[Simon Gerrard]

John,
What are you using it with TM or portable?

Simon

[steven Banks]

Mike, using the sapphire hand tool. Simon i know, its a mixture i was shown on a training course a couple years ago
the instructor swore by it said he has been using it for years, he said If you just apply the foam and extract using the sapphire you will have outstanding results every time   .

The sapphire upholstery tool is great! You should be getting fab results with that?
You really need to know how to get the most out if it to benefit though!

The annoying thing about it is the amount of water it consumes.

[robert meldrum]

There's no " best " upholstery chemical as 10 people using the same chemical will get 10 different results.

Most of the older people on here probably had some guidance from a variety of individuals advocating different chemicals and different methods.

I guessed a lot when I started ( and was lucky ) but tried just about everything on the market and eventually found about 12 years ago that microsplitters applied as a mist and agitated then given at least 10 minutes dwell time usually gave excellent results.

Other less well known chemicals I've used with success have been Butchers and Argosheen which has been around since 1942.

[john martin]

John,
What are you using it with TM or portable?

Simon

All electric here simon  , not a blower in sight  

for eg  today did half of a hotels lobby couches and armchairs ...
all had ' piping ' around the cushions  :  ... dirt was particularly ground in on that

So pre spray , brush etc ...   i find the sapphire still cant easily remove dirt on this raised surface and in the crevices either side  ... but a pass or two of my my spray out tool can easily .

    

[Jim_77]

If you're using a porty you should have no problem in blocking off half of the slot width using the forefinger of your spare hand, to get a good vac seal round awkward bits like that, which lets you get a good purchase on it.  Very difficult with a TM as the water is so damn hot you can't touch it!

[Simon Gerrard]

[/quote]
or eg  today did half of a hotels lobby couches and armchairs ...
all had ' piping ' around the cushions  :  ... dirt was particularly ground in on that

So pre spray , brush etc ...   i find the sapphire still cant easily remove dirt on this raised surface and in the crevices either side  ... but a pass or two of my my spray out tool can easily .
[/quote]

Hi John,
I think you've got a problem with technique rather than the tool. If you're getting a good soil release, and you should be with that mixture, then the dirt should be very easy to extract, even from piping. You can cover 75% of the vac slot on an SS tool with one finger of your spare hand and this focuses all of the power of your vacuum to the remaining 25% making it much more effective and very easy to clean piping and the edges of cushions and chairs that are wider than the tool.
I find the SS tool fabulous for this kind of thing, in fact it is the best upholstery cleaning tool I've ever had, so stick with it.

Simon

[garybristow]

pro chems multi pro
not an obvious choice for people on here,it works brilliant
followed by fabris rinse
gary

[Ian Caddy]

pro chems multi pro
not an obvious choice for people on here,it works brilliant
followed by fabris rinse
gary

[Shaun_Ashmore]

John have you got the sapphire? Whats your pluses and minuses of it?

I agree the flushing was rubbish.

Shaun

[john martin]

John have you got the sapphire? Whats your pluses and minuses of it?

I agree the flushing was rubbish.

Shaun

 My three main tools would be a metal spray out ( enclosed spray guard )  and the internal spray version ,  and the SS .
Im really used to an external spray , get all the nooks and contours great flushing on heavily soiled areas . i also like to mist and match or sometimes just mist and towel .
I use the SS on the lightly soiled or if drying is a priority ,  it does feel good in the hand , light weight , but i find contours a problem and i know on heavily soiled cushions i would have to go over an area several times to match the spray out .

Perhaps Simon and Jim get more out of it with the TM heat , apart from the scalded finger
Just happens to be a thread on Micky's board now discussing uph tools  ...   most swear by the SS , but one or two mention the flushing and contours also .
What do u use yourself shaun ?

[Simon Gerrard]

John,
We use the SS on both TM and our twin vac portables and clean a wide range of fabrics with it, including very dirty. If you're having a problem with it on dirty fabrics then you haven't unlocked the soil adequately with your prespray.

Simon

[wynne jones]

Usually use SPM.

I'm happy to use Powerburst, Ultrapack, Multisolv, it just depends on the material and level of soiling.

[Jim_77]

Not just the heat John, in fact it isn't the heat, the SS doesn't run particularly hot compared to a drimaster 2 which will melt stuff like polyester & acrylic if you're not careful.  The jet-hole design of the SS loses a lot of heat which is actually an advantage when you're pushing 240F down it from only 50ft away.  Avoids having to back the temperature off at the machine.

Flow rate will be roughly the same, porty vs TM, as you can't have it up above a certain point otherwise the damn thing spits all over the place.  So what's left?  Oh yeah the vac

I very occasionally switch over to my CFR or standard hand tool to do some details... If you take for example the forward facing bit of a sofa arm, sometimes there is a deep "groove" it makes on the front face.... I just go over whole front of it and seal any air leak spot with my hand, which cleans it all in one go without having to faff around for ages.

You need a decent machine mate

[john martin]

You need a decent machine mate

 Oh , you don't need a big blower for upholstery surely ..

 I have lots of gear ...  but when i build my my quad vac il have TM performance for sure 

[Jim_77]

No you won't you'll still have a porty

(and some spare fuses I hope)

[Simon Gerrard]

John,
Just out of interest, which machine are you using the SS tool on?

Simon

[john martin]

John,
Just out of interest, which machine are you using the SS tool on?

Simon

just a couple of Alltecs at the moment Simon ...  one modded with pumptec and twin three stage ... the other a light aqua twin , both have immersion and i have external heat.

[Bob Allen]

I use powerburst and heat wave never a problem

[james roffey]

Mt third year and still not found one i am happy with, been told shockwave is very good, have a sample of it but not tried it yet on upholstery.

James,
So how so you leave suites then if you're not happy with the results?

Customers always happy, but the transformation you get when cleaning a carpet is difficult to achieve, except on faux suede they always look great but "chennille" is a pain in the ar.se generally they are a pain to do even using the Saphire tool.