The last of the Mohican's is soon to die.

[Scottsdryfoam]

Hi all, I used to be on Rich's former forums back over a decade ago.  Been cleaning carpets for over 20 years.  I've used the Chemstractor with Von Schrader's Dry Foam.  I'm talking the old metal machine, not that blue plastic crap that came out in 2007.  Got me voted best of North Kitsap this year and gave me a good run for 20 years.  But I just cannibalized my last parts to keep my last Chemstractor going and it's time for the final Chemstractor to go the way of the dinosaur at last.  I'm sure you old timers are amazed that anyone out there still was using that wonderful old beast of a bygone era.

I've been keeping an eye out in the hopes that a new breed of low moisture extraction would rise up, but nothing has.  These new CRB's all seem to use bonnets and the RX20 types of machines don't look too low moisture.  So my choices seem to be go with a rotary extractor that puts in lots of water or go with a Cimex bonnet cleaner.  I've looked and looked and can't seem to find anything remotely like the old Chemstractor that injected the encapsulant into the carpet, brushed it clean and then extracted it back out.

So if that truly is a bygone era, then can people get me up to speed on what my alternatives are today?  Is there truly no more low moisture extraction method?  Are the new chemicals so good now that bonnets can get heavily dirty carpets (like the grease built up in a thai restaurant or the soot ground into a high traffic fire department) clean?  Because bonnets were fail for most of my experience but I haven't kept on top of that corner of the industry.  I don't want to go to HWE either.  I intend to stay low moisture.

[encapman]

I feel your pain! I miss the old Chemstractor too. I cleaned probably millions of sq ft of carpet with those machines back in the day. We actually threw away one that had been sitting in our warehouse with a dead motor not too long ago. Could've salvaged a few parts but didn't see much point. 

You're right about the Orbitals and CRB's being the VLM stars of the new era. These machines have become popular and perform real well. A modern orbital like a Vario is a simple solution that cleans impressively with Releasit and MicroBeast bonnets. It's not a rotary-extractor, but it certainly gets the job done. The Cimex is another major player for encap work. All these machines are easier on the old body than a rotary (not saying your old or anything).

Like you though, I still miss the old Chemstractor. Was a sweet machine...

[Lounge Lizards]

Thanks for your story Scott, & also Rick's reply.

Here's something that many may be unaware of, & YES, the Chemstractor does get a mention.  

I hope you enjoy the link & also pay the museum a visit.

https://historyofprofessionalcarpetclean...press.com/

Cheers,

[Scottsdryfoam]

So what do you guys think would be the best way to go?  Is there a good low moisture extractor out there on the market I haven't been able to find?  Or should I look at a CRB or RX-20 type machine?

[encapman]

Buy a CRB or an Orbital. Our BrushEncap is a well built machine. It's the genuine Austrian machine (not the Chinese knock-off). Or you could move to the Vario Pro which is also a very sweet machine! The Vario Pro is probably more similar to what you've been using from an appearance standpoint. It looks a bit like the Chemstractor, but it's certainly a lot easier on the body to run. Either of these machines will perform extremely well and provide you with flexibility. Give us a call if you need assistance.