Carpet Shampoo?

janninew

Hi All,

This is my first post on this board and I hope its in the right place!

I have a vax carpet shampooer and I was wondering what a cheap alternative would be instead of using the specific vax shampoo. I have run out of the stuff that came with the machine and I have found some more in a DIY shop but it seems to be quite expensive.

Any ideas what I can use instead that will do a good job but won't cost the earth?

Thanks in advance.

Igol

Your not a newbie on here so I'm suprised that you havent already found the answer

The MSE response to all cleaning questions

STARDROPS.

savingmummy

Stardrops is the best at everything in my opinion
However i use the carpet cleaning solution from betterware and find that fab x

gremlin

I use the Astonish carpet cleaner for machines.

IIRC its about a pound a bottle in home bargains.

Works great in my bissell and my sil's vax

tomfun

Don`t waste your money on carpet cleaners,just use washing powder or dissolve a tablet in your water, (was told this by a professional carpet/upholstery cleaner,that`s all they have ever used)

BoxerfanUK

tomfun wrote: »

Don`t waste your money on carpet cleaners,just use washing powder or dissolve a tablet in your water, (was told this by a professional carpet/upholstery cleaner,that`s all they have ever used)

Haha thats the funniest thing I've ever heard!! Ican tell you if your 'professional' Carpet cleaner told you they use washing powder then the word I would use is 'cowboy' as opposed to professional. In the carpet cleaning industry your guy would be called 'splash & dash'

All you people using these carpet shampoos etc are actually causing your carpets to resoil at a rapid rate because detergents cause a sticky residue and attract dirt. I am a professional Carpet & Upholstery cleaner, my equipment cost me over 6K. Do you think your 'Bissell' can do the same job!!!!

andrew-b

Bissell/Vax etc might not be able to do the job as well as a pro's machine agreed (i'd hope that a £6k machine would do far far better a job then any domestic appliance!) and i wouldn't dispute it.... but for convenience a Bissell or Vax is a godsend. I mean who wants to phone up a professional everytime it rains meaning their dog runs muddy pawprints across the carpet for a day or have a minor spillage etc . TBH our Bissell brings our carpet up pretty good. I currently use the bissell cleaning solution which also contains scotchguard . To get a pro in every time i'd probably have paid for the cost of the carpets many times over by now so definitely moneysaving despite the branded solutions being relatively pricey.

However i do not get any sticky residue from the bissell solutions. Interestingly where i've spot cleaned an area with biological washing powder by hand (dog sick - so i obviously wanted it gone quick!) without using the bissell that spot has soon gone dirty again... but all round it which was previously done via bissell is still the original colour. So yes the choice of cleaning solution in your machine can make a difference!

mr_skinflint

BoxerfanUK wrote: »

Haha thats the funniest thing I've ever heard!! Ican tell you if your 'professional' Carpet cleaner told you they use washing powder then the word I would use is 'cowboy' as opposed to professional. In the carpet cleaning industry your guy would be called 'splash & dash'

All you people using these carpet shampoos etc are actually causing your carpets to resoil at a rapid rate because detergents cause a sticky residue and attract dirt. I am a professional Carpet & Upholstery cleaner, my equipment cost me over 6K. Do you think your 'Bissell' can do the same job!!!!

No, not the same job but if it works out at fraction of the cost then I don't mind doing it with my own machine slightly more often. And on top of that I have the flexibility of doing the job whenever I want rather than organizing to get someone in. Also, IMHO, the immediate after-job appearance is just as good as a professional job.

supermonkey

I will watch this with interest. Would love an easy way to keep my carpet relatively clean, dont wanna use a professional cleaner or buy a vax as it didnt work before!

Kiran

BoxerfanUK wrote: »

Haha thats the funniest thing I've ever heard!! Ican tell you if your 'professional' Carpet cleaner told you they use washing powder then the word I would use is 'cowboy' as opposed to professional. In the carpet cleaning industry your guy would be called 'splash & dash'

All you people using these carpet shampoos etc are actually causing your carpets to resoil at a rapid rate because detergents cause a sticky residue and attract dirt. I am a professional Carpet & Upholstery cleaner, my equipment cost me over 6K. Do you think your 'Bissell' can do the same job!!!!

I've got a bissel and it does a fantastic job, the carpet are never sticky when I use the carpet cleaning detergent but I can see your point if you were to use say laundry detergent. If however this is an issue then you could alway wash the carpet then give it a second run over with clean water in it. Providing you do the job properly and let the machine suck up all the water then it will probably do just as good of a job. Its a cost Vs time decision.

gabyjane

Ok well some of you will laugh at this i'm sure but i use...wetwipes on ours! it is a very pale cream too so gets marks on and it brings them up brilliantly. We do only have carpet on our stairs and halls but any mark that has appeared has gone again really well (with 2 muddy cats and numerous kids in and out at the mo thats quite a lot!)..obviously if we had it all carpeted it wouldn't be quite as practical.