Hand Shampoo or Heated Extraction?

D

Dynamic Detail

New member
Hey,

I've been hand shampooing the interiors i think it works the best but i also hear that heated extraxtion works even better and take less time to do. but the cost of a good heated extraction unit is up there. What do most of you do? I'm torn between both right now. Don't really want to spend the money but will if the resuults are faster and better.

Dynamic Detailing
 
Like a lot of things in detailing I don't think it is black and white on which one works better. One way may work better in a certain situation. In some situations I actually do both. I will just run clean water through the extractor, no shampoo. Shampoo and hand scrub, then hot water extract with fresh water. As far as which is faster hmm... probably about the same I guess. If I could only do one it would be hand scrub.
 
That's a good thread. I hate shampooing by hand and really want toget an extractor. You can get a really nice one for about $600, and that is a little pricey for me. No I don't want the "little green machine", but that is just me. I have read alot of opinions and most people that have one say you can't compare the results. Maybe after I get a little more business I will buy one. Right now, I will just limp through the hand shampoo.
 
I do both.

Use a hot water solution and work it in by hand, then extract using fresh hot water. Works pretty nicely :)
 
I'd be lost without my Mytee HP60. Hot water is the best way to go if you live in a 4 season climate. Carpets after winter and spring can be really crappy! Good luck!
 
You'll be amazed at how much better of results you will get with heated extraction vs. hand shampooing. First off, your not dowsing the fabric, which can lead to "wicking" of the fibers and such. The main aspect in my eyes is that it's about a quarter of the time! In my eyes, time is money, so it's easy to justify the cost of the extractor if you have the business to back it up.
 
Im a professional carpet cleaner. While I do not do cars (except my wifes) heres how I would do it.

#1 Vacuum the car. Critical
#2 Spray a quality pre-spray on the carpet. www.jondon.com sells very good ones. Prochem Ultrapac is one of the best.
#3 Let prespray dwell on carpet 10 minutes
#4 You must agititate the prespray into the carpet. Use a horseshoe brush.
#5 Extract with the hottest water you can get. Hot water breaks down grease and grime twice as fast as cold water.
#6 Clean carpet

If you are going to be the best at what you do and a step above the competition, you need a good extractor.
 
If you only knew how much soil that you were leaving behind when you don’t extract. Even if you use a shop vac. I have seen carpets that looked clean and hit them with the extractor only to see all this soil come up. If you want to beat your competition then you will have to out perform them. Even if it takes you a little longer. Charge them more because you use an extractor. People will pay a little extra for a truly professional job.

Happy Holidays.
 
Like Ed, I'm also a commercial carpet cleaner. His advice and steps are right on target.

Agitating a good prespray is a very important step. It penetrates deep into the fibers to release the soil.

Extracting with piping hot water just seals the deal. I have cleaned nasty grease incrusted restraunt carpet with 250f water temp and the stuff just melts like butter. Most portables can get temps to at least 190F, and that is plenty of heat for an auto interior.

Matt
 
Dewey325 said:
Like a lot of things in detailing I don't think it is black and white on which one works better. One way may work better in a certain situation. In some situations I actually do both. I will just run clean water through the extractor, no shampoo. Shampoo and hand scrub, then hot water extract with fresh water. As far as which is faster hmm... probably about the same I guess. If I could only do one it would be hand scrub.
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I would imagine IT IS Black and white about this or extractors wouldn't cost so much. No more messing around, I'm getting one.
 
Hey there,

Thanks for all the great answers. I will be looking into a heat extractor soon.
I also would like to take a minute to say sorry for not returning sooner to say thamks, but due to my wife being on vacationa i decide to take a few days off and enjoy some much need time with her. Anyways this site is very good and offers alot of info about whatever. I have see people post some pics and they all look great. I will be possting some of my detail work and custom mod works soon.

