Laundry detergent!?!

A

Altered-Image

New member
I was talking with another local detailer yesterday and he claims he runs High efficiency laundry detergent through his extractor.



Sounds bogus to me.



I have always used just plain old hot water after spraying the carpets with cleaner and then brushing the stained areas.



I've always had good results with my method which seems to be the preferred method for most detailers, but, Laundry detergent....whouldnt that damage the extractor? Seems to me that it would need to be agitated anyway, not just sprayed in concentrated and sucked out.



Just thought i'd share it with you all.
 
Why wouldn't that work? As long as it doesn't foam excessively, why would it damage the extactor, and although I'm sure agitation would help, why wouldn't it do something without it?
 
sounds like a good idea to me - if you can find HE detergent fairly cheap.



should leave the carpet smelling nice.....
 
To me it seems like the shampoos made for the solution tank of an extractor are much finer and dilute much easier than laundry detergent. When i pour laundry detergent into my washing machine it just seems thick to me, allthough maybe HE is much thinner.



I just look at the filter in my Mytee and I can imagine a thick coating of scummy soapy crap all around it after using laundry detergent.



Who knows, maybe the guy is on to somthing.
 
Altered-Image, perhaps this guy is diluting it down a lot. Besides, after you pour that thick detergent into the water, it gets diluted down and is thinner. IME the thicker detergents (laundry or car) foam more, so I suspect the HE detergent is thinner than the non-HE equivalent. I know Charlie's (which is HE-safe) is quite thin.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Why wouldn't that work? As long as it doesn't foam excessively, why would it damage the extactor, and although I'm sure agitation would help, why wouldn't it do something without it?
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Agreed. It's made to clean fibers in clothing why not carpeting? As long as it does not create foam it should be alright for most machines.
 
Danase said:
Agreed. It's made to clean fibers in clothing why not carpeting? As long as it does not create foam it should be alright for most machines.
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As has been discussed in the past, detergents marketed for various purposes are frequently more alike than different. Years ago in one of the Dawn threads one of the ChemE's here went thru the ingredients and pretty much debunked Dawn being much different than the car wash soaps :bolt
 
Next time i'm at Lowe's I'll talk to one of the appliance specialists and see if they have any samples. I'll give it a shot and let you guys know.



If it actually works It might be more cost effective than some of the shampoos out there. Just think of how little goes into a load of laundry and compare that to the size of an extractor's tanks.
 
Danase said:
Agreed. It's made to clean fibers in clothing why not carpeting? As long as it does not create foam it should be alright for most machines.
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Even if it does create foam, it's not a problem. When cleaning residential carpets and upholstery, it's not an uncommon practice to use a defoamer in the recovery tank. I personally use Chemspec. The reason some guys use it 100% of the time is because even though we might be using a dedicated carpet/upholstery shampoo, you don't know what kind of spills or residue (from previous cleanings) are in the carpet. It's not expensive. I think a 1 gallon size container is only about $25.



BTW, I received my order from Danase. Danase Wet Glase looks awesome! Thanks Bob!:heelclick
 
There's nothing wrong with it at all. But I've found that adding anything but nice clean water into the extractor just ends up making more maintence work for me. I can just as easily add the detegent via spray bottle and agitate with a brush keeping my extractor nice and clean. Once you start adding chemicals you need to up your maintence and cleaning of the machine. It dosen't harm it by any means but you will need to clean out the chemicals to prevent build up (even if diluted). But either way is fine I just find it alot easier to maintain my equipment with just plain water.
 
Jakerooni said:
There's nothing wrong with it at all. But I've found that adding anything but nice clean water into the extractor just ends up making more maintence work for me. I can just as easily add the detegent via spray bottle and agitate with a brush keeping my extractor nice and clean. Once you start adding chemicals you need to up your maintence and cleaning of the machine. It dosen't harm it by any means but you will need to clean out the chemicals to prevent build up (even if diluted). But either way is fine I just find it alot easier to maintain my equipment with just plain water.
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Hi Jakerooni, thanks for the tip!



Since you use water in the extractor, do you do anything prior to winter? I was wondering because I once left an extractor in the work van OUTSIDE over the weekend. There was a solution of water and all fiber rinse in the tank. Anyway, it froze and expanded, and broke the motor. Since then, I suction out the solution tank and run windshield washer fluid through the lines to prevent it from freezing. Just wondering if you do anything similar?
 
Jakerooni said:
There's nothing wrong with it at all. But I've found that adding anything but nice clean water into the extractor just ends up making more maintence work for me. I can just as easily add the detegent via spray bottle and agitate with a brush keeping my extractor nice and clean. Once you start adding chemicals you need to up your maintence and cleaning of the machine. It dosen't harm it by any means but you will need to clean out the chemicals to prevent build up (even if diluted). But either way is fine I just find it alot easier to maintain my equipment with just plain water.
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I'm with you Jake! To me, the point of using an extractor is to rinse the carpet/upholstery with clean hot water so it pulls out all the soap, dirt, and other junk. An extractor is a rinsing/flushing tool (hence the name, extractor), not a shampooing tool.
 
I usually bring my extractor inside in the colder months. But I think I'm in the same boat as you right now. I left it out in the garage over a cold snap thinking it was completly emptied but apparently I missed something because now my pump isn't working right. It works for about 5 seconds then shuts off. I have to unplug and let it sit for a couple of hours and I can get another 5 seconds out of it. Haven't tore it down just yet to check it out but I have a feeling I'm going to be replacing the pump again. :(
 
mshu7 said:
I'm with you Jake! To me, the point of using an extractor is to rinse the carpet/upholstery with clean hot water so it pulls out all the soap, dirt, and other junk. An extractor is a rinsing/flushing tool (hence the name, extractor), not a shampooing tool.
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Hello mshu7 thanks for the tip! :woot2:



While it's true that an extractor is for rinsing, you can can use chemicals in it besides clean water. Alot of times, homeowners get brownout when then only rinse with water. It's in imbalance in the ph levels with residue that was previously left in the carpet from the last cleaning. To prevent this, I use All Fiber Rinse and haven't had a problem. If clean water is sufficient, by all means use it. It's cheaper, more economical, and definitely "greener". FWIW, I've never had a problem rinsing Woolite with cold water.
 
Back when woolite was more popular when cleaning carpets, a lot of people were doing it. I have used their HE formula with good results (comparable to APC but with a better smell).



Was the other guy using a professional extractor or a bissel machine?



Interior carpeting is probably the biggest area that most people differ in. Autopians are all over the map.
 
He uses a professional extractor, similar to my mytee, but larger, cant remember the brand name because i wouldn't use anything else after owning my mytee.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Altered-Image, perhaps this guy is diluting it down a lot. Besides, after you pour that thick detergent into the water, it gets diluted down and is thinner. IME the thicker detergents (laundry or car) foam more, so I suspect the HE detergent is thinner than the non-HE equivalent. I know Charlie's (which is HE-safe) is quite thin.
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I will agree with this. I use Detail King's Extractor Soap with my Mytee, and as supplied, it is actually thicker than laundry detergent...but you have to look at the dilution ratio in order to get it through the pressure hoses without clogging. I have never had a problem with it clogging because of the dilution ration. The only thing I do when I am done is run the extractor cleaner through the hoses and make sure all the soap is out so it doesn't dry and clog.



Also, don't forget there are de-sudsing liquids that you can add to certain detergents to make them less sudsing.
 
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