I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.


Regards and thanks in advance


P J Macguire

"Syke" wrote in message
...
I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions
either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.

I'd love one. We used to borrow a neighbour's but last time we asked she'd
given it to a niece.

Grrrr.

Mary


Regards and thanks in advance


P J Macguire

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:46:55 -0000, "Syke"
wrote:

I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.

My other half who used to work in an electrical shop says that there
are two basic types of carpet washers. The cheaper models use gravity
syphon to deliver the cleaning liquid from the tank to the carpet.

Some of the air being expelled from the machine is used to partially
pressurise the tank.

This provides for a very slow delivery rate of water. It also means
that the cleaner unit must be at a higher level that the cleaning head
on the unit.

Apparently, if you put a dust sheet on the sofa or a table and stand
the cleaner on this, it will increase the rate of flow to the unit.
However, it is a pain.

The more expensive versions have an electronic pump. These are much
more effective.

I once used a professional carpet cleaner that I hired from HSS. It
was fantastic. The unit used gallons of water and it was necessary to
keep emptying the unit, but it seemed to clean the carpet far better
than the domestic units.

Goto to www.hss.com and enter "carpet cleaner". 3 machines will come
up. It is the large green unit at the bottom.

Just make sure you vac thoroughly to help lift the carpet fibres
before you start using the wet carpet washer.

Graham

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:46:55 -0000, "Syke"
wrote:

I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions
either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.

My other half who used to work in an electrical shop says that there
are two basic types of carpet washers. The cheaper models use gravity
syphon to deliver the cleaning liquid from the tank to the carpet.

Some of the air being expelled from the machine is used to partially
pressurise the tank.

This provides for a very slow delivery rate of water. It also means
that the cleaner unit must be at a higher level that the cleaning head
on the unit.

Apparently, if you put a dust sheet on the sofa or a table and stand
the cleaner on this, it will increase the rate of flow to the unit.
However, it is a pain.

The more expensive versions have an electronic pump. These are much
more effective.

I once used a professional carpet cleaner that I hired from HSS. It
was fantastic. The unit used gallons of water and it was necessary to
keep emptying the unit, but it seemed to clean the carpet far better
than the domestic units.

Goto to www.hss.com and enter "carpet cleaner". 3 machines will come
up. It is the large green unit at the bottom.

Just make sure you vac thoroughly to help lift the carpet fibres
before you start using the wet carpet washer.

That's very helpful and thanks.

But we only have one carpet in the house so I'm not going to invest in one.
The idea of hiring from HSS is something I hadn't thought about though.

Spouse used the steam cleaner to rid our one carpet of stains caused by a
spillage of tallow, we were both very pleased.

Mary

Graham

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:46:55 -0000, "Syke"
wrote:

I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.


Regards and thanks in advance


P J Macguire

We used to have one, and I would say it was reasonably good, but not
outstanding. After about five years use, the small pump that
delivers water to the cleaning heads packed up.

Until then, it did work quite well and seemed effective at cleaning
carpets.

At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate. With the
small number of carpets left, we won't replace the VAX, but probably
rent a carpet cleaner if one is needed before the remaining carpets
are slung out.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...


At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.

That's interesting, why did you do that?

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...


At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.

That's interesting, why did you do that?

Maybe the VAX was a bit more powerfull than intended

Mary Fisher wrote:

At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.


That's interesting, why did you do that?

Because carpets can get very dirty, depending on where they are? We have
no carpets downstairs. The only carpet we have is in the bedrooms and
stairs/landing. This means downstairs, which is the bit that gets
dirtiest, is easiest to clean.

--
Grunff

Mary Fisher wrote:
snip
But we only have one carpet in the house so I'm not going to invest in one.
The idea of hiring from HSS is something I hadn't thought about though.

Spouse used the steam cleaner to rid our one carpet of stains caused by a
spillage of tallow, we were both very pleased.

An alternative is to remove the carpet, and clean outside using the
hosepipe.

