Carpet cleaner
- Thread starter JimMcC
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 31
- Views 4K
- Status
What in particular are you trying to get out of the carpet?
If it's animal "residue" forget it. <rant on>One of our dogs, the one in the picture above, is old and sometimes has "accidents". We just dropped $100 getting the carpet professionally steam cleaned and deodorized, and now it smells worse than before. We could have spent that $100 on a new (non-carpet) floor which we are going to do anyway.</rant off>
If it's animal "residue" forget it. <rant on>One of our dogs, the one in the picture above, is old and sometimes has "accidents". We just dropped $100 getting the carpet professionally steam cleaned and deodorized, and now it smells worse than before. We could have spent that $100 on a new (non-carpet) floor which we are going to do anyway.</rant off>
I found that the best way to clean carpet is to pull it up and replace it with hardwood or ceramic tile flooring. It's not cheap but you can actually get your floors clean afterwards. My wife had asthma and an alergy to dust mites so she had trouble breathing for several years. I took the carpeting out a few years ago and she hasn't had to use an inhaler since. You wouldn't believe what is under your carpet right now.
Mario
Mario
Whichever one you get, and it is carpet you wish to keep for a long time, I recommend you stay away from steam-based cleaners, they will cause the carpet to stretch (and depending on the pile, and materials used, like glue), get damaged over use and will eventually start getting 'lumps' from slack as the carpet stretches (steam+material+suction=stretching), instead get a dry-foam extraction based unit.
Last edited:
mperdue said:
1000% agreed on TILE! And it helps keeps the home cooler. It is cheaper over the same life span of carpet as well because it will last YOUR lifetime. And infinitely easier and cheaper to maintain.
Don't be sucked into buying retail either; there are just as many discount or wholesale places at 50% - 75% off.
Buy extra boxes and bags of tile and grout to save in the garage; if you ever drop something real heavy and chip a tile you will have a perfect color/shade match because they are the same batch.
We have a hoover steam/vac that works great.
And, a central vac system like Beem are pretty hard to beat for vacuuming carpets. Beat the self-contained/standard models hands down.
And, a central vac system like Beem are pretty hard to beat for vacuuming carpets. Beat the self-contained/standard models hands down.
In my former career I made cleaning chemicals-
Carpet cleaners come in different types.
Bonnet type which is designed to rub the stains up into a pad. Shampoos that use foam to lift soil up and be sucked up by a vacuum. and then the steam cleaner which is really not steam but actually hot water extraction system. It uses a solvent to dissolve oil and water based type soils and stains and vacuums the dirty liquid up. IMO, "Steam cleaning" aka hot water extraction is the easiest and cheapest to do. It requires a special machine that sprays the liuguid deep into the carpet on one pass and vacuums it back out on the return pass with a scrubber roller inbetween. Bissel macine has a speed efficiency cleaning meter that helps regulate your cleaning efficiency. Nice!
Here is the little industry secret you won't hear from the carpet cleaning companies-
When you install a carpet be sure to have it treated with Scotch or equal guard to make it repel liquid spills. Vacuum the dry dirt up weekly. This should get you about two years of clean carpet in a non-pet environment. Then use steam cleaner method every month to keep clean, spray on more scotch guard every year. The problem with all liguid carpet cleaners is they all leave some residue in the carpet which attracts more dirt faster than the original never before cleaned carpet. We didn't do that intentionally to sell more cleaner, but it's just the way it works except for one carpet method I didn't point out earlier- The carbonated water bonnet method. This is really slow and labor intensive but leaves no residue to attract dirt faster.
Bottom line is on new carpet, avoid cleaning as long as you can, then you should do it monthly to bimonthly depending on traffic. I prefer the hotwater extraction method and use a Bissel machine here. Make the water as hot as you can for best results. We recommended 160 F for commercial cleaning which is all we sold to. I try to do the same at home and the bissel with their formula works great. When I was in the business I used my own formula with a commercial machine I had at work. Bissel has some pet odor formulas that work well too.
Carpet cleaners come in different types.
Bonnet type which is designed to rub the stains up into a pad. Shampoos that use foam to lift soil up and be sucked up by a vacuum. and then the steam cleaner which is really not steam but actually hot water extraction system. It uses a solvent to dissolve oil and water based type soils and stains and vacuums the dirty liquid up. IMO, "Steam cleaning" aka hot water extraction is the easiest and cheapest to do. It requires a special machine that sprays the liuguid deep into the carpet on one pass and vacuums it back out on the return pass with a scrubber roller inbetween. Bissel macine has a speed efficiency cleaning meter that helps regulate your cleaning efficiency. Nice!
