Shampooing Carpeting

[kirbyrama]

The last time that I used a Kirby Rug Renovator, it did not do a good job. I have carpeting in my living room that really needs shampooing. I am thinking of trying a different method. Besides using the suds-o-gun to spray the foam onto the carpet; I was also planning to use the floor polisher nozzle head to scrub the shampoo into the carpeting. Should I attempt this or not?

 

[caligula]

Rug Renovator.

There's no need to switch to the Miracle head, just turn the dial on the water tank to off position, or if your model Kirby doesn't have that, put a small bit of Saran wrap on the end of the feeder hose. Once you stop the flow of suds, the brush to the nozzle will work in the suds, exactly like the Miracle head.

As for not doing a good job, depends on how badly soiled the carper is. I suggest adding a small bit of Oxyclean to the shampoo solution.

 

[kirbyklekter]

What ever method you use,I would finish off by using a steam extractor as a final rinse and extraction. Actually I would just go with the extractor for both washing and rinsing the carpet. If you don't own a steam cleaner you can rent one.

If the carpet is as soiled as you say, I would pre-spray the carpet with your solution and lightly agitate or brush without using any suction. Just let it work for about 15 minutes. Then go over the carpet with machine and brushes rolling and spray clean hot water with extraction for best results.

This method works best. it's the way a lot of pros do it. Good luck. If you don't think you got it all you can always do a second time without the soak cycle, but I would wait a day or so if you can as you don't want to get the carpet so wet that your sending dirty water down in to the padding. Not good to get the sub-floors too wet!

 

[huskyvacs]

Kirby Rug Renovator is for surface cleaning and freshening the carpet. It is NOT for deep cleaning or any kind of hardened stain removal.

The way I do my carpeting follows what professional cleaning companies use (companies with no truck-mount system that do this with everyday off the shelf commercial machines).

Get a pump fertilizer sprayer, fill it with some hot water, mixed with simple green or any enzymatic cleaner and then also mixed with a bit of Tide detergent (powder not liquid), shake it up good in the sprayer and then prime it, then spray it in the carpet and get the carpet moderately wet but not soaked. Then with a stiff straight broom (clean of course) or one of those rubber carpet rakes, gently agitate the carpet in swirling motions and work the solution around (if you have an orbital buffer with a wool pad this can do the same job). Be gentle with the carpet fibers and don't be so aggressive. Leave that sit 15 mins or so.

Then come back and get out your normal deep clean carpet shampooer, fill it with hot water from the tap and a chase of vinegar (this will neutralize the soap residue from the tide detergent) and go over your carpet like normal, just rinsing and extracting. You might want to do an extraction only pass at first to get up the residue, and then do the rise pass on the 2nd go around so you don't make the carpet too much wetter at once.

Vacuum the carpet before cleaning and after the carpet dries several times to remove loose soils. Should do the job. Do that twice a year. Spring and fall. You should be all set.

 

[kloveland]

A carpet cleaning professional with a truck mount system is the way to go! Department store carpet extractors simply do not have enough pressure (PSI) or hot water to get a filthy carpet clean. A gasoline engine vs a 12-amp store bought extractor.

With that said. I've had good results with the Electrolux B8/Floor Pro or the Kirby and following that with a store-bought extractor. I worry about the residue being left behind. I've watched a few YouTube videos with carpet cleaning companies showing the residue left behind by home units.

 

[suckolux]

Just wanted to throw in my two cents if nobody minds? We have duplex apartments here that still have some wall to wall carpet left, we have had truck mounted extractors twice service the living room and bedroom carpets both times I went behind with my Hoover spin scrub and pulled up over a gallon of water so probably not all truck mounted systems are the same. After that I just took to doing them myself.

 

[huskyvacs]

kloveland

You are cleaning a carpet, not stripping paint. You do not need water pressure - period. You get a carpet clean by chemicals, treating the stains, extracting the solution, and proper care of the carpeting over the lifetime of ownership. You have a subfloor, carpet tacks, the foam underlay padding, and the carpet fibers themselves. All can be ruined and rotted out from using too much water. The less water the better.

Same applies for large area rugs - especially wool. They can suck water down to the root of the fibers while still staying dry on top and you have no idea how wet you are making the carpet until you start smelling wet wood and lift the rug and it has puddles under it.

Like all tools and heavy machinery, truckmount systems rely solely on the operator's knowledge and experience of using them. You can give 100 men the same hammer but how many can build a house with it? There is also the age old argument of truckmount companies purposely using a high soap content to make the carpet adhere dirt faster and need more cleaning to get more money made on a callback - which does happen and people have won lawsuits over it - but we won't get into that rabbit hole.

The gyst of it is the experience is greater than the complexity of the tool.

I personally would never hire a carpet cleaning co. to do a job and charge me hundreds of dollars for something I can do myself with $20 of equipment and $10 in cleaning products and get BETTER results.

Joe Wheeler does a fantastic job at his company with basic tools and his videos are what convinced me to keep a look out for - and buy - an Oreck Orbiter when I got one cheaply. They do work for clients that want a clean house but cannot afford their own machines and cannot afford a big chain company to come in and clean their house.

 

[lesinutah]

You

Can buy a bissell proheat and shampoo for around $200. If you use your kirby to vacuum the carpet before. Use the bissell and clean your carpets.
If you want to make sure everything is extracted take the filter off a shop vac and get all the water out. Then once everything is dry vacuum the carpet again.
There's quite a few ways to clean your carpet. Spray foam and extract with a shop vac.
The point I'd your trying to clean your carpets and you care about the carpet upkeep. Your trying and that's half the battle. The other half is do what you can within your budget and you should be fine.

 

[kirbylux77]

Huskyvacs has the right idea with his method.

The method I use to clean carpets is to vacuum first, then take a pump sprayer and fill it with hot water and carpet extractor solution, mixed as per the instructions on the bottle. Occasionally for a REALLY DIRTY carpet, I will add a scoop of OxiClean. Spray over the carpet generously, scrub in with a stiff deck brush, then use a high powered shop vac with 2 plastic wands and a Rainbow D4 rug extractor nozzle. If I want to do furniture, I have a furniture nozzle from a Bissell carpet extractor. Then spray again with clean hot water only to rinse and suck up again with the shop vac.

I would suggest NOT using powdered or liquid laundry detergent though. If not mixed in the correct ratio, it's way too easy to cause oversudsing and you will have a mess to clean up. Also, carpet extractor solutions will do a better job at removing stains if you buy a quality solution than laundry detergent will.

As for the debate over whether truckmount or portable machines are better, I tend to agree with those that say truckmount cleaners do a better job. BUT, this is because most rental or store bought machines tend to have poor suction and airflow. The ONLY WAY you're going to get a decent portable extractor is to buy a commercial grade extractor that cleaning companies use. Or, you can just buy a high powered shop vac and add your own tools. So I would invest in that first before buying a extrractor.

Rob

 

[kloveland]

I agree that not all carpet cleaning companies are the same. It makes sense to me that a higher powered truck mounted system would extract more water than a cheap Hoover or Bissell. After being on here 13 years I want to hit my head against a brick wall.

Just pour some Fabulosa in your mix and call it good. I’m kidding. But I would not recommend homemade concoctions for carpet cleaner.