carpet extractor questions

I

imported_steveo3002

New member
ive got the chance to borrow a carpet extractor to do my own cars soon



i dont have any major stains or marks...id just like to freshen things up



should i



a , use shampoo...extract, then plain water ...extract



b , use a low amount of shampoo and extract and leave it



c , :confused:
 
What kind of extractor is it? Mine for instance will suds up way to much if you put the soap in the water even low suds. So my technique is simple enough. get a spray bottle with carpet shampoo and water in it. Spray on carpets, scrub in with nylon brush, then extractor with clean heated water. Either blow dry or if have time let air dry.
 
Shouldn't have any issue with stickiness the extractor will extract the soap residue as well as the water if it's a decent extractor. You can test a spot or two first off if in doubt.
 
Jakerooni said:
What kind of extractor is it? Mine for instance will suds up way to much if you put the soap in the water even low suds. So my technique is simple enough. get a spray bottle with carpet shampoo and water in it. Spray on carpets, scrub in with nylon brush, then extractor with clean heated water. Either blow dry or if have time let air dry.
Click to expand...

If you’re using the correct carpet shampoo, it shouldn’t foam too much – it’s designed for that. What usually makes it foam is residual soap/chemicals from previous cleanings. If foam is a problem, you can get Crystal Defoamer, I think the brand I use is Chemspec. For 1 car, using 1 teaspoon of the defoamer is good enough for me. Just sprinkle it on the first section of carpet right before you start to extract. Hot water rinses/cleans best and cold water helps to keep the foam lower in the recovery tank – use what suits you best. To save money, go easy on the Crystal Defoamer – 1 container of that can defoam a whole swimming pool’s worth of rinse water.
 
Yeah, if an extractor has foaming issues, get a defoamer. It's cheap stuff and works well. The extractor's pump will be much happier without the foaming.



I *always* do a clean water rinse, and I plan on getting some rinse-agent stuff to affect even *better* rinsing. In fact, I don't worry as much about spraying the shampoo as I do about the rinsing, so I'll often just have plain water in the extractor and I'll spray the cleaning agents on manually. Sounds like Jakerooni and I do basically the same thing.



Even if the carpet doesn't seem sticky, that doesn't mean there isn't detergent residue left behind ;)



Check out what Grouse has to say on this subject, he *really* knows a lot about this topic.
 
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