I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an incredible
amount of dirt.
The waste water goes from nearly black to clear in only a couple of seconds.
You do however need to go over every square centimeter of the carpet.
Having a nice warm greenhouse (or a big dehumidifier and a room heated to 30C)
is a good idea.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
snip
But we only have one carpet in the house so I'm not going to invest in
one.
The idea of hiring from HSS is something I hadn't thought about though.

Spouse used the steam cleaner to rid our one carpet of stains caused by a
spillage of tallow, we were both very pleased.

An alternative is to remove the carpet, and clean outside using the
hosepipe.

In our case it was a stair carpet, invisibly held with grips in difficult
places and if it had been removed it would have been virtualy impossible to
replace in the same way.

I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an
incredible
amount of dirt.

I'm sure you're right. The amount of dirt held in a carpet pile is the main
reason why we got rid of all of ours except the hall, landing and staircase.

Mary

"Grunff" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:

At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.


That's interesting, why did you do that?

Because carpets can get very dirty, depending on where they are? We have
no carpets downstairs. The only carpet we have is in the bedrooms and
stairs/landing. This means downstairs, which is the bit that gets
dirtiest, is easiest to clean.

That's why we got rid of ours.

It's not just dirt, it's the menagerie ... I'm sure things live between
flloorboards too but they don't seem to eat them ...

Mary

Mary

--
Grunff

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 11:31:19 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .


At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.

That's interesting, why did you do that?

Mary



Because to keep them to an acceptable level of cleanliness is a lot of
work.

We've noticed that the general dust levels around have dropped
enormously, and maintaining hard floors is much easier.

We have one or two rugs that can come out at different times of year
(or not) and can then change the look of the room. When cleaning
of those is needed, they can go outside.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 11:31:19 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
. ..


At the point that it had packed up, we had ripped out virtually all
carpets anyway and replaced with hardwood floors or slate.

That's interesting, why did you do that?

Mary



Because to keep them to an acceptable level of cleanliness is a lot of
work.

Yes.

We've noticed that the general dust levels around have dropped
enormously, and maintaining hard floors is much easier.

Yes. A quick sweep now and then and it's done. No plugging in, no trailing
cables, no noise ...

We have one or two rugs that can come out at different times of year
(or not) and can then change the look of the room. When cleaning
of those is needed, they can go outside.

I'm not interested in the 'look' of the room so much but we do have
sheepskins which lie round on the floor - there's nowhere to store them
without risking moth - and they can easily be cleaned with a good shake
outside. In very cold weather I put down a cotton rug in the lavatory to
protect his poor cold plates through the night and there's always a cotton
rug for stepping out of the bath. Oh, and a doormat outside the back door as
well as inside.

We took up the horrid deep pile carpets in the caravans too - can you
imagine what was in those! The hens found lots ... I can't understand why
carpets ever migrated from walls to floors!

From the responses to my question is seems as though I'm not the oddball
some of our family thinks - I'm grateful to everyone who thinks the same
about carpets and hard floors.

Mary

In article ,
Syke wrote:
I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.

I have one. Bought it when I moved into a flat some 8 years ago to clean
the grubby, but otherwise good carpets the previous owners had left. It
did the job - took me a day to the the flat (2 biggish rooms, bathroom
and hall) and another day for it to all dry out, although it did do a
good job of sucking the dirty water back inside it.

FWIW my unit has a pump which pumps the water down to the cleaning head.

I used to use it about once a year after that, then 3 years ago moved
to a new house and used it there too. It saw more use shortly after we
moved in, as we had an ailing cat which used to leak...

We still have it, although the cleaner of choice for the house is the
Dyson that SWIMBO brought into the relationship... The VAX gets a lot
of abuse though when I do some of the grubbier DIY tasks though.

You can get reusable liner bags for them, but after 5 years use in the
flat, and a year of abuse in the new house, I threw it out and am using
paper ones now.

Nothing sucks like a VAX, as they used to say...

Gordon

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 11:17:46 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


But we only have one carpet in the house so I'm not going to invest in one.
The idea of hiring from HSS is something I hadn't thought about though.

Find a relative and go halves with them on a machine.

