shampooer

[8Banger]

im looking to buy one with some xmas money ill be getting - only looking to spend around $80 on one, though. what brands, types, products do you guys recommend with them?



im thinking about this one:



www.BISSELL.com - Products







thanks guys and merry Christmas

 

[imageautodetail]

im looking to buy one with some xmas money ill be getting - only looking to spend around $80 on one, though. what brands, types, products do you guys recommend with them?



im thinking about this one:



www.BISSELL.com - Products







thanks guys and merry Christmas

dont waste the 80 bucks, you can clean carpets better by hand with a shop vac than you can with any thing you can buy at a retail store, save your money toward a smaller extractor like an aztec or tuffy jr, bissel, GCM, and the such are crap

 

[TrueDetailer]

dont waste the 80 bucks, you can clean carpets better by hand with a shop vac than you can with any thing you can buy at a retail store, save your money toward a smaller extractor like an aztec or tuffy jr, bissel, GCM, and the such are crap

x2



Alot of people use a shop vac and a stiff brush for cleaning carpets. Unless you're doing this full time you don't really need a dedicated carpet machine. And if you're going to buy one, save your money and get something like a small mytee.

 

[imported_themightytimmah]

I'd disagree - I've had great luck with my Little Green. It's not a Mytee, but mine's held up to 2 years of semi-pro use, and it's taken pretty much every kind of stain out.



The only caveat is that you need to use a good pretreater and a good shampoo - it doesn't put out the kind of heat that the big boys do, and you'll need the chemical action to break up stains.



I never had any luck with the shopvac method - different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

[COLDZ71]

I used one of those the first time I started cleaning my vehicles more often. I found it cleans no better than using a shop vac and a brush. The only benefit that I can see is that you can SEE the dirt that you sucked up in the resevoir. I would not buy one.

 

[Accumulator]

While I've sorta-slammed small carpet machines in the past, and yeah I *do* really think the pro units are worth the money, the smaller ones can be handy. Not just for detailing but for all sorts of household jobs (especially emergencies- spills, pets, etc.). So yeah, while I use the Century/Ninja for most jobs and have recommended the Sears setup that hooks onto a shop vac, I can still see buying one of the smaller units. Accumulatorette gave a heated Bissell to some of my in-laws and they just love it.



Heh heh, just had a situation at a friend's house were we coulda used one, Christmas Eve festivities resulted in a beverage spill.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

So yeah, while I use the Century/Ninja for most jobs and have recommended the Sears setup that hooks onto a shop vac, I can still see buying one of the smaller units.

By "Sears setup" I presume you mean some sort of extractor nozzle? I would guess that perhaps that's why some people have less than good results from the shop vac...if you don't have an appropriate nozzle I can see it not really getting the water/dirt out.



I personally have a heated LGCM, and find it fine for what it is, but I'm not detailing for money.

 

[David Fermani]

dont waste the 80 bucks, you can clean carpets better by hand with a shop vac than you can with any thing you can buy at a retail store,

That's my thoughts too. Even if you use an extractor, you still have to pre-spot, soak and scrub most stains and you should towel dry and lift the remaining dirt that's still in the surface too. Even when extracting a carpet/seat, it still requires additional labor to make it right. Even the best extractor won't remove everything from dirty fabric most of the time.

 

[Accumulator]

By "Sears setup" I presume you mean some sort of extractor nozzle? I would guess that perhaps that's why some people have less than good results from the shop vac...if you don't have an appropriate nozzle I can see it not really getting the water/dirt out.

Yeah, it's a setup that has an extractor-style nozzle and a siphon feed shampoo line that hooks up to a faucet. Somebody here tried unsuccessfully to find it (and I can't find my part #) so I dunno if they still make it. Good system though IME, better than some of the similar Bissells I've used.



