I plan to re-open my vacuum shop & need to know which shampooers to buy.  Since I hear that Hoover Steam Vac SpinScrub (NOT the Dirt Devil Easy Steamer style) is better than its competitors, I'm not sure whether to get the Classic or Platinum?  I know the Bissell ProHeat & Royal/Dirt Devil are junk & the Rug Doctor doesn't scrub the carpet good enough like the XXX & Hoover do.

Extractor type

1. Hoover Steam Vac SpinScrub w/Clean Surge
2. Hoover Platinum or XXX R/C Steam Vac
3. XXX Duo Power (Hoover Dual V)

Scrubber/polisher type

1. Aerus/Lux Floor Pro
2. Koblenz Cleaning Machine
3. Hoover FloorMAX (or Floor-A-Matic)
4. Oreck Orbiter

Here's an interesting relatively low priced floor polisher/cleaner.

http://www.hammacher.com/Product/75775?promo=Home-Care&catid=42

This vendor HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER & COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WWW1
HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER • 147 E. 57th ST • NEW YORK, NY • 10022 • 1-800-321-1484 has a unique unconditional life time guarantee. 

The Home Floor Scrubber / Polisher.

This home floor cleaner scrubs and polishes any hard surface floor or carpet with a commercial machine's vigor, yet is easily controlled with one hand. The dual, counter-rotating nylon brushes spin at 470 rpm to remove deeply imbedded stains from carpets and buff a brilliant sheen into hardwood floors, tile, or marble. The 1/3-horsepower machine can be used with any home cleaning solution or stain remover and is as easy to operate as a vacuum cleaner; the brushes engage with a tap of the foot pedal, its lightweight, slim design and wheels allow you to quickly navigate around furniture and along walls, and the 18'-long cord provides enough slack to clean large areas. Three sets of pads--felt (wood floors), microfiber (tile) and terry cloth (carpet)--accommodate different surfaces, or you can leave the brushes uncovered to scrub concrete in a garage or basement. The rugged ABS housing and 18-gauge steel handle ensure years of reliable use. Plugs into AC. 40" H x 11 1/2" W x 8 1/2" D. (6 lbs.)

Item 75775

 $149.95

The smart tyrant writes his own story to ensure that it is favorable.  The lazy will repeat lines from the book without fact checking. 

Severus wrote:

Venson wrote:

Severus and Venson:

I have a 2 brush HOOVER 5130 from the late 50's/early 60's.  I still use it.  Works well.  All still original.  Certainly easily usable with one hand as the ad says about the new model posted that copies it.  In fairness to the double handle Lux 3 brush, it is easily usable with one hand too.  I like both machines and would probably sell both if I had a store and there was a demand by customers for waxers/polishers and shampooers.  While I carried and sold the HOOVER 2 brushes for many years, when customers wanted a 3 brush I would refer to a Lux rep for sale.  Not that big a demand, especially for home use at the price.

Carmine D.

who made these shampooers?  I've seen these when grocery stores used to rent them; but don't know who made them.  When was the last time these were still for rent?  Does anyone have these Blue Lustre or Rug Doctor shampooers?  Plz post any info about these scrubbers.

hooverman wrote:
REGINA

But wouldn't a Hoover SV SpinScrub or Dual V be better than Rug Dr. or Rotovac?  Which give better results if I were to shampoo carpets?  Or should I get a Thermax or Rinse N' Vac or the old school Rug Dr. 2-pc unit?

I would go with the Aerus/Lux Shampooer's. Easy to use, splash guard is wonderful for keeping suds off of woodwork and furniture that you are not moving. Tray to set it in, this tray also keeps the brushs up so the brushes won't get smashed down. I was disappointed when they did away with the cord winder, but you get a much longer cord in the trade off. I used mine a few months ago, mine has the cord winder and I used a heavy duty extention cord due to the short cord. Ease of cleanup is a breeze. In the past I have used hoovers, rug doctor, blue lustre and none compare. On top of that they have a dry suds Turbo Shampoo that is absolutely wonderful. The tank has water marks and you add a capfull per line and by capfull I mean the tank cap itself, how much easier than that......

One more thing, the shape is unique and allows you to get into tight corners and around things more easily. As we get older, there are some items that cannot be moved easily and as long as you are careful and keep a micro fibre cloth with you and wipe the legs if any shampoo happens to get on them, problem solved. I have jewel tone carpets and shampoo once or twice a year. The shampoo also brings back the brightness to those jewel tones.

PS, almost forgot, cleanup is a breeze, after shampooing.

Procare knows way more than I do about this and as he said, you may want to pm him.

Sincerely,

Bud

budmattingly wrote:

Agree as written.  I would add for the furniture legs this suggestion.  Tip/tilt the furniture piece and place a a small square of folded aluminum foil under the leg before shampooing.  Allow a small amount of surplus foil that you can use to wrap around the bottom of the leg's foot.  Especially if the furniture piece is heavy and sinks into the rug.  Then remove the foil when the rug is dry.

Carmine D.

Here is a link to an article comparing different types of carpet cleaning.  It is somewhat biased towards hot water extraction, since that is the method recommended by Shaw and other major carpet manufacturers.

http://www.baneclene.com/articles/methods.html

A while back it was noted that Riccar was getting into the carpet cleaner business with a hot water extraction system similar to the Rug Doctor.  Any news on this?  As previously noted, Bissell has expanded into the rental business with Big Green Cleaning machines at Lowes. 

It's my understanding that anything other than hot water extraction methods would void the warranty on my carpeting.  

Hooverman this thread is a year old from when you first wrote it. Did you ever re-open your shop and are you still looking for a Carpet Machine? Is this for rental? If so I have the Simplicilty/Riccar unit and I am really happy with it so far... as are the customers who have rented it. If you want more specific Info you may PM me. Lucky.