Carpets & Upholstery: Bissell #1425 or 1425-1

[Kevinch]

I want to buy an economical extractor for use on my personal autos, furniture, & maybe a few detailing jobs for friends & family.



From reading a few posts here on Autopia, a heated extractor is the way to go & the Bissell units seem to be popular for non-everyday use. But for the most part, people here seem to think the TurboBrush isn`t really worth the trouble.



Now, I haven`t looked at the Bissell units yet so excuse me if this is a stupid question: Would I be better off trying to locate a Bissell Model 1425 that is a ProHeat unit, but doesn`t include the rotating brush & using a 4" brush on my PC; or the #1425-1 that also includes the rotating brush? Is the rotating brush a useful option for something other that carpets (say, you living room sofa), or add anything else worthwhile?

[imported_Jon P. Nusbaum]

No, the TurboBrush is pretty useless. I have the Bissel Little Green w/ProHeat and TurboBrush. I like the heating, but the brush is useless.



I don`t know if you`re interested or not, but here is how I like to use it in my carpet cleaning routine (it is a combination of many peoples` advice over a few years at Autopia, I definitely couldn`t have come up with this on my own):



1. Vaccuum the carpets/mats with a powerful wet/dry vac (Craftsman, etc.)



2. Mist with carpet cleaner (APC+, EF HI, whatever you like for carpets).



3. Scrub with a brush. (But now I do have the scrub brush attachment for the PC, which does the job just as well if not better and is ALOT less tiring.)



4. Attack any stubborn stains with something more aggressive, and brush a little more.



5. Extract the carpets/mats with PLAIN heated water. The purpose of using PLAIN water is too get all of the chemical out of the carpets. If it is left on there then the carpets will feel sticky and will get dirty much faster. It`s like taking a shower without rinsing off with water, I wouldn`t lather up and then get out of the shower. I like to only go over the carpets once while spraying the water. Don`t go over it again and again with more and more water, once should do it.



6. I DO keep vaccuuming though with the Bissell, because it isn`t very powerful it takes a couple swipes to get the water out. You`ll see the water coming through the little clear plastic window on the Bissell attachment.



7. I dry the carpets with a terry towel and leave the mats in the sun if possible, and sometimes I go over them again with the Wet/Dry vac to get all of the water out.



It seems complicated all written out, but it really is quite simple. I also think it cool to look at the dirty water at the end and just think, "Hmmmmm, if I hadn`t had extracted all of this, it would still just be sitting on my carpets."



Good luck, and happy detailing.

[Kevinch]

Thanks Bob - if you don`t mind me asking, what carpet cleaner do you like?



It looks like while the 1425 is about $10 cheaper than the 1425-1, it isn`t available locally at the discount houses. I can get it online, but by the time I pay shipping it ends up costing more. I`ll probably just pick one with the TurboBrush & not use it.

[imported_Jon P. Nusbaum]

I use Meguiar`s All Purpose Cleaner + (APC+ around here) diluted 12:1 with water. APC + is part of the Meguiar`s DETAILER line, if you do a search, there is a ton of information about it.



I also have had success with the Prestone carpet cleaner in the red can, a search should pull up some info about it as well.