Guest guest Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sue, I have an old Shark. It doesn't have a carpet attachment. It's a small hand held unit. It does grease well on stoves and will take up some stains on floor that other cleaners won't. Mine was inexpensive enough to try. Not sure what cost you are looking at. I tried on carpet once but it created too much odor. My carpet was 40 years old though, was in house when I got it. I have taken up and thrown carpet out. I don't have any other experience with carpet. Jeff May has commented on vapor cleaner, which may be similar. Vapor cleaners use very little water so sounds like same concept. > > A friend of mine recently told me about a steam cleaner (shark > _https://sharksteammop.com/contents/index.aspx?LompID=28368 & SiteID=12457132_ > (https://sharksteammop.com/contents/index.aspx?LompID=28368 & SiteID=12457132) ) to > clean her rugs and said that it is wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Does you friend live close enough to try it out on your carpet? Perhaps store would have return policy that would allow you to try a part of carpet and return it within certain amount of time. > > A friend of mine recently told me about a steam cleaner (shark > _https://sharksteammop.com/contents/index.aspx?LompID=28368 & SiteID=12457132_ > (https://sharksteammop.com/contents/index.aspx?LompID=28368 & SiteID=12457132) ) to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 -Sue: They were steam cleaning the carpets here yesterday in the hotel and the only thing that smells is the stain remover that they spray on trouble spots. They make you stay off of the cartpet over night so it must get a little wet for awhile. Does a great job, of course its an industrial one. D-- In , ssr3351@... wrote: > > > I believe you are correct about the vapor. This is a Shark Euro pro (about > $79 at Target, $80 online with free S & H )which is advertised as just > minimal steam vapor. I have heard that steam cleaning carpets and other surfaces > is very healthy. I always like to hear what others have experienced before > I use something. It pays to do as much research as possible. > Sue > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 I should add though that my carpet was 40 years old and also smelled if I put my nose right down into it, so Shark just brought that odor up with the vapors/or steam. There was also an odor in the room when I vaccumed it. It took me a long time before I realized it was from the carpet though. I thought the vacuum cleaner was old and stinky or motor was burning something. It wasn't until I got down and put my nose into carpet, that I realized it was carpet. When I tried to clean with a vapor cleaner, smell magnified. I decided it was just too dirty to clean. It didn't LOOK dirty or worn. It had hardly even been used. In a room not used much, but it was smelly due to age of fibers. 100% wool, nice carpet but age had done it OR it was padding underneath smelling. 40 year old thick horse hair mat. That could have been source of odor too, but since you are sensitive, I would plan on trying it. A little water in it and save the box, you can get it back in, in good shape for returning without ruining it for next person. > > > I believe you are correct about the vapor. This is a Shark Euro pro (about > $79 at Target, $80 online with free S & H )which is advertised as just > minimal steam vapor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 I actually have both. I got the Skark first. Mine is very small hand held unit. I use it to get up things I can't get up with cleaners. It didn't have a carpet attachment. The cleaner I used on carpet was actually the larger, hotter vapor cleaner that Jeff May recommends. Very expensive new but I bought it used, a demo model and I used that on carpet and got too much odor, so if carpet is smelly, it's going to bring up that smell no matter how hot a unit you use. It vaporizes odor into air, so you still need to try it out. If it's smelly, may not be able to keep carpet or may have to use dry method to clean or just vaccum it. The only thing I don't like about the more powerful one is the size. It's large and so takes up storage space and comes with extra tools, etc. It's becoming a popular way to clean and I've seen new version of vapor/steam coming out. I don't know how hot they get or to compare since I don't need one now of course, but would use a lighter weight unit more often. > > > Thank you!! > > There are two types of steam cleaners, super heated steam (240 degrees), > or merely boiling (212 degrees). One is known to be waterless, the hotter > one, as when the steam comes it, it instantly turns to water vapor, meaning > it hits the carpet, and evaporates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 , Unfortunately, the word " steam " is used to refer to the " fog " you see above a pot of boiling water (actually microscopic water droplets that reflect light) and the gas inside a steam pipe. The gas inside a steam pipe is a colorless, invisible gas like air (or the water vapor in air). The steam in a steam vapor machine is vapor, but it condenses to droplets when the steam hits the cooler air. When a carpet is treated with steam vapor, some of the vapor condenses, transferring the heat to the fibers and raising the temperature of the fibers to the boiling point of water at the atmospheric pressure, 212F at sea level. Once the carpet region is at this temperature, the steam (water vapor, not droplets) passes through the carpet, heating regions up to 212F. There is very little liquid water involved. The heat will kill some bacteria, but unfortunately not all. I actually tested this by sampling the air in a room for viable bacteria before and after treating a carpet with steam vapor (from a Fogacci) in a room.) I also tested how fast the vapor could pass through a fleecy material (about an inch-thick mattress) by placing a thermocouple (to measure temperature) on the inside of the mattress and treating the surface with steam vapor (from a 40 psi Fogacci machine). It took about a second! This means that all the " stuffing " under the " tool " was heated to the boiling point. You are correct about the temperature of the steam from a high pressure unit; it can affect the plastic fibers in a synthetic carpet (as I learned in one experiment!)but I was trying to get rid of dust mite allergens, so I did not care about the carpet. Very long dwell times (about 10 seconds per lineal foot)kills all mites and even destroys some of the allergens. If I have to choose between my health and a little damage to an old carpet, I would treat with steam vapor anyway. For the kitchen and bathroom tile, we use a Shark steam mop; it's great for small jobs but for carpets and upholstery, a higher pressure/higher capacity machine is needed. The danger for burns from a steam mop is much less that that for a steam iron. I talk about cleaning with steam vapor in my books and at: http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/a_565-Use_Dry_Steam_Vapor_Treatment _for_Healthier_Carpet_Upholstery May May Indoor Air Investigations LLC www.mayindoorair.com > > > There are two types of steam cleaners, super heated steam (240 degrees), > or merely boiling (212 degrees). One is known to be waterless, the hotter > one, as when the steam comes it, it instantly turns to water vapor, meaning > it hits the carpet, and evaporates. > > WARNING: Both of types can NOT be applied for long periods of time to > carpet. Man made carpet is plastic, and will melt, or start a degradation > process, that releases gasses. Prematurely ages. Less than 5 seconds > is all that is needed. Do follow the instructions. > > Steam at 212 will boil germs, break open the outer cell membrane, killing > it dead. The next issue is removing the leftovers, thus the vacuum. > Also, the rising steam, very fast moving molecules will pull up a lot > of the leftovers like a tornado pulls up trees. > > Do not deep steam a carpet with either of these steam cleaners. > It saturates the carpet with heat, and can melt man made carpets. > And it puts water deep, where some will not escape, but it will still > be dry in 5-30 minutes. > > Steam mops have become the rage in Japan and Europe for bathroom > cleaning. Why? It disinfects, cleans (a lot, not everything). Your skin > only comes in contact with the disinfected surfaces. It's fast and > thorough. Missed spots are obvious within a minute. And there > is no clean up or rinsing needed. It's faster. A time saver. > > There are hotels now using it, though in the USA it has to pass too many > legal barriers before it can be used. Also, there is a risk of staff injury, > and steam injuries are extremely serious, and can be deep, and life > threatening. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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