I spent the morning and most of the afternoon working on a carpet cleaner. A Bissell carpet cleaner. Damn thing didn't work, and it works now, after a fashion.
Taking apart a household appliance shows me how shoddy our appliances are. I'm pretty good with my hands, and I can figure out how things work. The magic of the internet puts good service manuals at the tip of our fingertips. Looking at the insides of this thing, I am convinced that it was designed to be used several times, maybe a dozen, then thrown away. The engineering is lousy, the plastic parts break easily and the durability leaves much to be desired.
I am tempted to pitch this one in a dumpster and buy a sturdy professional model. We clean carpets several times a year, and I don't like having to work on a machine for an hour before using it.
Anyone have any suggestions?
3 comments:
The missus got herself a Bissel steamy cleaner a couple of years ago. We never did get it to work so I foisted it off on Goodwill. Poor people have no greater right to functioning appliances than I have.
I'm seriously considering leaving the carpet to get dirty. After a year or two it no longer appears to get any dirtier. As it becomes intolerable, we'll replace it with hard surface flooring such as "Pergo" which can be swept and damp mopped.
Rent the machine. Using it 2-3 times a year doesn't make it worth while to own.
OTOH, my experience is to use a professional cleaning service. We have off-white carpet, and it MUST be cleaned well (never do THAT again!). My carpet guy charges me about $300 to do the whole house, and his machine is powered, in his van, by a PTO off of a 5.7 liter V-8.
D,
My wife bought a Thermax AF vacuum & carpet cleaner nearly 15 yrs ago, and it is still going strong. It vacuums, cleans carpets, and can even be used as an air filter.
I think it cost $1200 back then. Expensive, but it is an excellent piece of equipment.
http://www.thermaxaf.com/
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