Steam Cleaner or Carpet Extractor

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Mickelson'sProDetailing

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Hello my name is cory. I am new to this forum, and im excited to see how involved everyone is here with the automotive appearance industry. I see alot of detailers, thats great. I am actually launching my company Mickelson's Professional Automotive Detailing the first of april, already got some appointments lined up. Anyways, i have used carpets extractors in the past with good results, but i recently ran across someone who suggested using a steam cleaner for the interior as it will be more thorough, and capable of cleaning a variety of different materials. I would like to know what your experience with upholstery steam cleaners is, and what you would recommend. Thank you for your time and input.
 
Welcome to AGOL.
As of right now I don't have an extractors. I need one, and I have been looking for one that is not so dog gone high..LOL...I believe they are made out of gold....Im the MAN
 
sparkie said:
Welcome to AGOL.
As of right now I don't have an extractors. I need one, and I have been looking for one that is not so dog gone high..LOL...I believe they are made out of gold....Im the MAN
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I hear that! Those things are way to rich for me!
 
steam cleaner shmeem cleaner. Thats what oxiclean, Carpet Cleaner, and Woolite with a buffer scrub brush and a shop vac is for! :D

THey are sooo expensive tho :(
 
yes they are very expensive, i found a couple steam cleaners on ebay for dirt cheap, dont know if they even work? The scrub brush is probabley the route i will be taking for the first few months. thanks for the reply everyone
 
i have a vapor steamer also its a vx5000 commerical not a continous fill works great also have a carpet extractor too
 
ryandamartini said:
steam cleaner shmeem cleaner. Thats what oxiclean, Carpet Cleaner, and Woolite with a buffer scrub brush and a shop vac is for! :D

THey are sooo expensive tho :(
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Oxi clean will fade the pigment in fibers over time

I got an extractor last week.. I never realized how much more efficient my time would be with an extractor - once you get one you will never look back
 
Steamers and extractors both have their place.

Steamers are great for cleaning many things, especially the interior cracks and crevices. Every cleaned a really nasty interior? Steam is a life-saver for these. Contaminants just melt away. Steam is also great for cleaning leather, carpets, and upholstery.

Extractors are great for getting out the deep down dirt and grime. You wouldn't believe what you can take out with an extractor.

With that said, I can't imagine not having one or the other. For carpets and upholstery, use steam first to melt all the dirt and grime. Then, take your extractor and suck all that gunk out. You'll be amazed what what the two machines can accomplish.
 
I do not have a steam cleaner but I do have an extractor and I cannot beleive the dirt they will remove effortlessly. Well worth the money for the results. :cheers:
 
They have a great steamer at lowes for 79.99 that works great. I use it on my interior and floor matts and they came out great. Here's the one I got.

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I have used extractor's and scrub brush with a vacuum. While both work I feel the extractor works the best. Also you not beating the dirt down into the mat and then trying to get it back out. Your only extracting it. I have a hot rod spotter made by aztec. Auto geek carries these and they do a fair job if you don't have the money for a large unit. The only down side is you will have to refill a couple of times if the carpet is really soiled.
 
So what's up with this guy Steve Clingan who sells the VX 5000 Vapor Steamers. I heard he was a good guy to deal with. I'm getting a whole different ball game from this guy.
 
scrubs147 said:
So what's up with this guy Steve Clingan who sells the VX 5000 Vapor Steamers. I heard he was a good guy to deal with. I'm getting a whole different ball game from this guy.
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Care to elaborate? I'm looking for a vapor cleaner. After reading reviews I decided to call. I called after hours and he called me back and spent 45 minutes answering questions. I went ahead and ordered one with the money back guarantee that covers shipping.

I'm going to use it on our grill off the bat and see what it does and then a car that has some funky air freshner.

I know you can't really see what kind of service a company provides until after the buy but getting off the phone after I purchased he asked me to call whenever I went to use the machine so he could give me tips.

I'll post if I run into issues.
 
If you have to choose, get the steamer first. I use a steamer 100% of the time for cleaning the inside.

Step 1, Vacuum
Step 2, Teat spots with Folex
Step 3, Mist Folex over rest of area
Step 4, Steam the area, with a brush attached
Step 5, Use a microfiber to wipe the area over
Step 6, Move onto the next section.

You can use a steamer on the whole interior not just carpet an upholstery.
 
I did finally get my steamer from vapor systems and Steve came through 100%. This steamer is a great machine, well built and does a super job. It works great on the carpets, upholstery, reaches into the door jambs with high pressure and simply melts the dirt away. As far as the rest of the interior, just steam on the lowest setting with the appropriate tool and wipe dry. I just sold my Mytee Lite 2 to re-coop some of money I spent on the steamer. From what I have researched, the Durrmaid 1600 is a better machine for the dollar... has better lift and better pressure. If and when I get another extractor that will be my choice.
 
AeroCleanse,

When you say a steamer, do you mean an actually steam cleaner or a Dry Vapor machine? From what I read I went with a Dry Vapor machine. According to what I read, the vapor is supposed to clean better than steam and at the same time leave what you're cleaning a lot dryer than steam and obviously an extractor.

I purchased it as they seem to be so much more flexible in what you can do with them compared to an extractor.

There seems to be a lot of different info and a steam and dry vapor may be the same with the later boiling the water.

Would be nice if there was a compreshension unbiased thread on extractors, steamer's & dry vapor machines. Also the price is so all over the place on these things and you have retailers buying from others and marking up the same machine with a different names.
 
frosty said:
AeroCleanse,

When you say a steamer, do you mean an actually steam cleaner or a Dry Vapor machine? From what I read I went with a Dry Vapor machine. According to what I read, the vapor is supposed to clean better than steam and at the same time leave what you're cleaning a lot dryer than steam and obviously an extractor.

I purchased it as they seem to be so much more flexible in what you can do with them compared to an extractor.

There seems to be a lot of different info and a steam and dry vapor may be the same with the later boiling the water.

Would be nice if there was a compreshension unbiased thread on extractors, steamer's & dry vapor machines. Also the price is so all over the place on these things and you have retailers buying from others and marking up the same machine with a different names.
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A steamer is a dry vapor machine. I wish people would stop calling hot water extractors steamers.

Drying time, the steamer (dry vapor) dries almost right away.

This is the unit I have: AllBrands.com - Vapor Clean Unilux 3000 Commercial Steam Cleaner 1500W, 5Bar 72+PSI, Pressure Gauge, 9'Hose, 315°F, 1-3Hr Cleaning, 1YrParts Lifetime Boiler & Element I would have got a better one, but this does a great job for the money.
 
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