Extractor 100PSI - To High for Upholstery?

[LeMarque]

I do have a VX5000 steamer but it takes way to much time to do carpets/floor mats. So I`ve been researching Extractors.



Wondering if/how folks use these on cloth seats. Seems to me they`d inject way to much water into them and that I should just stay with the steamer to clean seats.



And one last question. How many gallons, on average do you use for extracting a full set of floor mats and carpets? Not asking about the need to re-fill; just how much water an extractor goes thru to do a 4 door sedan.



Thanks -



Lance

[G8chick]

I use one at work all the time. They do make the seats pretty damp just be sure to go over it again without using the water, water usage really depends on how dirty the vehicle is, some require you to go over certain spot more then other. Just make sure you put in carpet cleaner, and some deodorizer. I`ve never used a steamer before so I can`t say much about the differences

[Ron Ketcham]

Water usage can be reduced by NOT putting the cleaner in the unit.

Rather spray it on the fabric with a pistol sprayer, let it dwell, agitate with the correct brush.

Then "mist" with the hot water from the unit and "extract" the water, cleaner and soil.

Wipe with a clean white towel to see if all the soiling is removed, if not, repeat process.

[LeMarque]

... water usage really depends on how dirty the vehicle is, some require you to go over certain spot more then other. ..

Thanks -but on average, how many gals.? I`m thinking cost here. If I can do an average vehicle with a 3/3 gallon unit, I can save some cash to use for other shop supplies, equipment.

[LeMarque]

Water usage can be reduced by NOT putting the cleaner in the unit.

Rather spray it on the fabric with a pistol sprayer, let it dwell, agitate with the correct brush.

Then "mist" with the hot water from the unit and "extract" the water, cleaner and soil.

Wipe with a clean white towel to see if all the soiling is removed, if not, repeat process.

Great tip Ron. Thanks!

[Accumulator]

LeMarque- I do it the way Ron suggests.



I`ve used various sizes of extractors, and while I can`t begin to tell ya how much water I use, I can say that *IME* the capacity isn`t an issue other than the hassle of stopping to dump/refill.



I sometimes *do* go through a lot of water, even using it merely for rinsing, but only on sorta nasty applications. But unless you gotta take it mobile, I wouldn`t worry much about it.



Just get one that has a good heater, *LOTS* of suction, and plenty of psi on the sprayer. The psi being excessive isn`t an issue for me either as it`s pretty easy to control what you`re doing. IMO "more is better" applies here.



But extractors with good specs can take a lot of juice to run. My Century needs to be plugged in to two *separate* circuits.



Oh, one more thing- I found that the oe nozzles have openings are too big for effective suction; they leave way too much moisture behind. I cobbled together a "final extraction nozzle" to get things drier, using a nozzle from a Bissell home unit (won`t spray but sucks up more water). It probably strains my extractors motors a bit, but no problems after years of use. It *really* sucks up a lot more water, zero comparison. Kinda a pia to use, but it beats having everything stay damp. If I didn`t have that, I`d invest in one of those blowers that they use to dry household carpeting...and I could probably still use one.

[imported_Automania]

I do have a VX5000 steamer but it takes way to much time to do carpets/floor mats. So I`ve been researching Extractors.



Wondering if/how folks use these on cloth seats. Seems to me they`d inject way to much water into them and that I should just stay with the steamer to clean seats.



And one last question. How many gallons, on average do you use for extracting a full set of floor mats and carpets? Not asking about the need to re-fill; just how much water an extractor goes thru to do a 4 door sedan.



Thanks -



Lance

In my opinion there are two important things you need to look at when purchasing a carpet extractor machine.



First is the vacuum lift - the suction power of the machine - the ability to remove the water you have put in whether 100psi or 1000 psi -

Secondly is the extraction nozzle - how it injects water and retrieves



I do not recommend you pre mist the carpet with the carpet nozzle as you are allowing water to saturate into the carpet. It is sufficient to prep and extract directly as the water is injected and retrieved immediately. If your machine has vacuum function only you can go back after shampoo and extraction and vacuum excess water.



Below is a great explanation of on carpet cleaners.







Which is more important in a portable ?



