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With the advent of better chemistry, agitation and education is heat less important to carpet cleaning?
Is “high heat” less important now
- Thread starter rob allen
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depends......
greater vacuum and more water flow is better in most cases than high heat....
pressure washer guys know this as they clean at 170 degrees.......
there is a heat point that does not give better cleaning as much of the steam is sucked back through the vacuum and doesnt hit the carpet...
i have field tested this for 15 years with a kero heater.....reduced my heat every year.....
i believe this heat is around 170-180 degrees...
others have said it is around 200-210?????
greater vacuum and more water flow is better in most cases than high heat....
pressure washer guys know this as they clean at 170 degrees.......
there is a heat point that does not give better cleaning as much of the steam is sucked back through the vacuum and doesnt hit the carpet...
i have field tested this for 15 years with a kero heater.....reduced my heat every year.....
i believe this heat is around 170-180 degrees...
others have said it is around 200-210?????
Last edited:
i do clean mainly commercial....resturants , theaters....
and I also use a bonzer......that tends to hold more heat...!!!!!!.......14 flow.....
so the numbers may vary......
more vacuum...more water flow...
less heat....less scrubbing...less chems.....
less vacuum....less water flow.....
more heat....more scrubbing.....more chems.......
and I also use a bonzer......that tends to hold more heat...!!!!!!.......14 flow.....
so the numbers may vary......
more vacuum...more water flow...
less heat....less scrubbing...less chems.....
less vacuum....less water flow.....
more heat....more scrubbing.....more chems.......
Heat is important to me still but I rarely go over 170ish (sometimes 190 if the thermostat is being iffy) but over that and the only thing I get is soaked boots from the extra steam coming out of the jets.
On a side note a lot of customers like to see the little puff of steam when you clean. Gives them the sense you're doing a better job even if you could do just as well with cold.
On a side note a lot of customers like to see the little puff of steam when you clean. Gives them the sense you're doing a better job even if you could do just as well with cold.
- Nov 12, 2008
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Nobody can truly say that heat is not important in every single case. Just try doing w/o it for a month and let me know how that worked out for you. I have seen some chems seemingly defy logic and perform on things with just cold water that would normally take aggressive heat. I've also seen many instances where heat was the least important piece of the pie. It may be less important only if the chemistry you're using is able to break the bond of the soiling to the fiber and the rest of it's up to the machine and the technician to remove that soil. Then you may have things on the carpet that only high heat will remove w/ little or no chem like gum, wax, etc. That's my take on it anyway.
I was cleaning on the second floor of a bank recently that had very high-quality nylon carpet. All I had was just fairly hot tap water. It cleaned up great w/ very little effort with a barely average portable. Heat almost always seems to make a difference when there is petroleum-based soiling or even food based grease or oils. Again, the type of chemistry used can make a world of difference even in those situations. Heat may overshadow poor chemistry in some cases.
Btw, when I was cleaning the filthiest area in the whole building in the main lobby I actually forgot to engage my diverter and was working with probably 80 degrees less temp from about 220 down to maybe 150 roughly. I couldn't even slightly tell the difference at all.
I was cleaning on the second floor of a bank recently that had very high-quality nylon carpet. All I had was just fairly hot tap water. It cleaned up great w/ very little effort with a barely average portable. Heat almost always seems to make a difference when there is petroleum-based soiling or even food based grease or oils. Again, the type of chemistry used can make a world of difference even in those situations. Heat may overshadow poor chemistry in some cases.
Btw, when I was cleaning the filthiest area in the whole building in the main lobby I actually forgot to engage my diverter and was working with probably 80 degrees less temp from about 220 down to maybe 150 roughly. I couldn't even slightly tell the difference at all.
i am gonna go a step further...from 15 years experience with kero heater....
and 8 years experience with zipper, bonzer......
i actually believe in the field that too much heat (around 180-200) has less cleaning ability...
REASON:
less water hitting the carpet because more steam is being sucked up into the vacuum before hitting the carpet.....
however this may only be from the bonzer and not the wand?????.....
and 8 years experience with zipper, bonzer......
i actually believe in the field that too much heat (around 180-200) has less cleaning ability...
REASON:
less water hitting the carpet because more steam is being sucked up into the vacuum before hitting the carpet.....
however this may only be from the bonzer and not the wand?????.....
Jim Davisson
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High flow at 180° gets more BTUs to the carpet than low flow at 240°. I'll stick with high flow!
- Sep 4, 2011
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I never have been a fan of high heat. Once you go over 180 the hotter water causes faster wear to our equipment. Hoses blow, wand triggers go bad, pumps can possibly be damaged. Add to that the dangers of being burned (either you or a customer), killing grass, even damaging some poly carpets because a 230 degree hose laid in the same place for an hour ( I’ve personally seen this). 170-180 degree water cleans just fine.
Here’s a picture of a job I did a few years ago when my heat exchanger hose blew and I had to bypass the heat exchanger to finish the day. The water I was using was around 60 degrees.
And here’s a Chinese restaurant I clean quarterly using 160-170 degree water.
Here’s a picture of a job I did a few years ago when my heat exchanger hose blew and I had to bypass the heat exchanger to finish the day. The water I was using was around 60 degrees.
And here’s a Chinese restaurant I clean quarterly using 160-170 degree water.
Looks like another thread to start a big debate just like the recent porty vs TM one.
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For a number of years, I cleaned with about 150 to 160 because that's all my propane heater could put out. I found that with the right prespray I could clean just about anything. There were some exceptions I think where higher heat would've definitely helped.
Jim Davisson
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Chemistry is leaps and bounds from when I started in 93. I worked harder and prescrubbed way more then than now. Red stain removal was mostly heat transfer bleaching and spot dyeing it back, now I spray and walk away. A quarter century ago you had to be on point everyday, now it's dumbed down a good bit.
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Those courtesy hoses or a serious safety concern. Most cleaners have no idea that the water coming through that courtesy hose is extremely close to the heat exchanger. It’s probably 50° warmer than what comes out at the Wand.
Scary hot, we only use it after the 1st job of the day to fill bottles on the jobs after before firing up the heat.
I've used it before with heater full blast and all I can say is if I was being mugged at the truck that's the first thing I would grab lol
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Ive been cleaning with 170-190 for years but I also CRB all carpet.
So to answer your question from my perspective heat is not as important.
That being said you have to look at the TM makers which are still making heat heat heat TMs. They are slow to respond as to what is going on in the industry.
Took out the primary heat exchanger on my Apex to get it where it would not dump water. Now trying to scale back my new Titan 575.
So to answer your question from my perspective heat is not as important.
That being said you have to look at the TM makers which are still making heat heat heat TMs. They are slow to respond as to what is going on in the industry.
Took out the primary heat exchanger on my Apex to get it where it would not dump water. Now trying to scale back my new Titan 575.
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