Carpet: Extractor vs Steamer

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Here`s the low down on each:



Heated Carpet Extracting: Any stains are dealt with by blotting with an appropriate chemical. A protein stain remover is used for any organic stains including coffee, milk, blood, etc. A petroleum stain remover is used for oil, chewing gum, ink, etc. A red-stain remover is used for red stains (juice, wine). After any stains are dealt with, a prespray is applied, the carpet is agitated with a brush, and the prespray is left to do it`s thing for 5-10 minutes. Then the carpet is extracted using a solution of water plus an acid rinse, which neutralizes the soap, preventing browning of the carpet, as well as preventing it from attracting new dirt and grit. The acid-rinse also leaves the carpet feeling soft. The extraction method cleans all the way to the backing. The carpet is left damp, and takes awhile to dry.



Steam-Cleaning: A steam cleaner creates steam at some ridiculous temperature like 310 degrees, and comes with several attachments. For this purpose, a triangle shaped attachment is used. It has clips on the back to secure a microfiber towel to it. The steam goes through the towel as it is passed over the carpet surface. The heat emulsifies any dirt/grim and the mf towel absorbs it. No chemicals are used, and the surface is dry within minutes.



So which is better? Let`s find out!



I started with the floor mats. These are typical of a 10 year old car in Calgary, Alberta, what with "winter" and all (something you Texans may not even have heard of.) The dark stain on the driver`s side mat is actually moisture combined with lots of ground in grime.

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First I vacuumed my car and the car mats with my Fein Mini Turbo Vac (http://www.feinus.com/p/NEWdustfree/New-911.htm ). This vac is very powerful but also very compact and very quiet -- about the same volume as a regular household vacuum cleaner. Looks like it`s also very discontinued. I highly recommend it anyway.



I started with the steam cleaner. I am using the Daimer Pro Plus 200s (http://www.daimer.com/comfiles/pages/19.shtml). I filled it with distilled water at room temperature. It took about 20 minutes to head up in my garage. Mind you it is only 5 degrees C in my garage during this whole process.



Here is the steamer in action with the steam lance attachment, with the pressure set just above medium (a pressure that is sustainable for hours.)

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Using the triangle head attachment with a microfiber clipped to it, I made a couple of passes over the passenger side floor mat. This only took a few seconds. Here is the result.

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Here is a picture of the attachment after doing the above cleaning. This is a Sonus interior detailing towel. It is probably not the best choice of mf towel for this particular job, but it works fine.

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I think this floor mat looks what many clients would consider to be "good enough," especially compared to its original dirty condition. But how much dirt is really left in it? I went over it a few more times, adjusting the mf towel each time. Here is both sides of the mf towel afterwards.

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And the other side.

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And here`s the floor mat afterwards. No noticable visual improvement, even though we know it`s cleaner.

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So how many times should I go over it with the steamer? How much dirt is really left in that clean looking mat? Let`s find out. Out comes the extractor. I am using the Aztec heated extractor (http://www.aztecproducts.com/Products/extractor/overview.cfm ). It heats the solution first, then you flick the switch to extract, and off you go. Because it only performs one of these functions at a time, it only has a single plug. Extractors that both heat and extract at the same time have two plugs, so you need access to two circuits. Here is the extractor as well as my Fein Mini Turbo vacuum.

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I applied my prespray (Prochem Ultrapac Traffic-lane Cleaner) to the mat, and scrubbed it with a carpet brush. I let it sit for a few minutes, then extracted. Here is the result.

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It looks a little bit better, but the improvement is hardly noticable. I emptied the recovery tank of my extractor in to the sink. Here`s what the extractor pulled out of that one floor mat.

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I used the extraction method to clean the other floor mat. It looked pretty good afterwards.

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Realizing how much dirt steam cleaning left in my floor mat, I decided to use the extraction method on my carpet. Here is a before picture.

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And here`s the rear carpet. It`s a lot cleaner but still pretty dirty.

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And here`s the front area afterward extracting. It looked a lot better, but not perfect.

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When I looked at my floor mats the next day, I was horrified. My driver`s side mat looked pretty dirty again. And I still wasn`t satisfied with the rest of the car either.