Steam cleaner or Carpet Cleaner?

S

SheldonH

New member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
63
Reaction score
0
Hello forum,

I am looking into purchasing either a steam cleaner or carpet cleaner to help detail. I was hoping the forum could give me some suggestions of which would be best for me. I am looking for a good tool just to help me out and speed up the process a little. However, i am just a weekend warrior and detail mine and friends care. No business here.
In my opinion, the steam cleaner works pretty good on the whole interior but not great on deep cleaning carpet. While the carpet cleaner would drastically immprove my carpet cleaning. Finally i am only going to spend about 150 bucks on either. So far i have looked at a few steamers and carpet cleaners like the bissel spot cleaning thing.
So if you have any suggestions or anything please post. I appreciate it
 
At that price point, your best bet is to get the Bissell Little Green Machine.
OR! Work a few more regular jobs, nothing super hard, save the money and get a good sized steamer.
 
I just got a bissell upright with detachable upholstery cleaner and works awesome and i can always bring it home and use it on the carpets, howevee it was $239 !
 
I would love to have a Tornado but i have calculated the cost of it and an air compressor that could run it and i would put me close to 400 dollars. Also i have looked up some vids of the bissel portable and it does an excellent job for the price. No its not comparable to an actual extractor but works good. It seems like a steamer in the 150 dollar range is a respectable steamer. I have used a thirty dollar one on tough stains before and it got the job done so a 150 dollar one should be a pretty large improvement.
 
SheldonH said:
I would love to have a Tornado but i have calculated the cost of it and an air compressor that could run it and i would put me close to 400 dollars. Also i have looked up some vids of the bissel portable and it does an excellent job for the price. No its not comparable to an actual extractor but works good. It seems like a steamer in the 150 dollar range is a respectable steamer. I have used a thirty dollar one on tough stains before and it got the job done so a 150 dollar one should be a pretty large improvement.
Click to expand...

True, the Tornador plus compressor would run you at least $400. The Bissell Little Green is a fairly good machine for the price. No, is it not in the same class as a Mitee Lite but a good little machine. The biggest problem with the lower priced steamers is they produce a wet steam whereas the higher priced steamers are vapor steamers and much drier. This is not a huge deal for stains on carpet or seats but you will have longer drying time. My first steamer was a Shark and it does a decent job. It is light, heats up fast and is a handy tool. Will it do what my Dupray will do? Of course not. In your budget, you could get two tools made for home use rather than commercial and save some time on your details. Good luck.
 
Robert8194 said:
True, the Tornador plus compressor would run you at least $400. The Bissell Little Green is a fairly good machine for the price. No, is it not in the same class as a Mitee Lite but a good little machine. The biggest problem with the lower priced steamers is they produce a wet steam whereas the higher priced steamers are vapor steamers and much drier. This is not a huge deal for stains on carpet or seats but you will have longer drying time. My first steamer was a Shark and it does a decent job. It is light, heats up fast and is a handy tool. Will it do what my Dupray will do? Of course not. In your budget, you could get two tools made for home use rather than commercial and save some time on your details. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Since you have had both, if you had to pick a 150 steamer or a 150 carpet cleaner such as the Bissel one which would you go with for the best results/overall best product to help with the interior?
 
a steamer would be more versatile I would think, however I still need to acquire both
 
If you check out this title in the show and shine
98 Neon Interior/Headlights "TRASHED"
I did that with a little green machine and a tornador. For whats its worth I didn't use the tornador for the carpets. The key is prep before using the green machine. HTH
 
SheldonH said:
Since you have had both, if you had to pick a 150 steamer or a 150 carpet cleaner such as the Bissel one which would you go with for the best results/overall best product to help with the interior?
Click to expand...

Tough call. The Little Green carpet machine at apx. $100
is probably a better buy.
 
Hey guys, just curious - why not buy a potent spot cleaning solution or aerosol, and simply douse or saturate the car's interior carpet depending on the soil/dirt/stain levels, let it soak in, then agitate it thoroughly with a stiff bristle brush working the fibers and releasing the dirt, and the use a high powered shop-vac to extract the suds and grime?

Seems like a super cheap alternative... although, now that I'm thinking about it, there would be something missing if there wasn't an effective way to treat the carpet also with hot water to break up the soapy residue before extracting. Perhaps just a spritz of hot water, and a double vacuum? Thoughts?
 
I bought a Bissel auto and a mcC steamer . have not even tried em out yet . no point for me to get anything bigger better with the low volume I may use it . picked up the Bissel with a $20 rebate . search for them both a----n .
 
poweraid said:
I bought a Bissel auto and a mcC steamer . have not even tried em out yet . no point for me to get anything bigger better with the low volume I may use it . picked up the Bissel with a $20 rebate . search for them both a----n .
Click to expand...

Let us know when you use them all of your thoughts and insight/comparisons please.

I was looking at buying the Hoover Platinum Carpet Cleaner, because it can also be used at home as a traditional stand up, and the YouTube reviews and videos were very encouraging and positive. Sure, it's $350 once you factor in shipping, but it has a nice 6 year warranty, and it has a great assortment of hand tools and as I said, it can handle both tasks: customer's cars, and the humble abode! :)
 
I have a Rug doctor and it's upholstery attachment it great. Use it for carpet cleaning mainly, only downfall is the price $1000 bucks... But lifetime warranty..


Sent from my iPhone using AG Online
 
Dynamic_Detailing said:
Geeez, a half-off rebate!? I had just asked a question in another thread about the Bissel Auto Pro Heat, saying I couldn't find it anywhere for less than $90, and someone said it was "the best $50 they ever spent." Grr.
Click to expand...

A hisself proheat will only run you about a 100 bucks. They key is getting a pro heat not just a little green machine. I used my aunts yesterday and for a 100 dollars it's a good carpet extractor and heated the water well I'm going to post pics when I use mine
 
SheldonH said:
A hisself proheat will only run you about a 100 bucks. They key is getting a pro heat not just a little green machine. I used my aunts yesterday and for a 100 dollars it's a good carpet extractor and heated the water well I'm going to post pics when I use mine
Click to expand...

I love auto-correct, "hisself proheat," haha! Thanks man, I would love to see pictures. I do like the heating ability, but my water is already skin-melting hot at home, so unless it has a coal furnace in it, it almost seems like it would be cooling it to a certain temperature that the machine can handle. The Tornador air-compressor cleaner looks really cool by the way, but again, for $100 the Bissell seems to be a no-brainer until the income stream proliferates and I can invest in a pro-level carpet extractor.
 
Here's a pic of my carpet before and after with the bissell. Only problem is it does get it pretty wet. But for $80 can't complain.

ce911fb5.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top