CFM VS LIFT | #1 Carpet Cleaning Forums, Hard Surface Care, Marketing, Carpet Cleaning Equipment

From Cleancraft:





Lets breakdown a carpet cleaning machine. Basically, it is a machine that sprays water onto the carpet and sucks the water & dirt back up. There are other features that make carpet cleaning machines more dynamic, such as: heaters, pressure regulators, and auto features. However, when it comes down to it.... the more suction power you have, the more dirty water you will remove from the carpet. This sounds pretty basic, however, many carpet cleaners forget the basics when searching for a new carpet cleaning machine. It is easy to get caught up in unnecessary "features" that lead you astray from the main thing: Suction Power. Remember, you can put all the water, chemical, heat, and agitation you want down onto a carpet, but if you can`t suck it out... you are left with hot, wet, dirty carpet !!



Now that we have focused our attention to suction power, lets define terminology: CFM vs. Lift. Many professional carpet cleaners do not know the difference between the two factors. However, a little knowledge in this area can help you choose the right carpet cleaning machine for your business.



CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute of airflow. This is a measurement of airflow.



Lift: This is a measurement of vacuum "Pull." Commonly measured in Water Lift or Mercury Lift. (To convert between the two, just multiple or divide by 14. Remember, High School Chemistry Class??? Mercury is about 14 times heavier than water. Example: 15" Mercury Lift = 210" Water Lift).



Both CFM and Lift have their purpose in carpet cleaning. However, the measurement that correlates with "Water Pickup" is Lift. The more Lift you have, the more water you can potentially pull out of the carpet. CFM does not pull water out of the carpet. CFM is the measurement of "wind" or "air" sucking into the vacuum motor. Try to think of it this way: When you turn on your vacuum, air is sucked into the vacuum hose. The blower or vacuum motor is trying to create a vacuum (the ultimate vacuum being an absence of air). When you place a wand onto a wet carpet, you create a seal. The vacuum motor continues to suck the air out of the vacuum hose to try to create a true vacuum (absence of air). When air is removed from the vacuum hose, the only thing that can now be "pulled" is the water in the carpet. The measurement of this "pull" is Lift. Thus, Lift pulls the dirty water out of the carpet, not CFM.



Now the obvious question: Why do truck mounts advertise their CFM so heavily? CFM is important on a truck mount, because you are probably going to be using hundreds of feet of vacuum hose. You need a great deal of CFM to remove the air out of hundreds of feet of vacuum hose, so the Lift can take over for your water pull. Most truck mounts have close to the same Lift. Thus, truck mount manufactures do not advertise their Lift as heavily, because how does their truck mount differentiate themselves from their competitors in this area? Truck mount manufacturers will advertise their CFM, because bigger blowers will produce more CFM.



So, how about portable extractors? Again, Lift is the important factor. Too many portable manufacturers advertise their CFM. Many manufacturers even produce so called "High Powered Portables" with tons of CFM (200, 250, even 300 CFM). However, this can be quite deceiving. Look at the Lift on these machines. Many of these high CFM machines have low Lift. They need to sacrifice the Lift in order to produce that much CFM. What good is a portable machine that can run hundreds of feet of vacuum hose (because of the high CFM), but cannot pull the water out of the carpet (because of the low Lift)? Many of these manufactures rely on the fact that most professional carpet cleaners do not know the difference between CFM and Lift. When shopping for a new portable extractor, look at the Lift. Remember, the more Lift, the more dirty water you will pull out of the carpet: producing cleaner & drier results.



Common mistaken statement: Many people will say, doesn`t air dry carpet? So, shouldn`t more CFM dry the carpet during cleaning? In reality, this is not being used in the right context. Sure, airflow dries carpet. However, airflow after cleaning (not during) dries carpet. Example: an air mover or fan blowing air onto the carpet after you are done cleaning dries the carpet faster. However, airflow moving through your wand does not dry carpet faster. Think about it: the wand is being moved back and forth over a small section of carpet only for a few seconds. The airflow coming through the wand for those few seconds will not do anything to dry carpet. The only thing you can do to dry carpet quicker in the actual hot water extraction cleaning process itself is to remove more water from the carpet while cleaning, hence, more Lift.



Does carpetcleaning-machine.com recommend a High Powered Portable Extractor? Yes, this website recommends the Eclipse by CleanCraft Products, Inc. This machine contains three individual vacuum motors producing high Lift for more removal of dirty water during the cleaning process.



Read more: CFM VS LIFT | #1 Carpet Cleaning Forums, Hard Surface Care, Marketing, Carpet Cleaning Equipment

[LeMarque]

LeMarque- I do it the way Ron suggests.



Just get one that has a good heater, *LOTS* of suction, and plenty of psi on the sprayer. The psi being excessive isn`t an issue for me either as it`s pretty easy to control what you`re doing. IMO "more is better" applies here.