Here is the little industry secret you won't hear from the carpet cleaning companies-
When you install a carpet be sure to have it treated with Scotch or equal guard to make it repel liquid spills. Vacuum the dry dirt up weekly. This should get you about two years of clean carpet in a non-pet environment. Then use steam cleaner method every month to keep clean, spray on more scotch guard every year. The problem with all liguid carpet cleaners is they all leave some residue in the carpet which attracts more dirt faster than the original never before cleaned carpet. We didn't do that intentionally to sell more cleaner, but it's just the way it works except for one carpet method I didn't point out earlier- The carbonated water bonnet method. This is really slow and labor intensive but leaves no residue to attract dirt faster.
Bottom line is on new carpet, avoid cleaning as long as you can, then you should do it monthly to bimonthly depending on traffic. I prefer the hotwater extraction method and use a Bissel machine here. Make the water as hot as you can for best results. We recommended 160 F for commercial cleaning which is all we sold to. I try to do the same at home and the bissel with their formula works great. When I was in the business I used my own formula with a commercial machine I had at work. Bissel has some pet odor formulas that work well too.
I was wondering too; when we were choosing between marble/ceramic tile versus wood or carpet; we factored the costs of the industry recommendation of: "Carpets should be cleaned a minimum of every 12 to 18 months, but some high-traffic areas of the home may require more frequent spot cleaning every 6 to 9 months." We ultimately chose the beauty, durability and style of tile; it was much cheaper in the long run. But they did say to use a quality "guard" product, and not to use synthetic soaps.
I clean them twice a year with a full-size hot water machine (Bissel? Hoover? I don't remember), using hot tap water and Bissel shampoo in the green bottle.
For spotting from spills and pets, I use the Hoover StemVac Junior. (also with tap water ans Bissel shampoo) That little machine rocks! It was like $50 or something from Amazon.
For pre-cleaning of pet stains, I use PetZyme or Nature's Miracle.
As for tile, I couldn't imagine a more uncomfortable surface, especially for living room or bedroom. Hardwood is the way I would go for all areas, except perhaps for entrances, hearth, and kitchen/dining. In those areas, tile would be ok, I suppose.
For spotting from spills and pets, I use the Hoover StemVac Junior. (also with tap water ans Bissel shampoo) That little machine rocks! It was like $50 or something from Amazon.
For pre-cleaning of pet stains, I use PetZyme or Nature's Miracle.
As for tile, I couldn't imagine a more uncomfortable surface, especially for living room or bedroom. Hardwood is the way I would go for all areas, except perhaps for entrances, hearth, and kitchen/dining. In those areas, tile would be ok, I suppose.
Last edited:
How well (and how) does that PetZyme work Gary? I have a buddy that owns 3 "pissy" cats and needs a quality product. I had seen this product on a late night TV ad called Zero (or something like that) thoughts/recommendations?
I think all of these products are based on the same basic enzyme formula. The only difference to me seems to be the scent. Some just smell better. I didn't care for Simple Solutions smell. It was like a mens room or something.
In all cases, you really have to saturate the area. It's better when the accident happens close to the edge of the carpet. Then, you can pull it up, and soak the padding as well.
In my previous place, I realized pretty late that one of my cats was hitting this one spot often. Luckily, it was in a corner, so I could pull up the carpet, and actually replace the padding. Then, I saturated the carpet with an enzyme cleaner and let it dry, followed by the Stemvac junior. I did that about 3 times!
Finally, I put some plastic sheeting between the padding and the carpet before I tacked the carpet back down, just in case the little bastard were to go there again. But, he never did. (I went back to the old litter box, and he was happy.)
In all cases, you really have to saturate the area. It's better when the accident happens close to the edge of the carpet. Then, you can pull it up, and soak the padding as well.
In my previous place, I realized pretty late that one of my cats was hitting this one spot often. Luckily, it was in a corner, so I could pull up the carpet, and actually replace the padding. Then, I saturated the carpet with an enzyme cleaner and let it dry, followed by the Stemvac junior. I did that about 3 times!
Finally, I put some plastic sheeting between the padding and the carpet before I tacked the carpet back down, just in case the little bastard were to go there again. But, he never did. (I went back to the old litter box, and he was happy.)
Plastic betwen the two gives no cause for moisture then mold? If not, I should mention that to him. Becuase when I say "pissy" I really mean "pissy".
We use Nature's Miracle from pet-co. It is expensive but worth it. Our house had hard wood through out, We covered it in carpet and vinyl flooring throughout. The house is warmer and MUCH quieter than before. Plus it is better when the kids take a fall.
But we just replace the carpet in the whole house every 5-6 years. I cant imagine having tile etc and being stuck with the same colors forever!! We repaint just before the new carpet and get carpet in the rooms to complement the paint, this is done by a interior decorator. We are doing it to the new house as soon as the cold weather comes.
