Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

[The Wash Doc]

Hey guys, I saw some pictures on a website of how this guy turned his shop vac into a carpet extractor and I want to know do you all think this would work good, if at all? He had one of those little water pumps (not the kind that you put down in water, the type that sits on top of water tank) He had this pump sucking up solution water out of a empty greased lightning jug (the big ones) with a 3/4 solution hose which was connected to the pump. Then there was a longer solution hose (clear tubing you get from lowes) coming out the other side of the pump and at the end of it, it looked like he got some metal couplings and attached to them to the end of hose. Now, with the shop vac, he took the hose and instead of putting on a vacuum attachment, he had purchased a carpet extractor wand for like $100.00 and somehow fit it into the end of the shop vacs hose and then had the sprayer hose of the wand connected to the metal couplings on the solution tube coming from the pump. I don't know if I explained this good or not, so hopefully you all know what I'm talking about. So, how would this work and would it be worth a damn? If so, what kinda pump would I need and how much power? Where would i get just the extractor wand attachment?

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

come on....nobody can help me out on this?

[BillE]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

I saw the pics you posted 'up there' and have been thinking about this.

I don't see why this wouldn't work. Seems to me a lot of work to achieve the final results. I HATE dragging hoses etc around, so the more compact the better is more to my liking.

Think along these lines...an extractor is nothing but a sprayer and sucker all in one package. So, if $ is short, how about just using your wet/dry vac and, say a 2 gallon garden sprayer and just use brush to agitate?

Just an idea...

Bill

[ronniejay]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

I saw the pics you posted 'up there' and have been thinking about this.

Where is 'up there"???

What part of Fort Worth are you based?

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

I have another thread open that I actually posted the links to the pictures I seen of the guys set up, maybe that's what he's talking about. I'm in West Fort Worth

[cnfowler]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

...Think along these lines...an extractor is nothing but a sprayer and sucker all in one package. So, if $ is short, how about just using your wet/dry vac and, say a 2 gallon garden sprayer and just use brush to agitate?

Just an idea...

Bill

This is exactly what I do. Works great.


Colin

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

What kind of hose attachment are yall using on your shop vac to extract water?! I have a Rigid 5hp vac and the one attachment I thought was for extracting water, doesn't work worth a damn on carpets, I think it's just to extract water off a hard floor or something. Someone even ran by me to take the Little Green Machines hand wand off and put it on my shop vac hose. Would that work? Also, just so I know I got this right, the steps to cleaning carpet with a shop vac is:

1. Vacuum very thoroughly with shop vac
2. Use a Garden Sprayer (?) to lightly dampen whatever area of carpet I'm working on with just plain water, preferably warm.
3. Spray the cleaner I'll be using all over same area, Rub it in with a brush and let it set in carpet for like 10 mins.
4.Use Garden Sprayer again to spray regular water back over area and immediately extract dirty water with shop vac

Repeat if neccessary

[BillE]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

What kind of hose attachment are yall using on your shop vac to extract water?! I have a Rigid 5hp vac and the one attachment I thought was for extracting water, doesn't work worth a damn on carpets, I think it's just to extract water off a hard floor or something. Someone even ran by me to take the Little Green Machines hand wand off and put it on my shop vac hose. Would that work? Also, just so I know I got this right, the steps to cleaning carpet with a shop vac is:

1. Vacuum very thoroughly with shop vac
2. Use a Garden Sprayer (?) to lightly dampen whatever area of carpet I'm working on with just plain water, preferably warm.
3. Spray the cleaner I'll be using all over same area, Rub it in with a brush and let it set in carpet for like 10 mins.
4.Use Garden Sprayer again to spray regular water back over area and immediately extract dirty water with shop vac

Repeat if necessary

Can't argue with that.

One thing you don't want to it saturate the carpet. Agitation is your friend, not so you start to 'tear' up the carpet, just nice gentle scrubby scrubby. As you say...repeat as necessary.

About your vac...How big is the hose? 1 1/2" or larger, like 2+? My experience has been bigger is better with a STRONG vac.

Bill

[Jimmy Buffit]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

What's missing here?

The four basic elements of cleaning are:

Temperature
Chemical
Time
Friction/Agitation

Apply these four general elements to anything you clean. If the process is not working, adjust one or all of the elements. For example, if a solvent is not removing grease, increase the dwell time. Perhaps use your steamer to melt the grease

Regarding the proposed extractor 'contraption', we're missing heat and agitation/pressure.
A pro extractor injects 200 degree water under 500 psi pressure and extracts that water immediately with a powerful, two stage vacuum with 140" of lift. That's probably twice the lift (suction) of a shopvac.

Carpets just aren't gonna get cleaned, really cleaned, without an actual extractor.
I understand that they are expensive, but it is the Autopian way to go.

[ChadKerk]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

If you want to be cheap cheap, why not just look on Craigslist. Us carpet cleaner guys switch out our portys quiet often. I moved alot of my old ones about a year ago that I didn't use over the last few years. Were they the Caddys of cleaners no... but they were still decent used machines that would help a newbie or a part-time guy out and make him or her money.

[Jimmy Buffit]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

ChadKirk, great post. In fact I just bought a new extractor and will put the used one on Craigslist today.

If anyone local to me is interested: I'm selling a Nexus heated 500 psi unit for $900 - $2300 new.

[Paul S]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

Jim - Did you sell this unit ?

[Jimmy Buffit]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

Jim - Did you sell this unit ?

It is still available. Recently serviced - has new 500psi pump and heater!

[daniel clark]

Re: Turn Shop Vac into Carpet Extractor?

Back in the day I did this...
*turned pressure washers throttle and unloader valve way down
*remove gun and connect uhpolstry tool(quick connect couplings)
*connect 6hp ridgid wet/dry vac to tool
well it worked ok,did the job!