But extractors with good specs can take a lot of juice to run. My Century needs to be plugged in to two *separate* circuits.



Oh, one more thing- I found that the oe nozzles have openings are too big for effective suction; they leave way too much moisture behind. I cobbled together a "final extraction nozzle" to get things drier, using a nozzle from a Bissell home unit (won`t spray but sucks up more water). It probably strains my extractors motors a bit, but no problems after years of use. It *really* sucks up a lot more water, zero comparison. Kinda a pia to use, but it beats having everything stay damp. If I didn`t have that, I`d invest in one of those blowers that they use to dry household carpeting...and I could probably still use one.

I drool over a dual 3 stage but my budget limits me to the HP60 Spyder



I read your post elsewhere about the Bissell nozzle. It`s on my todo list.



Thanks.

[LeMarque]

In my opinion there are two important things you need to look at when purchasing a carpet extractor machine.



First is the vacuum lift - the suction power of the machine - the ability to remove the water you have put in whether 100psi or 1000 psi -

Secondly is the extraction nozzle - how it injects water and retrieves



I do not recommend you pre mist the carpet with the carpet nozzle as you are allowing water to saturate into the carpet. It is sufficient to prep and extract directly as the water is injected and retrieved immediately. If your machine has vacuum function only you can go back after shampoo and extraction and vacuum excess water.



Below is a great explanation of on carpet cleaners.







Which is more important in a portable ?



CFM VS LIFT | #1 Carpet Cleaning Forums, Hard Surface Care, Marketing, Carpet Cleaning Equipment

From Cleancraft:





Lets breakdown a carpet cleaning machine. Basically, it is a machine that sprays water onto the carpet and sucks the water & dirt back up. There are other features that make carpet cleaning machines more dynamic, such as: heaters, pressure regulators, and auto features. However, when it comes down to it.... the more suction power you have, the more dirty water you will remove from the carpet. This sounds pretty basic, however, many carpet cleaners forget the basics when searching for a new carpet cleaning machine. It is easy to get caught up in unnecessary "features" that lead you astray from the main thing: Suction Power. Remember, you can put all the water, chemical, heat, and agitation you want down onto a carpet, but if you can`t suck it out... you are left with hot, wet, dirty carpet !!



Now that we have focused our attention to suction power, lets define terminology: CFM vs. Lift. Many professional carpet cleaners do not know the difference between the two factors. However, a little knowledge in this area can help you choose the right carpet cleaning machine for your business.



CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute of airflow. This is a measurement of airflow.



Lift: This is a measurement of vacuum "Pull." Commonly measured in Water Lift or Mercury Lift. (To convert between the two, just multiple or divide by 14. Remember, High School Chemistry Class??? Mercury is about 14 times heavier than water. Example: 15" Mercury Lift = 210" Water Lift).



Both CFM and Lift have their purpose in carpet cleaning. However, the measurement that correlates with "Water Pickup" is Lift. The more Lift you have, the more water you can potentially pull out of the carpet. CFM does not pull water out of the carpet. CFM is the measurement of "wind" or "air" sucking into the vacuum motor. Try to think of it this way: When you turn on your vacuum, air is sucked into the vacuum hose. The blower or vacuum motor is trying to create a vacuum (the ultimate vacuum being an absence of air). When you place a wand onto a wet carpet, you create a seal. The vacuum motor continues to suck the air out of the vacuum hose to try to create a true vacuum (absence of air). When air is removed from the vacuum hose, the only thing that can now be "pulled" is the water in the carpet. The measurement of this "pull" is Lift. Thus, Lift pulls the dirty water out of the carpet, not CFM.



Now the obvious question: Why do truck mounts advertise their CFM so heavily? CFM is important on a truck mount, because you are probably going to be using hundreds of feet of vacuum hose. You need a great deal of CFM to remove the air out of hundreds of feet of vacuum hose, so the Lift can take over for your water pull. Most truck mounts have close to the same Lift. Thus, truck mount manufactures do not advertise their Lift as heavily, because how does their truck mount differentiate themselves from their competitors in this area? Truck mount manufacturers will advertise their CFM, because bigger blowers will produce more CFM.



So, how about portable extractors? Again, Lift is the important factor. Too many portable manufacturers advertise their CFM. Many manufacturers even produce so called "High Powered Portables" with tons of CFM (200, 250, even 300 CFM). However, this can be quite deceiving. Look at the Lift on these machines. Many of these high CFM machines have low Lift. They need to sacrifice the Lift in order to produce that much CFM. What good is a portable machine that can run hundreds of feet of vacuum hose (because of the high CFM), but cannot pull the water out of the carpet (because of the low Lift)? Many of these manufactures rely on the fact that most professional carpet cleaners do not know the difference between CFM and Lift. When shopping for a new portable extractor, look at the Lift. Remember, the more Lift, the more dirty water you will pull out of the carpet: producing cleaner & drier results.