Our carpet installers said to avoid steam cleaning at ALL costs. It will do more damage to the carpet than anything. If I get a bad pet spot, I put down baking soda to help the smell and show the spots, then straight vinegar to kill the ammonia in the urine. and I LEAVE it there until it dries.
But we just replace the carpet in the whole house every 5-6 years. I cant imagine having tile etc and being stuck with the same colors forever!! We repaint just before the new carpet and get carpet in the rooms to complement the paint, this is done by a interior decorator. We are doing it to the new house as soon as the cold weather comes.
Our carpet installers said to avoid steam cleaning at ALL costs. It will do more damage to the carpet than anything. If I get a bad pet spot, I put down baking soda to help the smell and show the spots, then straight vinegar to kill the ammonia in the urine. and I LEAVE it there until it dries.
You wanna hear a bad piss story I did a Job for a disabled customer back about 7 years ago. He had a little dog and the guy could not clean up after the dog so it would piss all over the carpet.
The carpet in the house was so bad, that it was like someone had spilled hot wax into the carpet, since it had a moist but waxy feeling when you walked on it with your shoes.
So imagine a 90 degree day, no airconditioning with a piss covered carpet. What could be worse.................?
Carpet deoderizor/cleaner! Seriously, the guy knew his house stunk so bad he decided to use that carpert deoderizor powder. He sprinkled it over his carpet and then ran the vaccume cleaner.
It was so bad, I got sick and threw up outside! I had to go in there, hold my breath do a cable connection and then run outside to get a breath of fresh air!
The carpet in the house was so bad, that it was like someone had spilled hot wax into the carpet, since it had a moist but waxy feeling when you walked on it with your shoes.
So imagine a 90 degree day, no airconditioning with a piss covered carpet. What could be worse.................?
Carpet deoderizor/cleaner! Seriously, the guy knew his house stunk so bad he decided to use that carpert deoderizor powder. He sprinkled it over his carpet and then ran the vaccume cleaner.
It was so bad, I got sick and threw up outside! I had to go in there, hold my breath do a cable connection and then run outside to get a breath of fresh air!
As far as carpet cleaning, if I spill coke on the floor, I usually get a bucket and pour water over the mess to dilute it and then just keep in running a wet dry vaccume to suck up all the water
Man there is nothing worse than cat pee.
Had a kitten( close to 1yr old) that decided it didn't like our cocker spaniel that we have had for 13 years. We had been keeping them separated in the house, but because we had another cocker 14yrs old that died we decided to let the only we had left to be with us more often. Well the cat didn't like that so she started peeing all over this sectional with queen sleeper in our basement. She ruined the couch, so we gave her back to the humane society where we had adopted her. Since we had the dogs longer, the cat got the boot. Funny thing is our other cat who is 5 years old doesn't mind the dogs.
I tried bottles of those enzyme cleaners and they work good on small carpet spots, but not something like a couch.
We had an automatic kitty litter box that we used with both cats (when we had them) and it worked great. But the older cat got a urinary tract infection due to the cheap cat food you get and so i had to keep him in a big portable kennel for a couple of weeks. Well after he got out of the kennel he decided that the automatic kitty litter box was too much like the kennel so he decided he would go pee on some blankets in the basement. Luckily the blankets were on a mattress that had a plastic cover. I realized that he didn't like the "fancy" litter box and put the old manual one out and he hasn't had any problems since, go figure. Now I have a $100 litter box doing nothing but collecting dust...
Had a kitten( close to 1yr old) that decided it didn't like our cocker spaniel that we have had for 13 years. We had been keeping them separated in the house, but because we had another cocker 14yrs old that died we decided to let the only we had left to be with us more often. Well the cat didn't like that so she started peeing all over this sectional with queen sleeper in our basement. She ruined the couch, so we gave her back to the humane society where we had adopted her. Since we had the dogs longer, the cat got the boot. Funny thing is our other cat who is 5 years old doesn't mind the dogs.
I tried bottles of those enzyme cleaners and they work good on small carpet spots, but not something like a couch.
We had an automatic kitty litter box that we used with both cats (when we had them) and it worked great. But the older cat got a urinary tract infection due to the cheap cat food you get and so i had to keep him in a big portable kennel for a couple of weeks. Well after he got out of the kennel he decided that the automatic kitty litter box was too much like the kennel so he decided he would go pee on some blankets in the basement. Luckily the blankets were on a mattress that had a plastic cover. I realized that he didn't like the "fancy" litter box and put the old manual one out and he hasn't had any problems since, go figure. Now I have a $100 litter box doing nothing but collecting dust...
- Status
