Carpet Cleaning is one of the most popular small businesses in the country. It’s reasonable to expect a lot of discussion and opinion on what are the best methods or equipment. The discussion for using portable vs. truck mount carpet cleaning equipment is ongoing simply because one is not always better than the other. Let’s take a look at how they compare to determine which is the best solution for fitting out your carpet cleaning van.
Water Temperature
Truck mount carpet cleaning equipment can easily produce heated water for the carpet steam cleaning (or steam extraction) process in the range of 200 – 212 F. Some of this heat will be lost as the water travels from the truck to the wand tip so lets say 175 to 190 F. at the wand tip. The smallest, portable carpet cleaning machines were only able to use water from the customer premise and thus was limited to 120-140 F. from the faucet with correspondingly less at the wand tip.
The newer more powerful portables have inline heating systems that can generate 200-215 F. at the wand tip because the water does not have to travel through several hundred feet of hose. While a truck mount could produce hotter water (sometimes used for tile or grout cleaning), these higher temperatures are not recommended for carpets. For this reason, I’d have to say the portables are comparable to the truck mount equipment.
Water Capacity
Truck mounts can use large water recovery tanks e.g. 100 gals. because they are mounted and carried in the carpet cleaning vans. This eliminates the need for filling and dumping the water tanks during a job. Portables do not have the capability. Their tanks range from 10 to 13 gals. and thus need to be filled and refilled as cleaning progresses. Some of the newer portables have an auto fill/refill feature but these can be cumbersome to setup at the customers premise. The advantage here goes to the truck mounts.
Vacuum Power
Vacuum power is another area where a truck mount will outperform a portable carpet cleaning machine. The powerful motors used in truck mounts provide superior suction which helps to insure that most of the water and cleaning solution is removed from the carpet. While portables can perform this job adequately, they usually require longer drying times due to the greater amount of water left on the carpet after the extraction process is complete.
Water Pressure
Water pressure is a little more difficult to compare. Truck mount carpet cleaning equipment can provide more pressure, sometimes up to 1200 psi, but that is mostly used for tile and grout cleaning. Too much water pressure can soak the pad underneath the carpet and promote mold and bunching of the padding. Most good portables can provide 500 psi which is just right for carpets so I’d have say both can perform this task equally well.
Conclusion
As you can see, the discussion is not so black and white as it might have appeared. The larger size portable carpet cleaning equipment can hold their own against truck mounts with respect to water temperature and water pressure because there are limits beyond which these features do more harm than good. However, a portable is clearly at a disadvantage regarding water capacity and vacuum power, the later being particularly important.
These aren’t the only considerations on whether to use portable vs. truck mount carpet cleaning equipment but understanding these differences should help you make a better decision when configuring your carpet cleaning van.
Thanks Kevin! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
“Equipment is only as good as the person running it” It takes good equipment, the right person running it, using the right cleaning agents and knowing how to use them as well, and you have to care, Clean all customers carpets as if you were cleaning your own.
One more comment on suction power, truck mounts have to run alot of feet suction hose. 2 to 300 feet or more at times-well common sense says that the more suction hose you run the more suction you will loose along the way. I think this is a fair and accurate assumption.
Portables only use 15 to 25 feet of suction hose on average and will not loose suction power- there to close to the source–not 300 feet away.
well i’d have to say that your artical was about the most HONEST truck mount” verse “Portable” i’ve ever seen, most truck mount cleaners totally knock portables, there are some very good commercial portables out there and as far as “heat” and “PSI” are concerned you are right, there is really no big advantage one way or the other. I own a Solus 500 Portable Heated Carpet Extractor: which is the first portable commercial extractor on the market to earn the top GOLD level of certification from CRI’s Seal of Approval program for deep cleaning extractors! I can fill tank with cold water and in a few minutes i’ve got 212 heat out of my wand with 500 psi. As far as “Water Capacity” That has nothing to do with cleaning ability, it’s just easier for the operator to not have to keep filling and dumping clean and dirty water-thus saving time spent on the job. SO the only really big issue is of course “Suction Power” which is an important issue. However in my opinion there is a point of as I’d like to say “Overkill” Come on, how much do you really need, you don’t have to be able to suck the carpet off the dam floor do you. Even those cheap rug doctor machines you rent from Home Depot will suck water out of a carpet, granted not very good but they do. A good quality commercial portable with dual 3stage vac motors is more than sufficient, Think about it, how long are the carpet fiber’s on most carpets anyway, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch how much suction do you really need to pull water out of such short carpet fiber strands–Problem is that most people just assume that if they have their carpets cleaned with someone using a truck mount they will get the BEST job–”This is so not true at all” Takes more than just good equipment to get a good job. I say the “Equipment is only as good as the person running it” It takes good equipment, the right person running it, using the right cleaning agents and knowing how to use them as well, and you have to care, Clean all customers carpets as if you were cleaning your own. Well that’s all I have to say on the subject
Very good article. Looking forward to seeing you write much more about this subject.
Having your carpets cleaned is both a necessity and a luxury. Professional carpet cleaners use a wide range of methods and equipment. Truck mount steam-cleaning utilizes the strongest and most powerful cleaning equipment available.
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