All, I have read a few threads and am a carpet extractor fan, and am looking for advice. I am a home owner, that wants to do carpet cleaning in the home as preventative maintenance. Ie. upholstery, car interior, and interior carpets (every 6 mo), maybe some work for friends and family. I am looking for an entry level portable device, and that will handle these tasks. My budget would be anywhere from $1500 to $2300 all included. I am willing to consider a used or refurbished machine. Any makes, models, or where to buy would really help me out. Please help a newbie out. I am in Fort Worth Texas. Thank you.
Portable for in home use, Fort Worth, Texas
- Thread starter PhlipFTWorth
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A Jaguar MX Cub is a small light and affordable unit great for the type of work you want to do. Not a machine I would want to be doing mansions with but it works great for a few rooms or small spaces a bigger machine is hard to get to.
Thank you for the comments. On the Jaguar, are attachments proprietary or can I shop through different dealers (attachment recommendations, would be helpful too)? Can it do tile? Can I run hot water through it, if non heated? Gborris, which cleanstorm product, it looks like there are several dual 3 stage? I don't need heated. Is 6 gallons adequate, it may just mean more labor emptying it, or is 12 a big bonus? The specs for the Mytee 1000LX-200 speedster look great. Are these 3 comparable products, or am I asking for too much at this pricepoint? I really want the most power, effective cleaner for the money. Something I didn't mention before, a quick setup would be nice , for spot cleaning (not 100% necessary). I appreciate all feedback, and am excited to get into this.
Luky
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Hello there, rather than having a strict budget, you should be giving more thoughts as to what you really want to do. You started leisurely about maintenance cleaning of your home, carpet, upholstery, than you thinking to get on board some friends and family. You also mentioned possible tile jobs.
So let me summarize. To start carpet& upholstery you'll need portable unit with solutio n and vacuum hoses. Don't forget minor but important detail, furnish your solution hose with a shut off valve, so you don't have to run back and forth everytime you need to switch the accessories, e.g. carpet wand or upholstery tool. To make name for yourself you should show professionalism and dedication to the industry you about to enter from very beginning. In order to do so, you'll need some basics: floor blankets, corner guards, stair hooks, plastic pads, styro blocks, rakes and brushes. Don't forget some facial coverings for " uncertain " times. You'll need carpet wand
( 1 jet, 2 jets) and upholstery tool. To apply cleaning solution for carpet or upholstery , inline sprayer( injection sprayer) or hand sprayer( 1 or 2 gallon) will be also needed. Don't forget some miscellaneous spray bottles ( 1 quart) for different types of chemistry. Speaking of which, you better start researching what products to use as carpet & upholstery presprays ( powder, or liquid). Your potential customers might have pet issues, so think of that too. You might get some different products for urine removal and other organic matters. Coffee, wine , rust , slime and all kind dyes on carpet or upholstery will give you an opportunity to get stain removal kit( $150-$200).
What are you going to use to work cleaning solution in the carpet and help to break down soil in fibers? $30 carpet rake will do for now, later you can upgrade to Oreck Orbiter and diferent models and sizes of Crb's( counter rotating brushes) to make your job easier and more efficient. We're getting to a tile&grout part. Even though that ideal pressure for cleaning is high pressure (800-1200 psi), with minimal heat, great chemistry and some form of agitation you might get by with 500 psi producing portable( preferably dual, 3 stage motors, unless you get motors on steroids( LX) Stages may go down as diameter of the motors get bigger ( 7.2", 8.4").
Consider yourself very lucky fella, if you'd be able to fit all this in your budget.
Did I mentioned surface tool for tile&grout cleaning ? ( sx12, sx15, etc.)
My point is that you have to be very mechanically inclined, because all needed equipment and tools will require lotbof TLC.
Good luck and welcome to paradise.
6 gallons to dump after 1 room. 12 gallons to dump after 2. The Mytee is fine. Anything with dual 3 stage. The pressure doesn't matter much. You don't need heat as you'll get it from the faucet. Try to get a package with wand and hoses.
There aren't many proprietary tools in the carpet cleaning world. It either connects to a 1.5" or 2" vacuum hose and a 1/4" quick disconnect. It can have hot water run through it but has no heater. Tile is possible if you really scrub it well and make the only job of the extractor to lightly rinse and suck up the dirty cleaner. Also if you decide to go with the cub call Cross American directly. I got mine for about $200 cheaper than any other distributor had advertised. Also for mobility keep in mind the cub only weighs 55 pounds if you plan to be carrying it up and down stairs or loading it into a car by yourself.
Thank you all for your posts, they have helped me narrow down what I am looking for.
Dream Clean, I think the Jaguar cub, might be for me. This unit will be mostly for personal household use, or me loading by myself to take to friends or family. I wanted something that can make quick work out of car detailing, and sofas. And still have the power to do the carpets in my house. It appears that it will also have a quicker setup time to get to spills if they happen right away. Will 10" width be better than the 12" for the carpet cleaning, ie less area so more suction? Anyone, know a good thread to search for the tools, ie upholstery, and how many jets? Thank you in advance, and I hope to post pictures when I get my setup.
Dream Clean, I think the Jaguar cub, might be for me. This unit will be mostly for personal household use, or me loading by myself to take to friends or family. I wanted something that can make quick work out of car detailing, and sofas. And still have the power to do the carpets in my house. It appears that it will also have a quicker setup time to get to spills if they happen right away. Will 10" width be better than the 12" for the carpet cleaning, ie less area so more suction? Anyone, know a good thread to search for the tools, ie upholstery, and how many jets? Thank you in advance, and I hope to post pictures when I get my setup.
The cub has a 2" barb fitting on it. Personally I run short distances so I put a 2" cuff on, then a 8" piece of 2" hose, and on the other end a reducer cuff down to 1.5" hose. Then I do all my cleaning with a 25 foot 1.5" hose and a 25 foot solution line. For a wand I run a 12 inch 1.5" tube stainless steel 2 jet wand. For jets you'll most likely want 11001 or 11002 in one of those. For every wet pass make sure to give 1 or 2 dry passes. The cub is a good machine but keep in mind you're still running on only 1 vac motor when a lot of portables have 2 or maybe 3.
As for an upholstery tool, you can find some decent quality for not too much money. https://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/hand-upholstery-tool-the-detailer.html This is a fairly inexpensive but reliable tool. I had one and used it pretty often. Hope this helps you figure out more about the setup you want to go with.
As for an upholstery tool, you can find some decent quality for not too much money. https://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/hand-upholstery-tool-the-detailer.html This is a fairly inexpensive but reliable tool. I had one and used it pretty often. Hope this helps you figure out more about the setup you want to go with.
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