carpet shampoo

[jimdl]

Recently purchased a used 5er which had been smoked in. Previous owner did a real good job of concealing the odor. We got the basic problem under
control, but need to clean the carpets. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Steam? cold water ? franchised cleaners? hardware store-
grocery store rental? We are not in need of help with the odor,
We recently had some carpet cleaned at home and it left the carpet feeling
stiff.

[ralper]

Rent one at the store and use the shampoo they have. After thoroughly cleaning the carpet (go over 2 or 3 times until there is no more dirt comming out) do it again without any shampoo to rinse the carpet. You will get dirt up when rinsing too. When all dry get an upright vacuum or one with a rug beater attachment and fluf up the nap with that. I believe the stiffness was residue shampoo. In between total shampoos I use a little Spic & Span and water with a sponge mop on the heavy used areas.

[wa8yxm]

Whatever you use (and I"d use somethign like a Rug Doctor) Make sure you get the cleaner with the Fabreeze added to it.

OR, alternatively, spray it down with Fabreeze post-cleaning.

That stuff really works.

[frankdamp]

The grocery store machines are big and clumsy - not good in an RV. I'd go to an equipment rental place and see if they have one of the high-power machines with a compact power head that can get in the narrower areas.

We make good use of a Bissell "Liitle Green", but that's quite hard work, as the spray and suck-up is done by a hand held wand and you're down on your knees doing it. we use it mostly for elderly pet "accidents" rather than large area cleaning. We like this machine well enough to have one for the house and one for the RV.

An outfit like Stanley Steemer may have the right tools to do your rig. Family members have had good luck with them. We've all had bad experiences with the dry chemical outfits.

[Paul R. Haller]

before doing any cleaning try sprinckeling some fresh baking soda on the carpets. Let it sit a week and vacuum. Then shampoo with a detergent. afterwords, and everything is dry add some Fabreeze. I have also heard but never substanceated that white vinager will take away most tobacco smells but I'm not sure that vinager is a good substitute over cigarette smoke.
-Paul R. Haller-

[Wizard]

Stanley steemer did a great job for us and only cost about a $100, did carpet and all chairs and sofa.

[TXiceman]

Try the baking soda first. Also, the cigarette smell will permeate the wood in the cabinets and walls, the wall and ceiling covering and curtains. For these, LOTS of Febreze or a commercial odor remover.

Ken

[NLOVNIT]

The water rinse (I do it twice) & using a beater-bar sweeper when dry are musts for making sure the carpet isn't "crunchy" after shampooing. If you don't get all the shampoo residue out, it leaves the fibers sticking together promoting that stiff feeling.

Once it dry, the beater-bar sweeper will, as ralper stated, help fluff up the rug fibers again. To get the most fluff, run the sweeper north to south, east to west & diagonally back & forth to work the fibers from all angles.

Lori-

[paz]

We always use the Capture system for cleaning the carpets in our motorhome. You spray an activator, then dust with the powder, then brush the powder into the fibers. After the carpet dries (about half an hour), vacuum thoroughly.

Capture does not soak the carpets like standard cleaners, which IMO is a huge advantage in a small space like an RV. However, you do need a good vacuum cleaner to make sure you get all the powder out. You can use baking soda before or spray with Fabreeze afterward if odor is a problem.

[jimdl]

thank you everyone. We appreciate your advice. As I said, we got the odor problem under control, but I wanted to get a good cleaning job. We will check with the rental outfits and see what they have available.

[David and Fran]

We also use the Capture products. While on the road we use the dry product as above. We do that monthly. They also have a spot spray that is marvelous for those spots that appear between the big cleanings. Then when we get home we detail the carpet again using Capture, but the liquid. We use a Hoover steam cleaner which has a hand attachment for the areas where the unit can't go. We find that all odors are gone after cleaning, the carpet is soft and looks new again. These products can be purchased at Lowes, Home Depot, Target, etc.

[ralper]

I found the shampoo machines with a beater bar/brush works best. It sure brings up the long dog hair from my collie/sheltie.

[Jim28730]

For about the cost of using Stanley Steamer once or twice, you can buy a decent machine and use it as necessary. We bought one and use it frequently in the motorhome, keeping the carpets looking like new. Do some research and check reviews on the Internet. After much study, we settled on the Hoover and have not been sorry we made the purchase.

[David31]

if you're looking for a cheap but quality service, choose the best carpet cleaning Scarborough.