Dyamic Auto Detailing :drunk
 
I pick up a extractor for $1200 a few months ago and it works great. I was not able to run it on one generator very well so I had to buy a second one $800. For some reason it takes me longer to to clean the carpets now, it might because I use a clear extractor tool and can see what I am pulling up out of the carpets.
 
I think the answer depends on the severity of the area to be cleaned. I used a hot water extractor exclusively for my first year in business, and found that in most cases, it's overkill and much to time consuming. Most of the cars I do don't warrant the use of an extractor and cleaning the area by hand(chemical, PC with 4" brush and towel wipe) does the job perfectly. BUT, there are times when a hot water extractor is impossible not to use to get the areas clean. I would have to say that I do hand work 80% of the time, and the remaining 20%, I use the extractor. One more note: I always powerwash the floor mats. It really gets them super clean after the intitial agitation.
 
Mark Waldron said:
I would have to say that I do hand work 80% of the time, and the remaining 20%, I use the extractor.
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I am curious how many others come close to this figure in their daily details. I am getting ready to purchase a unit but would like to know how much importance it plays. Right now I do a few less than a dozen a month and wish I had an extractor for about half of them.
 
Dynamic Detail said:
Hey,

I've been hand shampooing the interiors i think it works the best but i also hear that heated extraxtion works even better and take less time to do. but the cost of a good heated extraction unit is up there. What do most of you do? I'm torn between both right now. Don't really want to spend the money but will if the resuults are faster and better.

Dynamic Detailing
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Can you explain your steps and procedures for a hand shampoo?
 
I currently Vacuum, then pre treat and then shampoo and vacuum again. But latley i have been usiong oxy clean and the results have been great.

Dynamic Auto Detail
 
The down side to shampooing is you leave all your residue and cleaning agents in the carpet. Vauuming will not remove all that shampoo and dirt. What that amounts to long term is the residues in the carpet will attract dirt like a magnet, thus it will not stay clean very long. Go extract a car and shampoo a car, then go back in a month and see which one stayed clean. Many old time cleaners would scoff at the idea of leaving all your residue behind and not extracting the dirt away. Ive stolen many residential accounts because they tell me "Gee Ed, when you cleaned our carpet it stayed clean for months and months, but the other guy cleaned and it was dirty again in 2 weeks." I guarantee the other guy left a bunch of residue behind when he left. Dont get me wrong, shampooing has its place, but for very very lightly soiled carpets. Anything above that I would not shampoo.
 
Ed Hartman said:
The down side to shampooing is you leave all your residue and cleaning agents in the carpet. Vauuming will not remove all that shampoo and dirt. What that amounts to long term is the residues in the carpet will attract dirt like a magnet, thus it will not stay clean very long. Go extract a car and shampoo a car, then go back in a month and see which one stayed clean. Many old time cleaners would scoff at the idea of leaving all your residue behind and not extracting the dirt away. Ive stolen many residential accounts because they tell me "Gee Ed, when you cleaned our carpet it stayed clean for months and months, but the other guy cleaned and it was dirty again in 2 weeks." I guarantee the other guy left a bunch of residue behind when he left. Dont get me wrong, shampooing has its place, but for very very lightly soiled carpets. Anything above that I would not shampoo.
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I could not agree more! I'm of the opinion that the only way to completely clean a carpet is to use hot water extraction. Try this guys; go shampoo a floor mat, vacume it and let it dry over night. The next day it will look great-- stains gone, etc. Now hot water extract with clear water. I bet you will notice that the floor mat looks brighter and feels softer. Open up your waste tank after you are done cleaning and check the water. I bet the water will be a nasty brown color and full of foam. That nasty brown is dirt left behind by the shampoo, and the foam is shampoo residue. Just try it for yourself and see.

Matt
 
good thread guys . I bought my extractor for about 1200 so I'm using it all the time. I know i'm giving the customer the best results. people driving by or happen to notice , see me extracting will come over to ask questions .
If the carpets are really clean I'll just extract the floormats..
 
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