The nozzle design is, IME, critical with regard to how effectively the water/solution (and hence the loosened dirt too) is, extracted from the material being cleaned (see comment below regarding my pro excractor); a narrow inlet seems *infinitely* more effective than a broader one...greater concentration of the suction I suppose. Even the nozzles that come on some good pro extractors don't leave things very dry- their broad inlet seems more efficient than effective.



Oh, just noticed your "me and Ketch" in your signature line...I suspect that therein lies a tale

Even if you use an extractor, you still have to pre-spot, soak and scrub most stains and you should towel dry and lift the remaining dirt that's still in the surface too. Even when extracting a carpet/seat, it still requires additional labor to make it right. Even the best extractor won't remove everything from dirty fabric most of the time.

I dunno....my Century/Ninja extractor sprays *hot* solution *deep* into whatever I'm cleaning. But yeah, I still have to pre-treat and agitate some stuff (Cyclo with brushes) though.



Still, the pro-level extractor has really impressed me, it's much better than the Hoover/Bissell units I've also used (and I've probably used almost a dozen different ones over the years). Now that I have the Century/Ninja all set up the way I want it (e.g., Bissell extractor nozzle for the final extraction and/or deep cleaning) it really does do a great job- absolutely *no* need for any towel-drying/blotting; it leaves things much drier than that (e.g., previously saturated materials will hardly dampen a paper towel). Also leaves things cleaner than any other method I've tried- really sucks the dirt up/out. But OTOH my technique might have something to do with this, I can spend a *LOT* of time on some jobs by the time I say "good enough".



Never did get the carpeted dead-pedal area of the MPV clean though...finally threw in the towel on that one.

 

[BigAl3]

I'd disagree - I've had great luck with my Little Green. It's not a Mytee, but mine's held up to 2 years of semi-pro use, and it's taken pretty much every kind of stain out.

agreed, it should be okay if you use it for personal use (you and your families cars), but i wouldn't use it for business. not everyone has hundreds of dollars to buy a mytee, etc...

 

[David Fermani]

Now that I have the Century/Ninja all set up the way I want it (e.g., Bissell extractor nozzle for the final extraction and/or deep cleaning) it really does do a great job- absolutely *no* need for any towel-drying/blotting; it leaves things much drier than that (e.g., previously saturated materials will hardly dampen a paper towel). Also leaves things cleaner than any other method I've tried- really sucks the dirt up/out.

I'm referring to the cleaning ability of an extractor rather than the dampness left afterwards. Next time you use it on a moderate to heavy job, towel the fabric after and see if any dirt transfers onto your towel. I'll bet it does, which means it doesn't clean 100% like some people want to think.

 

[imageautodetail]

agreed, it should be okay if you use it for personal use (you and your families cars), but i wouldn't use it for business. not everyone has hundreds of dollars to buy a mytee, etc...

But must everybody has a shop vac, and I would put money on the fact that I can do an equal or beter job with my 6.5 rigid, then some one can do with a little green clean machine. thats been my experience

 

[Cleaning Fool]

But must everybody has a shop vac, and I would put money on the fact that I can do an equal or beter job with my 6.5 rigid, then some one can do with a little green clean machine. thats been my experience

I agree. I owned a carpet cleaning biz for 10 years. Equipment aside, you still have to follow some basic principles to achieve results, just like claying, polishing and waxing a car. My steps to clean carpet would be this. #1 Vacuum thoroughly, remove the dry soil #2 Pretreat the carpet with a high quality traffic lane cleaner, I can recommend several #3 Agitate the cleaner on the carpet with a soft bristle brush #4 Let dwell 10 minuts #5 Mist the carpet with hot water and "suck" the carpet with your wet/dry vac or if you are fortunate enough to have a good extractor. Part of the problems with Bissels is they will leave more "soap" if you will in the carpet, which will cause the carpet to re-soil 2x faster than normal.

