I don't think my Little Green is supposed to do this...

W

White95Max

New member
I was trying to clean my floormats with my sample of Meg's APC (Thanks to Airborne Ranger :xyxthumbs ) and my LGCM starting leaking. The collection tank barely had enough liquid in it to cover the bottom, but there was a lot of foam in the tank.



Picture004.jpg






So I dumped out the collection tank, rinsed all of the foam out, and began using it again. After about 2 minutes, I had this:



Picture005.jpg






So my dad told me to put a little bit of liquid fabric softener in the collection tank to break down the foam. I did that, and the foam was drastically reduced. The machine also stopped leaking after the softener was added.



I had never heard anyone mention problems with foam or leaking from their LGCM. Did I do something wrong? Or do you guys add something to cut back on foam?



BTW, I used about 1.5oz of APC and filled the rest of the tank with hot water.
 
I use bissel cleaner with very good results. Then I use a couple of different stain treaters (stainzout and that pink stuff) for tough spots and I've never had that. Looks like you shouldn't use APC in that machine, or try it with less APC like a TBLSP.
 
I agree. Either use less APC (should still be enough if you pretreat) or use a defoaming agent.
 
I'd bet your floormats had a buch of detergent in them already and were never rinsed out. This will cause severe foaming.

I would not run detergents thru this machine. It will wear out your valves and seals.



Run HOT water thru this unit ONLY.



I clean carpet for a living, here is what I would do.



#1 throw out APC.

#2 Order a gallon of a good traffic lane cleaner from www.jondon.com Get Prochem Ultrapac

#3 Dilute traffic lane cleaner per instructions and apply with a trigger sprayer to the carpet you want to clean.

#4 Agitate traffic lane cleaner with a horseshoe brush

#5 Let dwell on carpet 10 minutes

#6 Extract with HOT water ONLY

#7 Also order some defoamer from www.jondon.com. It works
 
Do you have a defoamer in the tank? If not, you need to get some. Foam can get into the motor (guts) and permanately damage the machine. I ran into a guy using a commercial extractor and the sales guy did not even mention it to him. He didn't have a clue what defoamers were.

That's a lot of suds coming out of there..kinda like when Bobby Brady did the wash in an episode where he poured in too much detergent. The stuff I use recommends about 1 oz. per gallon.



Rob
 
I forgot to mention that many detailers (from manufacturers' directions) NEVER put any chemicals into the units. They prespray and clean by hand. An extractor's job is really to extract, not to shampoo and clean. Most guys use it with hot water only as a rinse. As stated, they let a good prespray dwell, scrub stained areas by hand, and then extract.



Rob
 
I used the fabric softener as a defoamer. It drastically reduced the amount of foam to nearly zero.



So you think I should just scrub the cleaning solution in by hand and then run the LGCM over it, spraying straight hot water?



BTW, the mats did have some detergent in them already because I pre-treated a few stains with spot cleaner.
 
I posted this before, here it is again.



#1 Vacuum thorougly. Getting loose dirt is critical to the end result



#2 You need to apply a good prespray. What is a prespray? In our business its called a Traffic Lane Cleaner. You spray it on the carpet to dissolve dirt and stains. That simple. There are many good ones out there. Ones I would look at are: Prochems Ultrapac, Chemspecs Express Lane or Matrix Grand Slam. Most of these run about $25.00 a gallon, but the dillution rations are usually 4 oz per gallon or 1 oz for a 32 oz spray bottle. There are many places on the web to find these presprays, one that comes to mind is www.jondon.com. Ive used them, they have good customer service. A gallon would last a long time. I use a cordless sprayer but for cars a trigger sprayer would work, although a pump up sprayer from Sears or Home Depot would be quicker. Always apply your prespray with HOT water. Hot water breaks down grease and grime twice as fast as cold water.



#3 Agitation. Once the prespray is applied, you need to agitate it into the carpet. Its like shampooing your hair. You wouldn't dump shampoo on your head and not scrub it in your hair. Same principle applies to carpet cleaning. I prefer a horseshoe brush for this. I would not take a scrub brush to someones car seats.



#4 Dwell time. Need to let preprays dwell on the carpet for a minimum of 10 minutes maybe longer depending on how dirty the carpet is.



#5 Extract. This is when good equipment is essential for a quality job. You have all heard the term "Steam Cleaning". Well, all that is is water going into the carpet and extracting at the same time. We use water at 210 degrees to accomplish this. However, I realize most of you probobly cant extract like this. If it were me and I was detailing alot of carpets, and wanted to be a cut above my competion I would invest in a good portable extractor. No, the are not cheap. A good one will run $650-$1000. However you do it, you must rinse these cleaning agents out of the carpet. If I were using a shop vac, I would mist hot water on top of the prespray (after it dwells) and rinse it out.HOTTEST water you can find. Whatever you can find that gives you the most suction, use it.
 
Ed Hartman said:
I'd bet your floormats had a buch of detergent in them already and were never rinsed out.
Click to expand...

BillNorth posted a review of the woolite/water mix a few months back where he noted his extractor (I believe it was a LG) sucked up a lot of excessive foam and he wound up hosing his mats to get it all out.



About a month ago I used the woolite mix (6:1) on some mats and it did a great job at removing stains. But remembering his experience I decided to hose them off before sucking them dry and was shocked at how long it took to get all the foam out!



I have a LG that my wife bought, but I usually only use it to extract with hot tap water.



Ed, I have found your carpet cleaning tips quite informative and appreciate you sharing your expertise with us.
 
Eliot Ness said:
Ed, I have found your carpet cleaning tips quite informative and appreciate you sharing your expertise with us.
Click to expand...



I agree, all of a sudden there has been a lot of discussion of carpet cleaning and you are definitely helping out in a big way. It always helps to have a professional willing to share his/her knowledge. :bigups
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top