Rick, have you considered seeing if you can find some better bonnets for the Cimex? I have a case of the thin encap bonnets that I got from you but they don't absorb like a cotton pad. I was wondering if maybe there was a type of pad out there that was a combination of cotton and synthetic. Or maybe a micro-fiber bonnet. If you could come up with something like that it would be a great benefit to us Cimex owners.

Joe, good point as it seems micro-fiber pads are gaining in popularity. My friend JimEngland1347@aol.com uses them daily in his business

Rick or anyone else, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think cotton bonnets are a great idea. Several manufacturers specifically state that use of cotton bonnets on their carpet will void all warranties. They don't say anything about about nylon pads, however.

And if I remember correctly, there was one manufactuter that even stated that the warranty would be voided if a rotary machine was used to clean their carpet. Didn't say anything about planetary, though.

At any rate, it may be safer to stick with the fiber-plus pads. I realize that many carpets you clean will not still be under warranty, but....

By the way, I could probably find which manufacturers stated these things if someone needs to verify it. Email me if you'd like the info and I'll get it to you as soon as I can.

David Edwards
Carpets To Go
New Bern, NC

Synthetic material is easier on the carpet fiber than cotton. Cotton bonnets/pads wear out very rapidly. Therefore a cotton pad would not wear well under the load of a Cimex machine with its planetary scrubbing pattern. Although the synthetic bonnet material is not quite as absorbent as cotton, it still appears to be the most suitable bonnet that we've come across yet. Microfiber is also an option we've been looking into.








Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Personally I think microfiber would be the way to go but might be kind of pricey. I run some on my OP from time to time and they seem to hold up real well.
I had the Argo Co. make me a few cotton pads for the Cimex a few months ago. They cleaned good but they were very difficult to get on the pad drivers. They would'nt stick like the encap pads do. As far as cotton pads being to agressive for the carpet, I don't think that would be a problem on commercial carpet.