninja Extractor. The small opening makes the vac/extractor work harder so we'll see if it causes any problems..but the small opening makes for a *much* more effective extraction, leaves things a lot drier than any other nozzle I've tried.
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I just posted this on another thread. I used to use a Shop Vac with an extractor crevice tool.



http://www.carpet-cleaning-equipment.net/images/accessories_vacuumonlycrevicetool_large.jpg



The benefits are that you don't have to pre-vacuum, the suction is greater and you can get in between the seats and all angles.
 
I currently have *five* (working) carpet extractors and four of those are in regular use; they all have their places and IMO unlike polishers even a cheapie is a lot better than nothing.



salty said:
I just posted this on another thread. I used to use a Shop Vac with an extractor crevice tool..
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That looks *just* like the crevice tool that came with my Ninja/Century and that does get up a lot more than the regular nozzles people are discussing.



But OTOH, believe it or not, it's one of the reasons I love my previously mentioned DIY nozzle so much. Yeah...seriously, the one I touted gets a *LOT* more water up than the metal crevice nozzle does (but it doesn't fit into tight spots nearly as well; they both have their uses).
 
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