Shampooing Carpets - Machines/by hand

**endus** · 07-28-2003, 10:58 AM

I was searching around and didn`t see any threads specifically addressing this...if I missed one I`d appreciate a link...

Last summer I used my mom`s bissel carpet extractor to shampoo my carpets. Unfortunately it is partially broken (making it a pain to use) and completely buried under junk (house is being renovated).

So I am wondering what everyone uses to do their carpets. I do not want to pay a lot of money for a household extractor because my apartment is all hardwoods...so this will only be for the car. I saw some hand held ones from Dirt Devil and Bissel but I think they are too big to get into the tight spots in my car. It would be nice to get something that scrubbed as well as sprayed but :nixweiss . I am wondering if doing it by hand with a scrub brush and shop vac might even be the best solution, although it would be nice to have a machine to make it simpler and less messy. If anyone has had good experiences with any of the small/cheap shampooers I would appreciate the feedback.

Also, what shampoo do people use? I heard that there are some citrus shapoos out there...which might be nice. The stuff I used in my moms smelt rather nasty, but in the end really didn`t leave that much smell behind. I don`t want anything overpowering, but if there are any shampoos that leave behind a slight pleasent scent it would be okay.

**imported_Custom Detail** · 07-28-2003, 11:24 AM

Good question.........I`d be iterested in the answer myself.

**Accumulator** · 07-28-2003, 11:28 AM

Not sure my experiences will be of any help to you, but...

For shampoo I use whatever`s handy. Bissel concentrate, Resolve, 3M carpet care stuff (got it with our home carpet installation), or Griot`s Interior Cleaner. Yes, I`ve tried P21S TAW on really awful carpet and it worked OK. OxyClean sometimes works really well.

IMO, the small (homeowner style) extractors are really just wimpy wet/dry vacs. I`ve tried Hoover`s Steanvac Jr., Bissel`s various big and little models (four total), and *Sears` carpet cleaning setup that goes on their shopvacs* (best of the lot). The pickup nozzles for carpet machines DO seem to work better than just a regular wet/dry vac nozzle, and solution-feed systems that hook up to a faucet let you use hot water, which helps a lot. So I`d go with the attachment for a wet/dry vac with faucet hookup. The self-contained ones are convenient, but unless they have a heater they don`t work as well.

I agitate the carpets with a carpet brush setup made for my Cyclo. It scrubs a LOT better than I do by hand.

There`s no easy answer to the tight spots. Scrub with a small brush, use a cone-shaped nozzle for the wet/dry vac to suck up what you can`t reach with the carpet nozzle.

**endus** · 07-28-2003, 11:36 AM

Thanks for the response.

Actually I ahve been looking around and I didn`t realize that the Bissel little green machines had brushes. Right now it`s looking like the little green proheat might be perfect for this...

Link

I like that the hose comes out the back rather than at an angle out the top...should make it easier to get under the dash. The rotating brush sounds good...this might be the one to get...anyone used this or their other compact machine before?

Re: Oxyclean I need to get a hold of this stuff. Since I found out that it`s..."chemically legitimate" maybe?...I`ve wanted to try it to get some mysterious red stains out of the carpet under my drivers seat. I wish I had some idea what caused the stains...that might make it easier.

**Accumulator** · 07-28-2003, 12:18 PM

Endus- As I recall, people HAVE liked their ProHeats. But the "turbo powered" brush on the Little Green *I* had wasn`t worth an expletive. For the "compact" ones, I somehow liked the Hoover SteamVac Jr. ("STEAM" indeed! What a misnomer!) best. I kept it and gave away my Little Greens, but it IS a personal preference thing.

**tetz** · 07-28-2003, 12:43 PM

>>But the "turbo powered" brush on the Little Green *I* had wasn`t worth an expletive<<

Agreed here. On my Hoover if you apply any downwards pressure on the

hand-held attachement, the spinning brushes just stall. I scrub

using a separate bristle brush. I suppose for velour seats the

turbo brushes would be OK but for carpet you really need to

bear down and scrub hard.

Jon

**panapower** · 07-28-2003, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by Accumulator

I agitate the carpets with a carpet brush setup made for my Cyclo. It scrubs a LOT better than I do by hand.

Do you have a link of what this looks like? I`d really like to get one of these for my arsenal cause I`m tired of scrubbing the carpets of the cars that I shampoo by hand. Cheers. :up

**endus** · 07-28-2003, 01:27 PM

Ahh...searching for Proheat got me some more results.

It sounds like it`s not that heavy duty, but that it would be good for me considering that a.) my carpets are pretty clean already and b.) I`m only doing this on my car or my girlfirneds car. I actually do have cloth seats (

) so a brush that`s not too harsh would be a good thing.

I actually just remembered that I ordered 303`s carpet cleaner along with some other stuff (including their fabric protectant), so what I`m thinking I will do is spray the 303 around using a spray bottle, then use the extractor with the stuff that comes with it or whatever sounds good at the store to rinse the 303 stuff off. From searching that sounds like it might be the best technique.

Anyway, keep the opinions coming...I think I`m going to buy it and I`ll post my thoughts after I use it.

**Accumulator** · 07-28-2003, 02:40 PM

Originally posted by PanaPower

Do you have a link of what this looks like? I`d really like to get one of these for my arsenal cause I`m tired of scrubbing the carpets of the cars that I shampoo by hand. Cheers. :up

I don`t have a DIRECT link, but TOL has all kinds of Cyclo stuff. And it`s great for more than just carpets! Also, do a google/yahoo/whatever search on "CYCLO", the manufacturer has a website. In some ways/for some applications *I* like it better than my PC.

**panapower** · 07-28-2003, 04:51 PM

Originally posted by Accumulator

I don`t have a DIRECT link, but TOL has all kinds of Cyclo stuff. And it`s great for more than just carpets! Also, do a google/yahoo/whatever search on "CYCLO", the manufacturer has a website. In some ways/for some applications *I* like it better than my PC.

sweet. i found the brush for my PC. thanks for the help. :up

**imported_capspackle** · 07-28-2003, 05:23 PM

If you are asking about cleaning the removable carpets, i`ll tell you my secret..

I start early in the morning, taking out all 4 carpets, and fill a bucket with *HOT* water, and mix in 3-4 scoop fulls of OxyClean, or the Clorox equivalent, or any other Oxy type stuff.. I then stir the water around until all the granules are dissolved, then put in some Tide, Era, Wisk, or whatever else i have around the house, and a little Clorox 2. I soak the carpets with this solution, agitate the entire carpet for about 5-6 minutes with a brush, and then powerwash them until all the foam is gone... Gets carpets VERY clean. For stains and such, i spray on a little Eimann Fabrik Spot Remover, agitate, and powerwash the spot..

Hope this helps a little.

**panapower** · 07-28-2003, 06:53 PM

great technique. might have to try that myself except that i dont have a power washer.

**Accumulator** · 07-28-2003, 07:50 PM

While I use and recommend Oxyclean, it *DID* bleach out the color on one carpet I used it on. But this was an extreme case where it was either put up with the bleaching or replace it (off-the-scale pet accident, on light beige carpet, in a friend`s house- her dog, not one of mine

).