[Paul Davidson]

For cleaning fairly standard residential and commercial carpets, what do most of you do for agitation?

Bearing in mind i have been out of the industry for 15 years or so, i would normally expect to vac and prespray, with and extra effort to the traffic lanes through doorways etc, then use the wand during hwe to agitate and @ scrub up the more dirty traffic areas.

I gather that a few on the forum have mentioned using a sebo, but am interested in what method of preparation and agitation you guys use?

cheers

Paul

PS Am buying some new machinery soon so will be looking to get a refresher training course to help get me up to speed.

[markpowell]

I find that alot of pre-sprays these days need little if no agitation at all.
mark

[spencer davies]

Agitation is really important, I use a SEBO duo for light work and an Envirodri 400 for larger areas.

Regards


S

[Ken Wainwright]

Agitation is a very important part of the cleaning process. If using a CRB machine such as Host, Sebo, Envirodri, TM4 etc. etc. the benefits go far betond the distribution of the pre-spray. So, the benefits of agiitation in general and  a CRB in
particular are:
More even distribution of pre-spray.
Shearing of soil from the fibre/yarn
Speading up the cleaning process on all but the lightest soil levels.
Lifting and "opening" of the pile.


This last benefit in particular has other benefits. It allows better penetration of the rinse, so by aiding soil and rinse agent removal. By increasing the efficiency of the rinse, it permits a lower water/rinse usage, fewer passes and hence quicker drying, And the pile on the finished, dry carpet stands prouder and, depending on chemistry used, has a better "hand".

My advice to Harvey, and others, is go for the best CRB machine you can afford. The agitation is far superior to what you can achieve scrubbing away with your wand or even a pile brush. The Sebo is a great place to start and should perform admirably in most residential situations, and at around £200 is a throw away product.  The superior, but more expensive alterhatives are definately the way to go, but capital outlay is considerably more.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[des]

Call me stupid but whats a CRB Machine 

[Joe H]

Not stupid at all - if you dont know its always good to ask.

Counter Rotating Brushes.

2 brushes side by side one rotating in opposite direction to the other - ie counter rotating

they lift up the pile and shift any loose gundge down in the pile pre vacumming and also agitate any prespray.

Sebo Duo (£200), Envirodri (£950), Host (£1850), plus a Prochem (dont know price)

Sebo is condiered lightweight, go for Envirodri, Host other for heavy duty work.

Different stiffnes of brushes available certainly for Envirodri and Host machines (£95 and £180 per set respectively).

I have a Envirodri and tested the Host - both certainly do a good job.

[mark shannon]

Contact Envirodry directly i picked up an exdemo E30 last october in as new condition for £250+v 

[lands]

They've cottoned on to that one now Mark and they are at least £500. I think they have a couple at the mo actually

Pete

[mark shannon]

Shame it always cheers me up when i see the same machine at local supplier for £900.

[elliott cleaning]

But then an E40 with a couple of hours work on the clock went for less than £350 on ebay this week.   Good as these machines are, a list price of £950 is just over the top. Has anyone ever paid that price for one?

[mark shannon]

100% agree rip off

[*paul_moss]

Yep I did 3 years ago, and another £150 for repairs 10 months later, and more since.

[spencer davies]

I would go for the 300 for domestic jobs, the 400 is a bit to bulky

S

[Joe H]

I got a good deal on the reps "new" model  Gen 4 I think it is - the black one - with 2 extra sets of bushes and loads of products thrown in as well.

If you think the Envirodri is a "rip off", has anyone paid the price for the Host?

[MICHAEL_GAYTON]

yes paid the price i have the one with the vacuum the freesytle ,2 years old i  would not be without used every day. cleaned 1 year old carpet on wednesday with a new dry compand from carpetgaurd. nice lime smell dry in 30 mins
mick

[nevil]

I have a Rotowash which is fantastic on the real mingers. It's a bit heavy but I reckon it's the weight that gives it that bit of extra bite.

Also am I right in saying that both host and evirodri machines are not designed to be used on liquids. I thought they were both for brushing in shake and vac type products. I stand to be corrected.

[Joe H]

I have heared many times that if you use a Envirodri to agitate prespray then warranty is void.
However when I was purchasing mine this was not an issue.

Maybe it stemmed from the fact Envirodri (and presumably Host) want you to use the machine as it is desogned to be used .......... with their "sponges".