Shop Vac or Extractor for carpet Cleaning?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Shop Vac or Extractor for carpet Cleaning?

I use my shop vac as the extractor. Works well. IMHO no need for the expense of the extractor.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: Shop Vac or Extractor for carpet Cleaning?

I guess it really depends on how dirty and deep the stain or dirt is and if you are doing production work. My 31 year old Camaro seats came perfectly clean using the Tuck91 method (APC 10:1, agitate with brush and blot with cotton terry towel), however I was dealing with surface dirt. I then just misted them with a bit of water and used the shop vac to remove any traces of the APC.

Just like paint, (as David stated) in most cases we should use the least aggressive method to get the job done. Why introduce excess moisture to a classic car if it isn't necessary, but a trashed mini van going onto a used car lot - why not.

I'd like to have an extractor, but from all of Tuck91's details it's obvious that it's not necessary, so for now... I'll stick with the cheap old shop vac and cotton terry towels.

[David Fermani]

Re: Shop Vac or Extractor for carpet Cleaning?

I've owned several extractors throughout the years, but if you know what you're doing they aren't required to clean an interior properly. If you think about it, all's an extractor does is spray pressurized hot water into a fabric and vacuums it up. The end result can be comparably mimicked in almost every application. The key to proper interior cleaning is identifying your problem and using the appropriate pre-cleaner to treat it prior to introducing any rear dampness to the surface.

[Ravi_1992]

Do you guys use a shop vac with APC and a brush to shampoo carpet

or

Do you guys Use a extractor? ( like the ones that are hundreds or even thousands of dollars )

or


Both?