HWE is the Most Popular
The Most popular method of carpet cleaning in the United States at this time is Hot Water Extraction(HWE). This is also known as Steam Cleaning. HWE uses hot water and Cleaning Chemicals to break the bonds the dirt have built on the carpet fibers. Then the extractor sucks the water and dirt out of the carpet.
There are two major schools of Hot water extraction carpet cleaning. Portable and Truckmounted.
The Portables normally are a couple of tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty water with a pump to push the water into the carpet. Also there will be a strong vacuum to suck the dirt and water back out of the carpet.
Two Types of Truck Mounted Carpet Cleaners
There are two types of TMs. A slide in will not use the vehicle engine but will include its own motor. The Direct Drive Truck Mount Cleaner uses the ngine in the van, truck or box van] to power the equipment.
Direct Drive Advantages
- There is only one motor that needs to be serviced.
- Direct drives can leave more space in the vehicle because they do not have a motor and exaust system back there to take up space.
- Direct Drives usually have plenty of power and lots of torque to power the equipment.
- They are usually quieter because they are using the regular exhaust system of the vehicle.
- Some of the most reliable truckmounts are Direct Drive.
- The only Truckmount with a ten year parts warranty is a direct drive.
Advantages to Slide ins
- Easier to move from vehicle to vehicle
- Easier to install
- Simpler to manufacture
- Can be mounted in a Trailer
- Easier to sell without selling the van too.
- More design flexibilty, you can use heat exchangers or Propane heaters or both
- The machine can be set to work from the back door or the side door.
- Often you can purchase new Slide-in for less than a Direct Drive
Disadvantages to Slide ins
- Two motors to maintain
- Often heavier than Direct Drive units
- Often they use up more space in the vehicle than DD but not always.
Disadvantages to Direct Drive Carpet Cleaners
- It is a very big job to remove and reinstall the Direct Drive Unit
- If you have a major vehicle problem it is difficult to mount the unit in another vehicle.
- There are a lot of different opinions on what is the best truckmounted carpet cleaning machine.