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Cleaning the carpet


TxCowboy

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I'm aware that most RV floors are marine grade plywood with a floor covering. In our case, it's carpet.

 

We have a couple of small dogs and occasionally there will be an "accident".

 

Have any of you used a home style carpet cleaning machine inside your RV? Perhaps you have a different recommendation (short of losing the dogs or ripping up the carpet)?

Jeff & Laurie

South Texas

Hounds: Auggie (beer drinking English Cocker Spaniel)

Angus (five pounds of bad azz chihuahua)

Homebase: 2015 Heartland 365 Key West -- The "Uno Mas"

The Office: 2016 Crossroads Hill Country 26RB

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We had the fiver carpet cleaned professionally once and they got cleaning solution all over the surrounding walls. Don't know how our why it splattered but it was a mess.

 

While eating in a mom and pop cafe the owner heard our conversation about a new puppy and he said he had worked for a carpet cleaning service and he said never use the cleaning solution in the shampooer. If you have a spot clean just spray a little on that only. The warm/hot water in the machine will do a much better job and not leave a solution residue which attracts dirt and soils the carpet much faster.

 

We bought a Bissell at Costco http://www.costco.com/Bissell%C2%AE-DeepClean-Professional-Pet-Deep-Cleaner-.product.100041321.html after we got our puppy 3 years ago. Fortunately she was quickly house trained and we have had very little need to use it just for her but found it worked MUCH better than a professional service and the advice from the restaurant owner has served us well.

 

It does take up storage space in our closet (on DH side LOL) but it has more than paid for it self in the last 3 years. It is always amazing how much dog hair it picks up, even though we keep her cut very short and brush her frequently.

 

There are smaller units http://www.bissell.com/little-green-deep-cleaner/?kpid=1400B&kpid=1400B&gclid=CILQw5b0w8QCFciBfgodXLQAaw but IMHO it seemed cumbersome for just spot cleaning when the unit we bought will do the whole carpet. Our fiver has carpet in the living room, dining area and bedroom. There is just a small vinyl area in the kitchen.

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Yeah, I've got a Bissell pro style for the house so that may work. I guess my concern is how much water it dispenses and might leave on the plywood. I don't want mold, mildew, or wood warping.

Jeff & Laurie

South Texas

Hounds: Auggie (beer drinking English Cocker Spaniel)

Angus (five pounds of bad azz chihuahua)

Homebase: 2015 Heartland 365 Key West -- The "Uno Mas"

The Office: 2016 Crossroads Hill Country 26RB

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We are big fans of ZeroRez for carpet cleaning, no soaps and they leave the carpet very dry compared to a couple other companies we have tried.

 

If cleaning yourself as little soap as possible and in as few places as possible will really make the cleaning last longer. We went with another national brand of cleaners that advertised no soap a while back but they did a pre-spray that was nothing but soap, so while the cleaning machine didn't use anything but water we had all the soap from the pre-treatment that left the carpet crunchy to the touch and it attracted dirt and left dark trails wherever there was much traffic.

 

Keep the water application low, apply plenty of pressure so it is dispensed deep in the carpet pile. Then go over the carpet a couple times with the suction to get all you can and ventilate to keep the interior humidity low until the carpet is fully dry and you should have no issues.

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We use Awsome from a dollar store for spot carpet cleaning. We use Awsome for many cleaning tasks because it works. We have had our carpet cleaned professionally twice and once used the machine rented from hardware stores. We have settled on using a product called Capture purchased at Lowes or Home Depot. You mist spray the carpet from a squirt bottle, wait 3 minutes, sprinkle a powder on the carpet, use a scrub type brush on a long handle to work the powder into the carpet, wait 30 minutes or longer and vacuum up the powder. Greg

Greg & Judy Bahnmiller
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We have rented a rug doctor ( the small size, not the wide track) and have used a Bissell carpet cleaner. Both were hot water cleaners. They both worked well and the hand tools work well for small carpet areas, like along side the bed, or under the dinnette booth. Ready to do it again - spring cleaning time.

Pat DeJong

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From what I'm reading, using the home steam carpet cleaner will do the job but I should limit the amount of water and detergents used.

 

Thanks very much for the input. :)

Jeff & Laurie

South Texas

Hounds: Auggie (beer drinking English Cocker Spaniel)

Angus (five pounds of bad azz chihuahua)

Homebase: 2015 Heartland 365 Key West -- The "Uno Mas"

The Office: 2016 Crossroads Hill Country 26RB

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From what I'm reading, using the home steam carpet cleaner will do the job but I should limit the amount of water and detergents used.

 

Thanks very much for the input. :)

Correct. You want to limit the amount of water used. Also I found that drying it quickly is better than letting the wet carpet stay damp. I use a couple of fans to dry the carpet. Good luck, Dave.

2006 Coachmen Aurora 36ft. Class A motor home. 2009 Honda CRV toad. "Snowbirds" apprx. 6 mos. each year. Travelling to the SW each winter than returning to Wi. each summer. Retired and enjoying our travels along with Buddy the cat.

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My experience is that a vinagar water mix works very well on pet stains. It works better than many shampoos and as well as or better than the shampoos advertised for pet stains. Our RV and our house are built with the same subfloor material and I use a carpet cleaner on both. I like to use a second suction only pass to remove as much moisture as possible. A second pass with only water reduces the stiffness and the carpet seems to stay cleaner longer especially when shampoo is used. I clean our RV carpet every 6 months of use on average. We boondock a lot.

Randy

2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift

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Vinegar will help break down soap. Used instead of fabric softener when washing clothes offers amazing results. I hadn't realized a lot of the stiffness in our clothes was soap residue until I tried the vinegar rinse.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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I use my Bissell upright shampooer for when I want to do the whole 5th wheel as I have wall to wall carpet. It does a great job. I don't worry about mildew because I make sure I keep going over the carpet until no more water comes up into the machine. I also try for a sunny warm day so I can have the windows open and the vents on to help things dry.

I also have my "little Green Machine" for those unexpected spills. It is easy to grab so I can get to the spill quickly. Both do an excellent job. In both cases, I use very little "cleaner" preferring mostly water as the carpet just need to be dampened so the shampooer can suck up the water and dust/dirt. Hugs, Di

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