Carpet cleaner/extractor
 

Since I'm convinced that any question in the universe can be answered here, I'm reaching out for help buying a carpet cleaner/extractor thing to use on cars as well as possibly home furniture, etc.

I know next to nothing about them other than that the good ones are expensive and the cheap ones are crap. There are something like 200 of them on eBay and I'm not familiar with any of the brands. As always, I'd rather buy a good used one than a crap new one.

HELP! :)

The little one my wife bought seems to be just a glorified means of spraying carpet cleaner then sucking it back up with vacuum. I told her it was a waste of money and thet she could duplicate it by simply spraying the carpet then use our shop vac to suck it up..... After the ensuing argument, I simply decided to keep my mouth shut in the future and let her clean the carpet however she likes. ;)

We have the Bissel Green Machine. Also the Little Green Machine, the smaller carpet/upholstery version. Two of the best things I have ever purchased.

They have payed for themselves time and time over.

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Don't those simply spray some cleaner then suck it back up? Or do they do something different than one could replicate with a spray bottle of carpet cleaner followed by a wet/dry Shopvac?

We also have and use the Bissell Little Green cleaner. It's been very useful for the cars, especially in cleaning up tan and other light colored interior carpets.

It works for us.




Tim

Yeah , thats the one we have. works super for the cars.

Tim, I think the difference with the extractor is that it sucks it up right away. So it doesn't have a chance to soak in too far. Plus the extracter uses hot water to open the fibers up.

Thats just my theory

Why not rent one for $25 at a big box and do everything at once?

The bigger machines push more water out and suck more water up. Gets all the dirt and dust. Also nice to not have to change resevoirs as much.

If it's needed for repeat business use, then buying would be a deductable expense.

Bought the Rug Doctor from Costco after renting them. Had a couple of Bissell's.

There is no comparison to the Rug Doctor from a Bissell...and you get a 5 year warranty.

We have a Bissel unit as well, not the little green though. Does really good, as long as you remember to empty it and keep the collection container clean. Our last one ran for 10 years, doing the whole house (1900 sq ft) every two months or so. Would still be going but we loaned to a friend and he cracked the hot water resevoir.

Reviving this thread. I still never bought one of these and really need it. The ones that professional detailers use are very expensive, judging by what I see on eBay:

EDIC Heated Carpet Auto Detailing Upholstery Extractor | eBay

The used ones are $500 and up. I'm freaked-out by the price of these things. I really need one. Help.

I checked the Bissell link and they have one specifically for autos:

Bissell AutoCare ProHeat® Deep Cleaner | Handheld Deep Carpet Cleaning Machine

I'm sure that it's OK for the $$ but I need one for a little more than occasional use.

I've found even with the cheapie or the expensive ones, it's all about the quality cleaning solution, not so much the cleaner/extractor. To that end, using something top shelf like DP Carpet Cleaner and a cheap Bissell will get out 99% of the stains the average consumer would ever need.

http://www.autogeek.net/dp310.html

Bissell Pro Heat Lift Off, you can remove the unit from the upright and do stairs or auto interiors. This machine rocks! It will pay for itself over the long run. Deep cleaning your carpets every few months really makes a difference, carpet lasts longer, house smells cleaner and allergens are removed.

The cleaning solution I use is ZEP carpet extractor cleaner, from home depot. Works great.

Den, I'll still back the Bissel up. Ive given both of mine extremely heavy and frequent use. they are holding up well. One is over 12 yrs old.

After years of occasional rentals from supermarkets & rentall places, I broke down a couple of months back & bought a Bissel Pro Heat. It seems to work as well as any of the pro models that I rented & it is nice to have it on hand for the emergency spills that always happen. I tried the stair/car hose attachment & ditto above with the pro models.

Ian

I've used this one. Works great on floors and cars and upholstery. I might know someone who has one new in the box (won on a gameshow) that might want to sell.
BISSELL Lift-Off Deep Cleaner, 94Y2: Amazon.com: Home & Kitchen

A friend of mine owns a carpet cleaning biz. He gave me some advice: Bissell is fine for home use if:
-spot treat stains
-ALWAYS use 1/4 of the amount of cleaning solution recommended: in some homes there is so much cleaner already dried into the carpet that it foams when he puts down plan water. Cleaner left in the fibers causes dirt to stick to the carpet and it needs cleaning again way too soon.
-ALWAYS use as little water as possible and use 4 times more energy to suck up the water than putting it down. Too much water will get down into the padding and cause mold along with other problems.

I use a commercial carpet spotter so I don't know if you can do this with a cheapo bissel, but I usually boil a pot of water to use for the cleaning solution. It comes out hotter than hot tap water +25 degrees, or whatever the cheap bissel heated units put out.
When I do my porsche's fabric sport seats, I mist them with hot water to help loosen the dirt, spray with cleaner, scrub with reasonably soft brush, vacuum, spray water again to rinse, vacuum again, and repeat until clean. Afterwards I use 303 fabric protector to water/dirt/UV proof them.
The biggest difference between the cheap and the expensive units is the suction power and the construction of the vacuum heads, which allow you to press harder and get more water out of the upholstery.

Thanks, you guys. Does anyone know what this is?? Looks like it attaches to a shop vac but I'm not clear on the other part, (compressor line)? I'm specifically looking for a machine for auto carpet cleaning, not a home machine that you push around. The Bissells look promising.