Carpet shampoo advice?

falko89

We are hiring out a cleaner during the week and need some advice on the best shampoo to use? The first time we cleaned the carpets we used 1001 for larger areas, it was a disaster, it left the carpets all sticky and the needed done again a month later, the second time I used some expensive industrial stuff bought of eBay and to be fair it did an excellent job but it was £15 for a jar and dont fancy paying that again.

Any other recommendations?

daveyjp

Never had trouble with Vax shampoo on wool carpets.

Avoriaz

Unless your carpets are filthy then I advise using a lot less shampoo than recommended and rinsing more times than recommended.

We have a Vax machine that does a very good job on lightly soiled carpets. I use inexpensive carpet shampoo from Lidl, Poundland and similar places, dilute it far more than recommended and rinse thoroughly afterwards. I spend a lot of time rinsing to get rid of shampoo residue that attracts dirt afterwards if it remains in the carpet.

As you have found, using too much shampoo and not rinsing it out properly causes problems.

warwicktiger

I am a professional carpet cleaner and a member of the NCCA

So obviously the first thing I will say is get a quote from a couple of professionals.

To find cleaners that are trained and insured in your area look at the National Carpet Cleaners Association website. You might be surprised at the small difference the cost can be from hiring a machine and DIY.

If you do insist on DIY then follow the dilution instructions exactly, do not be tempted to use stronger than recommended concentrations. I would also recommend an extra rinse, or even repeating the operation with no cleaning solvent in the machine.