Carpet "Dry Cleaning" Does anyone have any experience?

[vexorgtr]

Lindhaus has a system that caught my attention, then I looked into it and found it was nothing new. Electrolux had theirs, Host, Capture, Etc. are all products that you sprinkle on, work-in, and vacuum out.

I'm actually curious about these, as electric floor agitators for these systems usually don't command much used, and there's a variety of solutions/products to check out.

Can anyone shed light on this method of carpet cleaning, and if it's a good or horrible alternative to a "steam" cleaning machine I've been using.

 

[madman]

I really don't think it qualifies as a substitute for actual wet or steam cleaning carpets. I don't know much about it, though, but I'm pretty sure it's just meant to spruce up your carpets that aren't exactly dirty.

 

[vexorgtr]

Check it out.

This was the demo that got my attention. This is "Encapsulation Cleaning".
I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[earthling177]

Well, I can tell you that I've used Host, Capture and duoP in my own home.

When we were lucky enough to be owned by a German Shepherd Dog for 14 years, we used to do the dry cleaning more often, at least once a year, but sometimes up to every 3 months, depending on how much mud or dirt we had in the carpets. Luckily, she was really well house trained and we never had to deal with accidents, but we found out that dry cleaning the carpets did keep allergens down, so big win.

I found that the Host machine (2 rollers, not the big industrial thing they use in commercial settings) was better and easier to use, particularly in stairs, but the only way to do that around here is renting, which does not appeal to us.

We did not much like Host dry cleaning "powder" though, it's good and does a good job, but it seemed to us that the system took longer to dry and took more effort to remove dirt/stains.

Capture (powder and pre-treating liquids) was really good and easy to use. I haven't bought it recently (2-3 years) because I got a very big tub of the powder and jug of the pre-treater a few years ago and still have it.

We really liked the duoP powder and the brushing machine, which we ended up buying and still have and use. I don't use the duoP powder so much because it involves ordering it and going to my favorite vacuum cleaner dealer which is a bit far from us, so I end up using Capture more often, but duoP dries faster and it's lighter and easier to vacuum up, in my opinion.

I have allergies to wool, so all the carpets and rugs in my home are synthetic, which might or might not make a big difference on the results, but I suppose even if I had wool carpets I'd be nervous to drench the carpets or rugs with so much water like the other cleaning methods do. YMMV too.

In any case, one of the things I love about the "dry cleaning" methods is that I never had to worry about the dog (or even people) not being allowed to walk on the carpet until it dried, and it dries very fast anyway (30-60 minutes).

My recommendation is to at least take a look at all the systems (Host, Capture, duoP) etc because my experience with the sites is that they don't give all the good recommendations in only one place, so I ended up using recommendations of one system with the other ones, particularly when it came to patterns for brushing and vacuuming effectively.

SEBO duoP:    https://www.sebo.us/carpet-cleaning/duo-brush-machine/dry-carpet-cleaning-machine-duo-powder.aspx

Capture:    http://www.captureclean.com/Pages/Home.aspx

Host:    http://www.hostdry.com

This video shows what a typical application at home is like, particularly the vacuum and brush North-South, then East-West, then North-South:




I particularly like this demonstration, it shows the difference very well:




The pictures below show before and after "dry cleaning" the throw rugs we used right by the front door to test for wear and tear and stain removal. One of these days we will finally replace the carpet on the second floor, we thought we were going to do that after 5 years of buying the home and it's now nearly 17, but we will get there eventually.

Cheers,
      -- Paulo.

 

[crazykirbydude]

That stuff is just good smelling powder that you grind into the carpet. Dry foam shampoo or a wet extraction done by a pro with a truck mount is the best method. Smokers buy this crap up in droves to try and mask the nasty cigarette stench.

 

[vexorgtr]

Thank you for the input

In my case, our home does not have any shedding pets. I do have finches, but the feathers aren't much, and aren't in a carpeted area. Most of what our carpets see are shoes from the family, so it's normally not horrible mud.

My vacuum to clean it up would be a beefy central vacuum with an electric power head. Based on that premise, that if I put these cleaners down, I would be able to get them picked up, I thought I would consider a system like this for walk ways at least.

After watching the pros...
1. Vacuum
2. Pre-treat
3. Agitate -- Without suction (one of these power heads could do that ok)
4. Extract with water.

My thought was dual purpose.... being that the power head could be used to "work" the dry clean chemicals, OR "work" a pre-treatment before extracting.

 

[bagintheback]

It Works

I've had a few Bissells and a Hoover Steamvac and dry cleaning has always worked at least as well as the wet carpet cleaners, expect for very set in stains. It's so much easer than dumping and refilling water tanks. Capture works best for low pile, Host for deeper carpets. Use lots of pre-spray.

If you're using Host, make sure it drys completely before vacuuming. I'd say at least a half hour with the central vac. Host is a little gritty and it might stick inside the hose or tubing inside the wall if there's too much moisture.

 

[earthling177]

Adin (CrazyKribyDude) said:

«That stuff is just good smelling powder that you grind into the carpet. Dry foam shampoo or a wet extraction done by a pro with a truck mount is the best method. Smokers buy this crap up in droves to try and mask the nasty cigarette stench. »

Sorry, I think you are confusing the real cleaning powders (doused with a detergent/solvent solution) with the the dry "baking soda" carpet/room fresheners, like Glade, Carpet Fresh, Arm&Hammer etc.

Completely different things. The cleaners I'm talking about removed street grime including whatever stuff was on my driveway, food that people accidentally dropped on the rugs or carpets etc.

And, BTW, not that it's too important, but no, no one here has ever smoked. We are not smokers and smokers are free to smoke outside of my home, but never inside.

Incidentally, one of my neighbors, a few years ago, said she was tired of "dry foam" shampooing her carpets, it was annoying and a hassle, and she had trouble keeping her cats from walking all over the rooms and re-soiling them until it dried, so she "invited" the "wet extraction" "truck mount" folks, at great expense, to come clean her carpets. It's been I think over 5 years, and we *still* hear her complaining about the time she was stuck with her cats walking all over the moist carpets for I dunno, 2 or 3 days, but it felt like eternity. She had to clean the paw prints all over again. She said she will kill the next person who suggests that again.

 

[earthling177]

Vexorgtr:

I think you will be happier with the dry cleaning powders in general, particularly that you have a central vac, than with other methods. I gave my carpet "steam cleaning" machine away to a friend a long time ago, I never used it after I got the SEBO duoP machine, even though I tend to use it with other powders too.

Frankly, I wasn't too impressed with the Lindhaus system in the video you posted. Sure, the stain disappeared, but either the extra agitation left the fibers somewhat different from the area around it, or it seems to me the stain is still there, although much fainter then before. I may have misunderstood, but it seems to me he's talking about the main liquid being called Oxygen or something? If that is oxygen-based bleach, I would prefer to keep it off rugs and carpets, particularly the ones that are not completely synthetic, because it might lighten up the colors.

Anyway, good luck!