Recommend me a carpet/upholstery cleaner please...

I

imported_Ivan Rajic

New member
I figured instead of searching I'd ask for exactly what I'm looking for... that and it's 1am and I'm not in the mood for searching to be honest :)



I'm looking for something to allow me to do some carpet/upholstery cleaning when the paint restoration slows down in the winter months. I don't need any commercial grade stuff, just a good steam cleaner or something that enables me to clean cloth efficiently.



I'm fairly experienced in everything interior-wise except carpets/upholstery, on which I only do spot cleaning, and even that's rare.



I was thinking about one of those steam cleaners in the $150-250 range mentioned around the forums, Bissel, etc. but have no clue where to start looking or what I'll need along with the cleaner.



Any help is greatly appreciated.



Thanks.
 
Ivan, that is a good question and i hope someone chimes in with some info. A good steamer would be great to find in that price range and i know it can be done. I would be interested to know the answer as well.
 
Lol, Ivan doesn't know how to clean carpet! :rofl



Just messing with ya. The steamer I use is one of the spendy industrial ones (EuroSteam) and it works wonders. There was another for sale that seemed similar in quality that a lot on here were getting that was more in the $700 range. I believe the only major difference was the quality of the hose. I plan on looking into one of those when my EuroSteam craps out on me.



My wife has one of those Shark steamers that she uses around the house, but the couple times I've used it I've always felt it was far less of a machine than my detail steamer. It may be good enough for some (most) but I may just be spoiled from my machine and would never use it in a commercial detail setting.



I have debated about picking up a Bissel LGM for my mobile business just because there are some situations where an extractor is a better machine than the steamer. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to get the Bissel LGM extractor for your interiors and upgrading to a better commercial steamer if you find you are doing more interiors more frequently. Also, I highly recommend getting the carpet brushes for either PC or Cyclo to really zip through carpets if you don't have one already.



If business really picks up for you, let me know and I'll see if I can convince my wife to move down there so I can help you out. Not likely, but I can always dream. :)
 
Todd I am man enough to admit my weaknesses haha. In my ~4 years doing detailing I have probably cleaned about 2 square feet of carpet, and the whole 2 sq. ft. were done with Tuff Stuff cleaner, terry towels and a vacuum! Treated a few spots here and there and that's it.



However, now I'm getting more and more inquiries about interior carpet shampooing/cleaning and I will be first to admit, I have no clue where to start. I know steam cleaners are good for getting stuff loose/clean but would I need an extractor, or is that just for heavy/tough work?



I'm thinking this might be a good learning tool, in addition to getting some of the work done for now... Little Green® ProHeat



EDIT: Oh and you're more than welcome down here any time. Business has been steady and new clients coming monthly but I'm still at around 6-8 full details/month. Considering I work an office job Mon-Fri 8-5 and spend $50/year advertising (biz cards and some flyers, most of which are sitting in my bedroom) I'm right where I want to be.



Maybe you should come down and make me go full time. My only concern then is that we'll make too much money that we must then spend on our women. We would however make Chicago the most efficient city when it comes to gas consumption, what with all the perfectly aerodynamic, polished cars. :D
 
Ivan, that's the exact same unit I'm looking to pick up and I believe I have seen it for sale at Kohl's before. My wife even offered to pick it up for me next time she gets one of those 30% off coupons in the mail. We'll see how long that takes, because usually I'll toss those Kohl's ads in the trash before she sees them to prevent any subsequent spending sprees. ;)



I do very well with my steamer and only on a handful of occasions have I wished I still had my Mytee with me. The real tough spots and soaked stains are the ones where an extractor is more useful. I have still made due with my steamer, but it took multiple attempts. As far as general cleaning, there really isn't anything that can beat the steamer. I have effectively cut my interior time for a typical interior detail in half.



We should really organize a shop day down in your neck of the woods. I'll consider it a mini vacation (I miss Chicago) and we can exchange some tips and tricks. I'll bring my steamer, you bring the beer. :D
 
I guess I'm going to pull the trigger on that Pro Heat and see how it goes.



I'm a Jack & Coke type of guy but enjoy a Heineken or Dos Equis here and there. Depends on how heavy a detail job is I guess haha
 
D&D Auto Detail said:
An extractor is the way to go. You'd be surprised at what just using plain water can do. I have the Mytee 8070.
Click to expand...



I don't doubt it one bit, but for me that's too much of an unnecessary expense at the moment. If the interiors REALLY pick up I'll look into more commercial-type setups.
 
Bissell Little Green machine is not a bad machine for the price. I have however gone through a couple of them but not recently. When i first had one about 4 years ago i had a little trouble with them leaking from the bottom of the machine but out of the 3 or so i have had they functioned rather well and are able to lift stuff out of the carpet that you would probably never be able to get out with just a towel.



Not sure the proheat one is really worth it though as it doesn't heat the water a ton but that is a choice you will have to make. I never personally had the heated one. I just used hot water if it was available to me on my mobile job site.
 
LUSTR said:
I'm a Jack & Coke type of guy
Click to expand...

Me too!



I'd be curious as to what the guys that have used a real extractor (Cobra, Mytee, etc.) would say about the Bissels. The great thing about a proper hot water extractor is both the water heater, capacity, and lift power. My old Mytee had a 6-gal capacity, a 3-stage motor that could pick up a bowling ball, and would heat to over 200 degrees. When extracting with the Mytee, you could complete the entire vehicle without having to empty it and refill the reservoir. I'd image with the Bissel you would have to constantly be emptying/refilling if doing an entire vehicle.
 
