Carpet Shampooer

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RUBigDog05

New member
I know there is a post about cheap carpet shampooers somewhere but I am too lazy to search. I saw the Little Green Machine at Walmart the other day for $68. Mind you, I'm not a professional detailer by any means but I do detail my own ride along with my parents and others when they call on me. I few times people have asked if I shampoo carpets and had to tell them I didn't and they seemed a little disappointed. I was thinking that the Little Green Machine might help me increase profits if I bought one. I know its not the best thing out there but its affordable and I'm sure it does a "decent: job and at least I could tell people carpet shampooing is available. Will this thing take out MINOR stains such as from mud or a coke stain?

I was also going to invest in some carpet protection to increase profits but I don't want to buy it, use it on someones car and then come to find out, it didn't work cuz then I would have to work to get a stain out. Does anyone offer carpet protection as an extra cost? What type of carpet protection do you use?
 
First of all I would like to say the little green machine will most likely be good enough for a few jobs per year. You will want to have a good vacume to get the dirt out of the carpet first before attacking with lgm.
I have a pro heat model. I use it as a clean water heated rinse for removing soap from the carpet. Many others do this as well. It reduces problems with internal clogging in the machine and leaves the carpets w/o soap res.
USE THE SEARCH. There is really some good information on the LGM here on this site. you will get the info right away and not have to wait a few days for it to all trickle in. Thats what the its there for.
As far as protection i haven't ever upsold much in an attempt to increase my profit. I don't do jobs daily or even weekly, I take care of mine-family, and do customers (mostly summer monthes) as well as a few fleet trucks (semi) throughout the year.

ps the turbo brush is essentially useless IMO
 
I have an LGCM. Honestly, I think you are better off scrubbing the carpets by hand and extracting with a good wet/dry vac. The only redeeming feature of the one I have is that it heats the cleaning solution. The only reason I'm not complaining more is that I only paid $75.
 
I've gotten some crazy stains out with my LGM, it's quite effective. My process is the oxy method. I use the LGM to extract, then I fill the tank with Hot Water and do a flood rinse and a pass or two to dry. Carpets come out clean and fresh and don't get dirty too fast.
 
Here's a reply I posted on another board:
As to the Bissell Little Green Machine, I've found that if you have a Shop Vac with really good suction, you'll get better results with it than the Bissell. The LGM don't have much suction, and often leave *lots* of moisture in the carpet. The LGM are almost all plastic, so they aren't made for "industrial" use. The LGM are loud. As well, the hose isn't too long, so if you were doing a large car/truck/SUV/etc. the machine would have to be brought into the cabin, possibly set on the seat, just so the end reaches all areas. This is a problem 1)because the noise is intensified within the enclosed space, and 2)you may get water/dirt/etc. on the seat from the machine. You'd probably end up having to put some plastic down first. Also, the water isn't "injected" into the carpet, it's more like what you might get from a spray bottle. If you got yourself one of those pump sprayers, you'd likely get better results. Along those lines, they have a fairly small water capacity. If you are doing your own car once in a while, then it may be fine, but if you have your own business, the repeated refilling/emptying will become annoying quickly.
In short, if you don't have a good Shop Vac, and are using it only for personal use, a LGM may be a good choice. If you are a pro, look for something more substantial.
Click to expand...
 
I had a LGM and loved it worked well for me for about three years and I used it allot...weekly in most cases....Another option to think about is an upright model rug cleaner...they all come with hand attachments that have long hoses...recovery and soloution tanks are much larger. I have a Bissel and love it....you can wheel it around the car and the hose will reach way to the inside....the model that I have has a heater and that seems to work OK...the lift is about the same as the LGM....plus you can clean the rugs in the house as well :rolleyes:

I do think that it will last allot longer than the LGM....just my .02 on the subject.
 
just use aerol shampoo and a good shamoo brush, use water to cut more, add mean green for more power, add tar&wax for even more more. you can also check out a great video explaining all this called RespectTheMullet.com
best of luck,
mr. detail
 
I've used several of the LGM over the years. I had the pro heat model and it worked fine just took a while. I found I could achieve the results I was looking for manually and didn't need it. For light cleaning I like to scrub with a wash mitt. Protects my hands and covers a lot of area fast. When I need a little more scrubbing, I use a brush on my PC. I have a three way plug for my extention cord so I can use the vacuum and the pc. I like using that especially in the cold months. Today I cleaned the interior of a car and it was in the 30's. I was able to use so little water that vehicle was just about dry. Although the PC won't scrub as hard as I can by hand, it makes up for it by being able to scrub so fast and I don't break a sweat.
 
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