carpet cleaner

sean1141

Guys I may soon be in the market for a machine to clean carpets/seats in cars mostly..kinda like the ones you can hire in woddies/Tesco etc
Max 350 to spend
Needs to be decent
I don't mind second hand or refurb units

What are my options??

randy hickey

Talk to Paul in Fort Plant Sales in Ballymount.
I discovered that he sells ex-hire spray extraction upholstery machines not long after I went and bought my own one from the UK.
The machines that he sells would be the heavy duty industrial strength ones that he supplies to the valeting departments in a lot of the main dealerships around Dublin, and they'd be around your budget.

The machine that I have is the Numatic CTT 470-2 is also around the same money brand new, and will make short work of cleaning upholstery seats, carpets and headlinings - and should last a long time if you're the sort of bloke that looks after his gear. If, on the other hand, you're a bish bash bosh merchant, then this isn't the machine for you.

Oh, and another thing, these are not f*cking "wet vacs" people!!

Good luck with the new business Sean!

sean1141

What would the numatic 'george' GVC-370-2 be like?

randy hickey

The George is the little brother of the machine that I have - it has the exact same 1200W motor, but half the capacity in both the detergent tank and the dirty water tank, which can be a pain in the arse, as you will end up having to empty out the dirty water AND refill the detergent tank half way through a family saloon with upholstery seats.

I know a lot of the guys on DW buy their Georges in Cleanstore, but when I was buying mine Chemiclean in Birmingham were the cheapest - and substantially cheaper than buying from the Irish Distributor down in Cork believe it or not.

sean1141

Cheers. Do they do a good job on cleaning carpets and seats?

randy hickey

sean1141 wrote: »

Cheers. Do they do a good job on cleaning carpets and seats?

The first time I used mine a few years ago, I was blown away by how good the result was.
The guy had a stubborn stain on his headrest from years of sweat/hair product that he couldn't get out - the Numatic sorted it out in less than a minute.
I might have before and after pictures of the upholstery in that car somewhere - I'll see if I can dig them out.

randy hickey

Couldn't find those pics, but here's a short video of the Numatic at work on a manky driver's side floor mat that I did a few months back:

sean1141

Looks good.
Dose the machine heat the water used for washing the carpets or do you fill it with hot water or use cold?
I'm guessing you need to use a decent carpet shampoo with it?

randy hickey

I mix up 10L of shampoo solution into a bucket with hot water from the tap and then pour it into the detergent tank.

You can get machines with a built-in water heater, but not at this price point.

As regards carpet shampoo, like a lot of product ranges in this business, the only real difference between a lot of them is price.

sean1141

Can get a vax 6131t at a decent price?
They seem to get good reviews online..

Anyone any experience of one?

Mr Detail

sean1141 wrote: »

Can get a vax 6131t at a decent price?
They seem to get good reviews online..

Anyone any experience of one?

I have a george and a xax. To be quite honest I rate the vax fairly highly.

Yes it has a fairly small tank so as mentioned you will need to refill probably at least once on a full average size car. Also on dry it uses a bag so switching is a nightmare but id reccomend a seperate vacuum for dry work anyway.

Considering the price (amazon used) and if your not doing a whole pile with it, its brilliant value.

sean1141

Cheers. I have a decent wet and dry Hoover so this will just be left for cleaning carpets. I doubt I will be using it even once a week so the less I can spend the better.
My sister can get a 6131t in the place she works for a decent price so at least I can just drop it back if there are any problems..

5500

I've got a vax myself, can echo the above about the tank being a bit small, I'd normally fill it twice for a whole car. My only other gripe is the small spray/suction attachment which I dont find great, it's like a piece of lego and Ii just find it awkward, but aside from that it get's the job done

sean1141

Got that vax 6131 after. Seems like a good bit of kit. Haven't had a chance to use it in the car yet but it done a good job on a few mats!