Carpet Shampooer Selection Guide

A good carpet shampooer is invaluable when it comes to keeping your carpets looking their best at all times.  Over time all kinds of dirt and debris gets ground into a carpet and stains appear, especially in high traffic areas.   While a vacuum cleaner is adequate for day to day cleaning and for handling light soiling and surface level dirt, it really cannot remove the ground in dirt and debris, nor the stains, that build up over time.  Periodically a more thorough cleaning is necessary, one that only carpet shampooers can provide.

Most carpet shampooers are equipped with small jets that spray a mixture of carpet shampoo and water onto the carpet's surface, where it is then scrubbed into the carpet by the action of rotary brushes on the bottom of the machine.  Prior to being applied to the carpet, the cleaning solution is first heated by a built-in heater that comes equipped with most models.  This allows for a deeper penetration of the carpet by the shampoo.  As the cleaning solution is agitated into the rug, dirt and other debris is lifted to the surface, where it is sucked, along with excess liquid, into a collection tank which will need to be emptied once it is filled.  One problem in the past with this process was that the carpet was often left excessively wet after a cleaning, resulting in odor problems, shrinkage  and other damage.  That does not seem to be a problem with more recent shampooer units, which leave the carpets only a little bit damp on the surface so that drying takes place in about one hour.  Some advanced machines even come equipped with a hot air blower that dries the carpet as the cleaning takes place.

Shampooer models are available for personal use and can either be purchased outright or rented periodically as needed.  While some would rather own a machine themselves, most people make use of the carpet shampooer rental available at stores like Home Depot, many supermarkets, and even some drugstores.  The advantage of owning your own machine is that you can do some spot cleaning if you need to.  For this reason, many who have small children or pets look to buy a shampooer rather than rent one.

A good, functional carpet cleaner will cost about $100, while the better machines will run you about $200.  A single professional cleaning done with a commercial grade unit can cost much more than that without necessarily providing any better results.  In either case, regular cleaning of your carpet will extend its life for many years.

Finding The Best Carpet Shampooer

Finding the best shampooer for your needs means knowing what to look for in terms of the specifications that each model meets and the features that it offers.  Here is a brief list of the most important things to consider and to look for:

Brush Width/Number of Bristles - a wider brush means less passes back and forth across the carpet; in other words, you can get the job done that much quicker and extend the life of your machine.  More bristles allows the cleaning solution to penetrate deeper into the carpet, yielding a more thorough cleaning.

Tank Volume - Most shampooers have two tanks, one for the clean water and one for the dirty liquid extracted from the carpet during cleaning.  Obviously, the larger the capacity of both of these tanks, the fewer the number of times you will need to stop cleaning in order to empty and/or fill one of these tanks.  Of course, larger tanks may render the unit too heavy for you to use.  Which leads us too…

Weight - The lighter the machine the easier it is too transport from room to room, carry up and down the stairs, etc.  This is especially important to consider if you plan to clean carpets on more than one level in your home.

Water Heater - The hotter the cleaning solution, the more effective job the carpet shampooer will do.  At the beginning of the cleaning process the shampoo is mixed with hot tap water.  Over the time it takes to clean the entire carpet that solution can cool, yielding uneven results.  Some machines include a water heater that will keep the cleaning agent hot enough throughout the whole cleaning time in order to insure the best results possible.

One very important item to make sure of is whether the shampooer you are looking to purchase or rent is a stand alone machine or not.  By that I mean it can be used without having to remain attached to a sink faucet.  Units that must remain hooked up to a faucet during use are obviously going to be limited in their range.  What if you don’t have a sink in the area where you would like to clean a carpet?  What then?  Furthermore, these machines usually have large, bulky hoses that are difficult to maneuver the machine around while cleaning.  Despite the added weight, you are almost certainly better off with models that have both a clean water tank and a waste water tank built into it.  These units are much more versatile and can be used almost anywhere you may need to clean a carpet.

Popular models of carpet shampooer are manufactured by Hoover and Bissell.

Hoover Carpet Shampooer – basic models range in price from about $150 - $250. Most units feature rotating brushes, 1 gallon capacity, and some models feature heated cleaning.

Bissell Carpet Shampooer – One of Bissell’s most popular shampooers is the Pro Heat 2X. It includes two tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty, as discussed above, and it also has a small detergent tank which dispenses shampoo while cleaning is taking place. It has a built in heater to maximize the effectiveness of the cleaning solution, and it dries the carpet with heated air. Its weight is manageable at around 20 pounds, and it costs in the neighborhood of $300. Watch this video for more about this popular machine.

Carpet Shampoo Selection Guide