Has anyone ever used liquid Laundry detergent on carpet?

I'm with ya Matt, cannot seam to find out where it is either. Along how to tell if someone is online or not...hmmm

I see a waste tank full of foam in the near future.

You are brave opening that skeleton closet Johnny. I could never ask a question like that.


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I had a lady who used tide on her carpet, nothing but foam. Don't waste your time

I respect your honesty and am not riled up at all. I thought it would foam for sure. I stand proven


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If a gallon of prespray concentrate, such as Preload, Traffic Slam, or Ultrapac, is on average $32, and I put 16oz into a Hydro-Force and fill the rest with water, then use 3/4 of that Hydro-Force to spray a destroyed 3 bedroom rental home or apartment, then I used $3 worth. Not a bad deal at all.

No need to mess around with grocery store detergents that are meant for use with low temps anyway. They don't work properly with the high temps most of us use. The industry presprays are designed for use with high temps. And they don't have to be expensive if you mix them right. Most say to put 32oz into a Hydro-force. Way too much for me. 16oz or less is just fine, and you don't have to go nuts prespraying. Experiment with very, very light prespray--much less than you think will work. You'll be surprised at how well you can still clean.

Only time I'd use some crazy over the counter stuff is in a scenario like what Chokemaster describes, where it's a special request and the customer already has it. And even then I'd probably balk.

I am completely with eyeball on this, that is just not the place to cut costs, we are professionals and we should use professional products no matter what the circumstances. If you want to maybe experiement with some spotters or something to save some $ then thats fine (I had a super crappy house on Friday that used as much in solvent as like the last 20 houses I had done, I wished I had some of Torrey's PVC cleaner on that one) but not the pre spray.

Also I am sure you would extract better than this, but I do see about once every other month a house were they have used a household cleaner to get something out and the resoling is UNREAL. I had one just today where it was a huge two foot by two foot black spot that just rinsed right out, and you could see it was like a wine spill or something underneath.

I Too agree with Eyeball ... can you say residue.

I think this all reflects back on rates.
If we are getting a good rate, then the few bucks we spend on specialty chemicals is no big deal.
But when you find yourself cleaning on the cheap, then every dollar hurts.
We need to keep our rates up, or, if we can only get the job by bidding dirt cheap, be prepared to walk away, or charge add ons for trashed carpets and heavily spotted carpets.
Solvents and red stain removers are both expensive and time consuming.
Just my .02

Put some fabric softener in your waste tank and the laundry soap wont foam.

Now you have a mobile laundromat

You aren't "wasting" your chemicals on trashed carpet. Trashed carpet is the exact scenario those chemicals are designed for. You would be using them for their intended purpose. Not to mention, as Scott W has said before, if something goes wrong you have the support of the chemical manufacturer if you are using proper industry products. If something gets screwed up by Gain, you're on your own.

The temps do make a difference. The stuff you use for laundry will never be exposed to more than 110, 120 degrees or so. Our industry products are exposed to double that and are designed to work with the higher temps. If you decide to go the Gain route, look inside your wand when you're done. After it's dried out I bet it will be caked with a chalky white substance.

As far as the bar of soap, or Fels, you are localizing it's use to one spot here and there. No big deal. Spraying 900sqft with cheap grocery store laundry detergent is another matter.

I'm not trying to be hard on you. I just want everybody in the industry working up to very high standards because it will distance all of us from the poor reputation carpet cleaners have. Transcend the hackness man. You're better than that. Seriously, it takes less than $5 to blast a nasty rental with super high-end, top of the line prespray. All of us can afford that. It'll get you a better result, it's easier on your equipment, and you won't have to have that nagging worry in the back of your mind whether or not you did the best possible job.