Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners: Buying Guide

Carpet cleaner washing types

Carpet and upholstery cleaners have different washing technologies and it's important to understand their different functioning to choose the best machine for the environment to be treated. The main types available on the market are the injection/extraction system and the brush washing system. Both have different characteristics and performances, designed to meet specific needs, both in domestic and professional environments. Let's see them in detail:

• Brush washing: these carpet cleaners work with a rotating brush that rubs against the fabric, water and detergent delivery with less pressure and suction through a nozzle. The penetration force and disinfectant and antibacterial effectiveness is lower than steam injection/extraction models. They are recommended for less thorough cleaning and in hobby use, they work optimally to remove dust and light dirt.
• Injection/extraction washing: this particular type of washing works in two simultaneous phases, injection and extraction. During injection, a mixture of water and detergent is nebulized at high pressure on the surface to be treated, penetrating deep into the fabric fibers. Subsequently, a powerful suction that occurs through a nozzle allows to suck up and remove both the dirty solution and surface dirt residues. The cleaning is deep and sanitizing: injection extraction carpet cleaners act directly on dirt between carpet or rug fibers, removing stubborn stains, as well as germs, mites, bacteria. They are ideal for professional contexts or intensive use.

Among injection/extraction systems there is a difference between models:

• Without Steam: these are the most common injection/extraction carpet cleaners, which have no boiler and work with cold water. These vacuum cleaners spray water and detergent and immediately after suck up the solution through a nozzle. These vacuum cleaners do not damage fibers, are more versatile and are easily usable by the operator, requiring less maintenance
• With Steam: they have an internal boiler that generates dry steam and delivers detergent solution or steam directly on the surface. Finally, the machine sucks up the emulsified dirt, guaranteeing thorough sanitization of the treated carpet or rug. Compared to steamless models they are bulkier and intended for professional use where higher performance and effectiveness are required.

Composition and Technology

Injection and extraction machines for upholstery cleaning are composed of:

• Hydraulic circuit with tank for detergent solution and pump for delivery with connection pipes and nebulization
• Recovery tank connected to suction motor
• Suction circuit to create depression in the recovery tank and remove the solution from the cleaned surface

These vacuum cleaners adopt depressions from 2200 to 2700 millimeters of water, but if needs require they can use two suction motors and the maximum air flow doubles, while the depression remains the same.
It's important to note that the greater the depression and air flow, the greater the solution recovered on the surface and therefore the better the cleaning and drying time.

The fundamental parameters that influence a carpet cleaner's performance are:

• Pressure and flow of the detergent solution: the pump power and the amount of nebulized liquid determine the penetration depth within textile fibers, directly influencing the treatment effectiveness;
• Depression (mmH₂O) and air flow (l/s) of the suction system: these two values affect the dirt extraction capacity and liquid residues. A greater depression favors faster drying, reducing usage times of the treated item.
• Type and concentration of detergent: the use of an adequate chemical product and correctly dosed is essential to ensure optimal results and to avoid damage to textile surfaces.

Brush carpet cleaners for large surfaces

Professional brush carpet and upholstery cleaning machines like Duplex machines and similar use a mechanical system with counter-rotating brushes, which allows active cleaning of textile surfaces and flooring. Here's how it works:

Operating cycle:

• Detergent distribution: the detergent solution (water + chemical product) is released on the floor or carpet through nozzles or dedicated tanks.
• Mechanical action: two rotating cylindrical brushes act deep on fibers, mechanically lifting dirt.
• Suction: in more advanced models like Duplex, a suction system recovers dirty water. In some cases, the machine leaves the surface wet and needs to be paired with a vacuum for liquid recovery.
• Vaporization: through an internal boiler water is vaporized to optimize cleaning effectiveness.

These machines can be used both on large textile surfaces, short pile carpets, resilient floors, and on hard floors, as well as on rugs and carpets.

Tips for effective and safe use

The floor helicopter, or smoothing machine, is a machine used to smooth and finish concrete surfaces. Its operation is simple, but requires attention to ensure safety and effectiveness. Below are some precautions to take before use:

• Check the machine and its proper functioning, including blade integrity;
• Check that the surface to be treated is free of obstacles, protruding metal materials or non-smoothable elements;
• At the end of work, it's important to properly turn off the engine and thoroughly clean the machine, storing it in a dry and safe place.