If you decide on the Bissel, get the auto version, it has a crevice tool that can get into tighter spots.
 
I agree with the extractor portion of things. It is nice to have something with hot water. I have the Mytee HP60 and love it. The best part about it is it's dual purpose. You can get the upright floor wand and do household carpets if things slow down that much. I have used it plenty of times in my house for spills and just regular yearly cleaning of the carpets. I even landed a job cleaning a dentists carpet once without even looking for the job. I went in for a cleaning and got to talking, and next thing I know, I am booking a carpet cleaning for him....totally out of the realm of auto detailing, but it wasn't too difficult, very low overhead since I used his water and electricity (all I had to do was use my extractor soap and pre-treater), and the rest was labor (aka, profit). I know it is a big expense, but in the long run, IMO you will be happier and it will open up some new opportunities.
 
what about vapor steam cleaners. I too am in the market to buy something. I want to get a steam cleaner for using on interior panels and not just carpets. (sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to thread jack, just tryin to get more info from the other guys)
 
Can I call myself the extractor expert on the forum ? Can I ??? Can I ??? :laugh:



My personal opinions:



- Durrmaid 1600: An awesome little carpet extractor. It has an on-board heater, and a good amount of water lift. It is very compact, this is the best feature of this unit for anyone who's a mobile detailer or has very limited shop / garage space. You have to be a bit careful, there are no pressure safety options with this unit.... If you leave the machine running without releasing pressure through the sprayer for long enough (about 2 to 3 minutes), the pump will burn out. That said, Dennis Durr, the owner / operator of the company that manufactures these extractors, is a great guy and very easy to get ahold of. He has replacement parts in stock at all times, and ships them very quickly if something does happen to you. I've gone through 3 pumps and he's replaced them all under warranty, doesn't charge me for shipping either, and has never requested that I send the old one back. The Durrmaid is also well priced, you can get it for around $650 USD.



- Mytee Lite-II 8070: This is a bigger unit when compared to the Durrmaid. The heater and water lift are very similar though. In real world usage, the Mytee seems to be built a bit better quality wise, and has held up to more abuse than the Durrmaid has. The heater does work better, as it's an "in-line" heater, heating only what's moving through the line vs the Durrmaid's coil heater that heats the entire solution tank. No parts have gone on me so for on the Mytee (fingers crossed), and it's been through a lot of use (minimum 1.5 hours a day on a standard 5 day work week). MSRP is $899 USD, you can find it for around $850 USD on various sites.



- Mytee HP60: Simply a bigger version of the Lite-II 8070, with better water lift and a higher wattage heater. MSRP is $1449 USD, I've seen it for sale for $1300 USD. Honestly (and I own both), if you're doing a LOT of volume and you need uber-fast drying times, I can't really recommend this one over the Lite-II 8070, simply based on the cost factor. Soiling can be gotten out just the same with a little brushing and agitation of the carpets prior to extracting, so basically all you're really doing is being able to get more water lift, which allows the carpets to dry faster. In short, this HP60 saves you time over the Lite-II 8070.



- Bissel LGM: I used this while I was waiting for a replacement pump for the Durrmaid. This machine cost $99 at Wal-Mart. With that in mind, understand that the general basic rule of consumer goods applies here, you get what you pay for. The water lift isn't very good, small rocks, stones and debris won't get lifted (where those things will with all the above extractors). Now before you say "well sure, but just vacuum first", anyone who has experienced things like sand in an interior will understand what I'm talking about. An extractor should be able to pick up small, loose debris without any issue. The LGM has very serious problems with this. The tanks are very small as well, expect to be refilling and emptying the tanks once or twice per vehicle. If you go for the cheaper model, there is no on-board water heater, so you need to have access to a hot water tap. Even on the heated model, the heater does not get very hot, and it takes a long time. I would only recommend the LGM as a backup unit, or if you really only need it like once every 3 months.





I find this topic always to be interesting on this forum. Professional detailers will buy a PC or Flex or Makita polisher for hundreds of dollars. If I said I was going to buy this Simoniz polisher: Simoniz Orbital Car Polisher | Canadian Tire for professional paint corrections, I'd probably get flogged by every experienced person here. Essentially, you're talking about doing the exact same thing with an extractor. Don't cheap out and get something like the LGM or some $150 steamer. If you're going to work on carpets and upholstery, get a real, quality extractor that's made for professionals.
 
^^ Great post. I completely agree with the Makita/SImoniz comparison. There are two reasons I ordered the Bissell... main reason is that I wouldn't use it much AT ALL. Out of 10 details, I might do 1 or 2 interiors, and those are all spotless other than needing a thorough vacuuming and some a good leather cleaning. No stains, smells, etc. Second reason is that I'm completely new to the steam cleaners and just want to learn a bit. As demand for interiors picks up, and I assume it will as I will advertise it more as I learn more and more how how to do it properly, I will definitely look into a "real" steam cleaner/extractor to get the job done.
 
I bought the Bissel auto "steam" cleaner...it should be called the lukewarm cleaner. The instructions say to fill the solution tank with hot tap water to begin with...the heater in the unit makes a marginal difference in temperature. I used the unit for about 4 vehicles before deciding to spend the extra money for a better unit made my US Products. You can get cold water spotter units for about $400 that work well...obviously a hot water extractor is better, but more $$$. As with most things you get what you pay for...I would rather buy a better unit once than a cheaper unit 3 times; however, the Bissel Pro Heat is an ok unit to start with if you will only be doing the very odd interior.
 
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