 

[David Fermani]

I agree. I owned a carpet cleaning biz for 10 years. Equipment aside, you still have to follow some basic principles to achieve results, just like claying, polishing and waxing a car. My steps to clean carpet would be this. #1 Vacuum thoroughly, remove the dry soil #2 Pretreat the carpet with a high quality traffic lane cleaner, I can recommend several #3 Agitate the cleaner on the carpet with a soft bristle brush #4 Let dwell 10 minuts #5 Mist the carpet with hot water and "suck" the carpet with your wet/dry vac or if you are fortunate enough to have a good extractor. Part of the problems with Bissels is they will leave more "soap" if you will in the carpet, which will cause the carpet to re-soil 2x faster than normal.

So, you don't use a carpet shampoo, just a cleaner? After vacuuming, dry brushing and pre-cleaning(with proper cleaner), I scrub each small section with carpet shampoo and vacuum imediately while the dirt is loosened and raised to the top of the surface. I then towel dry it to lift any other residual soiling. I don't like letting water or cleaners sit and saturate the fabric.

 

[Cleaning Fool]

Well, you would have to define for me what you call "shampoo". Generally speaking, in the "professional" carpet cleaning biz "shampoo" is a dirty word. To answer your question, no we never used "shampoo" per say to pre-treat carpets. We use traffic lane cleaners. Dwell time on carpet is your friend, it allows the cleaning agent to work for you, loosening the dirt so its easier to clean. Having said that, you do not want to "soak" the carpet to begin with. A nice mist/spray over the surface will work, a little extra on stains. To simplify, we put down a pre-spray (traffic lane cleaner) and after dwell time extract with HOT water at the 220 degrees give or take. Towell drying is a good method for cars.

 

[BigAl3]

But must everybody has a shop vac, and I would put money on the fact that I can do an equal or beter job with my 6.5 rigid, then some one can do with a little green clean machine. thats been my experience

everyone has their own way of cleaning i suppose (can't say your technique is any better than anyone else's), as some use BOTH the shop vac and LGBM. here is a great write-up... http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/43947-carpet-upholstery-cleaning-gsrstilez.html

 

[David Fermani]

What I consider shampooing is the act of using a dedicated foaming liquid cleaner specifically designed to lift ground in dirt away from the base of the carpet knap. Here's how I clean carpets in vehicles:

*vacuum

*dry brush with stiff brush (sometimes brass bristle)

*vacuum again

*pre-spot/pre-soak & agitate heavy soiled areas and isolated spots (APC/solvent/enzyme)

*apply shampoo foam to carpet section and scrub

*vacuum thoroughly & immediately

*hand towel and lift remaining dirt

*repeat as necessary



I find using extractors on *most* vehicles a PITA. A lot of times when using them, you still need to “hand scrub� tight sections that even the small attachments can’t reach. They ‘re nice to have and do a great job of cleaning (especially on seats), but I haven’t seen too many jobs where they were a necessity. If I was doing commercial/residential (“professional�) carpet cleaning, then, of course, an extractor is the only way.

 

[Accumulator]

.. Next time you use it on a moderate to heavy job, towel the fabric after and see if any dirt transfers onto your towel. I'll bet it does, which means it doesn't clean 100% like some people want to think.

Could quite possibly be a matter of technique, but no, I don't get dirt transfer to white towels after extracting.



But that "matter of technique", well...the laborious way that I do things is probably off-the-scale compared to what many people do I can spend hours on end doing stuff like this (and/but if I thought I could do better by going back to non-exctractor-centric methods I'd do things differently; I did without extractors for literally decades).



I should notet that "heavy" jobs just aren't part of my experience, new-to-me used vehicles notwithstanding. I learned my lesson about letting things get nasty with that MPV dead-pedal carpet



Heh heh, about time you and I didn't see eye-to-eye on *something* :nana: We've been in seemingly complete agreement for quite a while!

 

[David Fermani]

Heh heh, about time you and I didn't see eye-to-eye on *something* :nana: We've been in seemingly complete agreement for quite a while!

Ha! You always make alot of sense. I think we just have different regiments that we're use to doing. Hey, as long as your end result works, more power to ya. :up