Common mistaken statement: Many people will say, doesn`t air dry carpet? So, shouldn`t more CFM dry the carpet during cleaning? In reality, this is not being used in the right context. Sure, airflow dries carpet. However, airflow after cleaning (not during) dries carpet. Example: an air mover or fan blowing air onto the carpet after you are done cleaning dries the carpet faster. However, airflow moving through your wand does not dry carpet faster. Think about it: the wand is being moved back and forth over a small section of carpet only for a few seconds. The airflow coming through the wand for those few seconds will not do anything to dry carpet. The only thing you can do to dry carpet quicker in the actual hot water extraction cleaning process itself is to remove more water from the carpet while cleaning, hence, more Lift.



Does carpetcleaning-machine.com recommend a High Powered Portable Extractor? Yes, this website recommends the Eclipse by CleanCraft Products, Inc. This machine contains three individual vacuum motors producing high Lift for more removal of dirty water during the cleaning process.



Read more: CFM VS LIFT | #1 Carpet Cleaning Forums, Hard Surface Care, Marketing, Carpet Cleaning Equipment

Thanks - Been reading this stuff till my eyes start to glaze over



But as I said above, my budget is more in line with the HP60 Spyder.

[Jpostal]

I would estimate that I run about 2 gallons through my extractor to shampoo the seats and carpeting. Floor mats almost always get pressure washed unless they are only lightly soiled, but add maybe a gallon of water if you shampoo the floor mats as well???



I have a commercial grade steamer but I find myself using it less and less and using my small carpet spotter that has a 55 psi pump and 89" water lift. If I had to do it over again I would have spent more money on a better extractor and less on a steamer. I have used a number of extractors and found the best value to be the Mytee Lite II (I think thats what its called). The upside of a bigger machine will be the increased lift and heat.

[LeMarque]

I would estimate that I run about 2 gallons through my extractor to shampoo the seats and carpeting. Floor mats almost always get pressure washed unless they are only lightly soiled, but add maybe a gallon of water if you shampoo the floor mats as well???



I have a commercial grade steamer but I find myself using it less and less and using my small carpet spotter that has a 55 psi pump and 89" water lift. If I had to do it over again I would have spent more money on a better extractor and less on a steamer. I have used a number of extractors and found the best value to be the Mytee Lite II (I think thats what its called). The upside of a bigger machine will be the increased lift and heat.

Can`t get away without clean floor mats :nono:



I`m at 7500 ft. and from what I`ve read this altitude adversely affects lift. That`s what`s moved me to the HP60 - three stage vacuum and 137 feet of lift. My main motivation is to speed up cleaning the carpets/upholstery. Changing the towels on the steamer a dozen times really slows things down. Although I do find it works well for spot and stain removal. And for cloth seats that aren`t grossed out, it`s fast and doesn`t leave much water behind that my Milwaukee 8912 which has almost as much lift as the HP60 can`t handle. It`s changing the towels on the steamer that`s pushed me to extractors



As for the steamer, I couldn`t live without it. It works wonders on cup holders, door pockets, vents, on and on.



And thanks for the info on how much water you go thru for one car. Wanted to know how often I`d have to refill, generally.

[Jpostal]

For carpets have you tried using the steamer without the towel? What I have done on occasion is pre-spray the carpet with an APC that wont leave much of a residue behind, steam with either the large or small triangle brush attachment and then immediately vacuum the carpet, then rub down with a clean towel. I find this method to clean better and faster than with the towel wrapped around the attachment, but it does leave more moisture in the carpets.



I think I might sell my giant steamer (Daimer KleenJet 5000CV Steam Vac) and get the VX5000 and a better extractor again. My steamer is so big and needs two separate circuits that its more of a nuisance than its worth some times. I like the size of the VX5000 and the attachment options much better, plus selling it would free up some cash to buy a better extractor.

[Jpostal]

Can`t get away without clean floor mats :nono:

Oh, and cars never leave with dirty floor mats...I pre-spray, agitate, and then pressure wash the mats rather than extracting. I mainly work on daily drivers in average to below average condition so the mats are almost always way to soiled to thoroughly clean with an extractor.



y

[Shane.belzers]

+1,000,000