Upholstery Cleaning Tuckmount or Portable ?

[everfresh1]

I Was wondering If you guys use your truckmount or use a portable to clean uphostery. I almost always use a small portable to clean funiture, I have a 5 gallon with a 3 stage vac and 100 PSI pump. I think its better to use a portable Because you can use chemicals you can't run through your truckmount like raw cotton cleaners plus, It saves a lot of hours on my truckmount.

 

[Art Kelley]

I bought a Piggyback Two 20 years ago to save the hours on my truckmount. PIA to use a portable. It's much easier and faster and better to just bring in two hoses and an upholstery tool then an under-powered, overweight machine you have to fill and empty the water. So yes, I use the truckmount for upholstery always unless I absolutley need a portable to do a job. And then I decline the job.

 

[everfresh1]

I bought a Piggyback Two 20 years ago to save the hours on my truckmount. PIA to use a portable. It's much easier and faster and better to just bring in two hoses and an upholstery tool then an under-powered, overweight machine you have to fill and empty the water. So yes, I use the truckmount for upholstery always unless I absolutley need a portable to do a job. And then I decline the job.

What's a piggyback?

 

[Papa]

If I'm cleaning the carpet anyway I use a truckmount. Hot water is key for any type of cleaning!

 

[Bob Savage]

I have always used the truckmount to clean upholstery. If we have a lot to do, we use 2 upholstery tools and double team it.

It would be way slow using a portable for upholstery cleaning, especially if you have several pieces.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I prefer a TM for the airflow and heat.

Although we do a lot of Upholstery with portables, they are just not as efficient with time. Too much dumping and filling.

It takes additional work to get the end product as good as a TM cleaning.

The positive of a portable is cost wise the portable isn't burning fuel or putting age on your TM.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

We use a truck mount for most of our upholstery cleaning, and its what I recommend in my classes if you already own a truck mount.

Fabrics with very sensitive textures, such as velvet or chenille made from silk or rayon, could be more safely cleaned with a portable machine, but skill is the most important factor with such materials. You can damage such fabrics as easily with a portable unit if you use the wrong tools or products and don't know what you're doing.

Truck mounts have the potential of causing more damage based on the amount of water that could be used, and the possibility of fabric damage from the extraction tool and unregulated vacuum. Both of those problems can be nearly eliminated with the use of the appropriate cleaning tool, training, and common sense.

As far as chemical choices are concerned, portable equipment does allow for more variety when it comes to extraction products, but most upholstery cleaners stabilize dye and prevent browning with acidic rinses and fast drying techniques, and only change the preconditioning product based on the soil level and fabric or dye sensitivity.

 

[Bob Savage]

In regards to the vacuum of truckmounts being too strong (LIFT) on delicate fabrics, I use an inline vacuum diffuser (controlled air leak), at the upholstery tool, to reduce the vacuum at the tool itself. You can adjust this to any level.

I’ve also extended the length of the upholstery tools vacuum and braided stainless enclosed pressure line to 12’, so you do not have to drag around the 2” incoming vacuum hose and weight of the fittings, while you are cleaning.

Over-wetting should not be a problem, as the jet on the upholstery tool is only going to let so much moisture through. Using the jet by-pass upholstery tool, keeps the heat up whenever cleaning upholstery with the truckmount, as it allows more flow to the tool, but by-passes the additional flow, so it doesn't get on the fabric.