We went halves with the mother in law.

Graham

On 29 Jan 2005 13:00:50 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:


I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an incredible
amount of dirt.

There is a risk that the carpet will shrink as it dries.

Graham

wrote:
On 29 Jan 2005 13:00:50 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:


I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an incredible
amount of dirt.

There is a risk that the carpet will shrink as it dries.

True.

I should have mentioned this.

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:46:55 -0000, "Syke"
strung together this:

I've been looking at these and wondered if anyone had strong opinions either
way on their usefulness, efficiency and so on.

Not a great machine if you just want it for washing carpets.

A Bissell Proheat on the other hand, (and the newer Proheat 2),
brilliant bit of kit.
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

On 29 Jan 2005 16:52:56 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

wrote:
On 29 Jan 2005 13:00:50 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:


I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an incredible
amount of dirt.

There is a risk that the carpet will shrink as it dries.

True.

I should have mentioned this.

How do you like your new rugs?

(:-)

Graham

wrote:
On 29 Jan 2005 16:52:56 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

wrote:
On 29 Jan 2005 13:00:50 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:


I found that a spray nozzle set on "one tight beam that goes a long way"
used touching the carpet gets right to the bottom, and removes an incredible
amount of dirt.

There is a risk that the carpet will shrink as it dries.

True.

I should have mentioned this.

How do you like your new rugs?

Actually, for me, it diddn't happen.
It was a 4*5m carpet (or so).
It was not layed properly, had just been placed in the room, with furniture
on top (diddn't shift).
So, it was relatively (well, moving carpet from under 150Kg large desk unit
too big to go through door was fun) easy to simply remove the carpet, take
into garden, and clean.
Drying occurred in greenhouse, spraying a couple of times during with
a Febrieze (sp?) clone.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
news:41fce104$0$71964$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-

Drying occurred in greenhouse, spraying a couple of times during with
a Febrieze

?

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
news:41fce104$0$71964$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-

Drying occurred in greenhouse, spraying a couple of times during with
a Febrieze

?

Fabrize?
Anyway, it's a product containing IIRC a protein derived from corn that
acts in various ways to reduce odor.

On 30 Jan 2005 16:30:51 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
news:41fce104$0$71964$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-

Drying occurred in greenhouse, spraying a couple of times during with
a Febrieze

?

Fabrize?

Febreze (tm)

Anyway, it's a product containing IIRC a protein derived from corn that
acts in various ways to reduce odor.

and odour as well...



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On 30 Jan 2005 16:30:51 GMT, Ian Stirling
strung together this:


a Febrieze

?

Fabrize?

Febreze?
--

SJW
Please reply to group or use 'usenet' in email subject

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 30 Jan 2005 16:30:51 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
news:41fce104$0$71964$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-

Drying occurred in greenhouse, spraying a couple of times during with
a Febrieze

?

Fabrize?

Febreze (tm)

Anyway, it's a product containing IIRC a protein derived from corn that
acts in various ways to reduce odor.

and odour as well...

Oh.

Or should that be ouh ...

Thanks anyway.

Mary



--

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

IME canvas backed carpets tend to fall apart when wetted fully.

A mop and bucket will clean them acceptably, dont soak them, and takes
far less time than mucking about looking for a machine, but theyre
never going to give the deep clean Ian talks about.

NT

Hello,
no you are certainly not the only one to dislike carpets! I have pitch
pine wooden floors throughout the house. I do though have rugs in
bedroom and living rooms (of course, sanding and varnishing the pine
floors is another popular uk.d-i-y thread...) and I've also fitted
matting on the stairs, secured with rods. I think this is safer.
regarding your query re cleaning this lot, I use soapy water and a mop
for the floors and 1001 carpet stain remover for the rugs. Whip it up
in a bucket into a foam, and apply it with a cloth. allow it to soak
in for 10-20 mins, then give it all a good blast with a Vaporetto or
similar steam cleaner. This works every time and I should imagine would
be OK for carpet as well, altho, as they say, if in doubt try an
inconspicous area first!
cheers dave P