I've never used an extractor before but I plan to before this year is out. (Portable that is) What is the average dry time for the carpet and upolstery when cleaned with a portable? there is so much terminology with those things. which is the most important to make sure i get if i could only get one or two. Example: 40,60,100 psi pumps; 1500 watt heat exchanger; 10 gallon discharge per minute; 160 inches of lift. what does all this mean? 160 inches = aprox. 15 ft... So it lifts 15 ft. of what? Remind yourselves of what these things mean by briefly sharing a few with me.

Your Servant

There are a lot of variables in this picture:
1. How much prespray and how much extraction liquid you lay down.
2. Type of wand you use- standard wand, number of jets, power wand tool- Rotovac, Rotovac 360, Drymaster, RX-20.
3. How many dry passes you do. The quality of the dry passes.
4. The temperature and humidity in the cleaned areas.
5. Air circulation in the area.
6. Use of drying fans.

And probably some more I am boneheading and leaving out right now. Bottom line for HWE expect AT LEAST 2-4 hours to not feel so damp and 24 hours for COMPLETE drying. If over 24 hours you did something very wrong.

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

May I make a suggestion? Judging from your posts, you are like a newborn baby at this. See if you can locate an IICRC (Institute for Inspection Cleaning & Restoration Certification) Carpet Technician certification class in your area or close enough to travel to. It is a two day course that will answer many of your questions and more. It will provide you with knowledge of carpet construction and cleaning methods. The certification test is optional and you don't have to join the IICRC to take the class. If you are going to get into this business, knowledge is power.

you may have already, but you need to do LOTS of research on the forums.

goto ICS, Search terms like: "best portable".

then you will see a slew of ppl with as many different responses. read for several days. then email end users (not manu's or distrib's) and see if they mind your calling them and speak over the phone (much better than email, you'll get more honest answers).

so here is my opinion:
1) research the Recoil 3HP;
2) research the CleanCraft Eclipse;
3) research some of the portables Cobb distributes;
4) research the Steamin Demon here on this site.

while i personally did the first 3 above and decided on the Recoil 3HP several years ago (and have since sold it & moved on from HWE), i am now looking at the Steamin Demon to add to my arsenal, to maybe reintroduce this method to my clients again. there are several on the forums who have replaced their TM's with a Steamin Demon because they found the same - to - better results than the TM.

soooo many variables and i think you might be best served doing TONS of research on your own. too many ppl on the forums try and find the easy answer by posting a common: "what porty do you recommend", type question, then they whine a year later when they feel everyone on the forums are "shills" or weren't being honest, or some such excuse.

good fortune on your decision --- Derek.

Thanks Derek for info! but let me just ask you. why you personally go to demon with no encap punch. vs. portable with encap punch? If you go demon and pre scrubb with simon wouldn't that take you twice as long to do a job than it would with a powerful portable with the encap punch to get the same results. I want your experienced personal view to help me form mine. please
Part of my research includes real live experiences.

Your Servant

i never said i wouldn't use Punch. since i do have Punch on hand at all times, it would def be one of the products i used via HWE.

a S.D. IS a portable.

no comprende, "pre scrubb with simon" - huh?

explain that part and i will give more advice/opinions. remember to not take my word for gospel and talk with other ppl to.

thanx --- Derek.

hey derek your right, iam a baby at this. but i'm listening to you awesome fellas on the board and i pick-up what i can So,the reason i say to scrubb first with simon is i seem to gather that agitation is very essential for great results. If the demon or any portable is used to extract oily soil from the carpet there would be no good agitation, just extract. Correct me if i'm wrong cause i'm the rookie here: if i pre-scrubb and get good results loosining up the soil, then come behind with hwe (punch-portable 3 stage vac) and extract whats left deep down in the fibers then post vacuum what residue punch leaves behind would you agree that i would have a restored carpet and a happy customer?

Your Servant

with HWE that PSI is the agitation... although a lot of people will rake the very soiled areas or something similar

from what I understand you'll get AWESOME agitation from something along the lines of the Sprint, pilemaster or any of the other many CRB machines out there... you could also use an OP machine to pre-scrub but it won't be as fast or deep, but you have the option to do some extracting with a cotton pad w/ an OP machine...

either will prescrub which looses the soil from the fiber, then go over it w/ the stemin demon which flushes it out... or some other HWE portable

eventualy i'll own both a CRB and stemon demon for when i need them... between those an a good OP machinee I should be able to cover just about anything that comes my way

Hey mark that is a great combo you've just helped me to narrow down what i'm in search for. basically my line of questions on the board has been towards getting an arsonal that can tackle any job with exceptional results. as of right now i will go with the demon,sprint,OP,as you mentioned.I couldn't see going with the demon at first cause i couldn't see how encap-punch would fit in and Its a must that i have encap-punch!! (that stuff is awesome) then RICK GELINAS shared the illustration about the drop of dish liquid on the dish cloth effect which make complete sense. Now i have three machines that has two functions each. Thats a good arsonal for someone who is trying to get started to hit the ground runnin. However, i must add one other thing thats essential to all of those. THE LINHAUS! i still have a few unanswered ???'s such as the demon's vacuum power capabilities,can i use a wand with it for narrow areas? Thanks Mark for sharing!! i can't wait to be able to share results.

Your Servant

i'm no expert... but i do know the classic SD has a stair/hand tool option... you basicly replace the window section with one that has a hole to turn it into a wet vac... my only question is how well does it do with the low pressure... but edges typicaly aren't overly soiled...

one cool thing would be that the CRB and SD as well as the encap-punch solution are all CRI certified... if that matters to you... ... so you'd be covered if thats an issue

http://www.steamindemon.com/ has some good vids of the SD i saw some awesome pics of 1/2 done work using the SD a while back but can't find em at the moment :-/

for vac power i want to say it's in the lower 100's range... about as powerful about as powerful as most of the inexpensive portables... BUT they make sure to mention the suck source is about 8" away which makes a big difference vs 25+ foot of hose

I also belive there is a glide option for the SD... but i haven't actualy looked into that to deeply yet, i won't have a SD for a little while so I haven't gotten that far into reserching it

lots of info and pics of the SD in action... http://www.kleenkuip.com/portables/steamin_demon.htm

great info Mark.

T.S. : some questions & points to consider:

so when you say simon, you are referring to a Cimex? yea, pre-scrub'ing with this would be killer for any HWE rinse. as would a CRB. OP also, but would be much slower. benefit of the Cimex: at least with the Cimex you can apply the Punch as you pre-scrub.

no need to worry about post-vac when using Punch.

i know the SD and Punch are CRI cert, but is there a CRB out there that is???

when you buy a SD, DEFINITELY look into getting a Glide ASAP. i hear this makes a huge difference for SD users out there, both for water recovery (which = less dirty water left in the carpet, and faster dry times) & easier to push / pull the SD (depending on which model you purchase). some prefer the Classic, some prefer the newer models.

do you sell all models Rick G?

vac power on the SD is a 3-stage and is only inches from the carpet as Mark said, so it is plenty! all models have ports for a solution hose (to add a wand/upholstery tool) and vac/recovery hose (someone correct me if i am wrong on this).

thanx --- Derek.

Heres the board to go to...read and read and read, most of what they talk about has to do with Truck Mounts, but you will get the idea..

www.mikeysboard.com

Heres a question or 2

Do you already have a porty and so the questions???
or are you looking at getting one??

because for just a bit more you can find a decent used TM, thats what i did and have since tweaked a few things and it runs like some of the big boys..

just a thought