# £150 Choice ???



## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Guys, looking a bit of advice, as I am stuck between 3 choices, all of which have merit.......

I have around £150 to add to my current detailing set up. I am a keen "enthusiast" and have a fairly comprehensive collection, including 2 x DA derivative polishers (Porter Cable and Carbon Collective Hex15)

I am considering the following based on want rather than need for work purposes!

Bissell Spot Clean Pro @ £130 for carpet and upholstery extraction. I do have pets and could justify this for home use also...have been watching Detailing Geek and he seems to achieve good results (though his extractor nozzle seems narrower than std?)

Shinemate Mini Rotary @ £145. I have no rotary experience whatsoever, but can see the advantage of a a machine which is smaller than the 3" backing plate that I have set up on my PC. Great selection of pads, extensions etc and I already have a range of polishes to align with this.

Karcher SC2 or SC3 @ £100-£150 - Again I have no steam cleaning experience, and have found myself wondering if steam would be a better way to go about interior detailing rather than the carpet extraction ideas? Plus again it could be used domestically

Completely a "first world" problem, but one that I am keen to research and try to avoid a costly (for me) mistake......interested in experiences of any of the above considerations both positive and negative!

Many thanks and a Happy Christmas to all at DW for 2020

Brocks


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## JoeyJoeJo (Jan 3, 2014)

I recently got a Bissell Pet Spot Clean and very impressed the couple of times I've used it.
I comes with a std head and a "pet sick" head but you can get the wide head for a tenner.
Got mine for 118 and the non pet was 150 at the time so no brainer really.


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## huvo (Dec 14, 2009)

Just my tuppence worry on this. Go go the spot clean pro. Just for the reason it is more versatile for your requirements and you would get more use out of it compared to the rotary. Don’t have any experience of steam cleaning so can’t comment on that choice.


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

Steam cleaning isn't really comparable to wet extraction tbh. Steaming has been shown to do next to nothing even though lots of detailers have offered it as a way of 'killing' covid.. whereas wet extraction actually pulls the dirt out, leaves a fresh smell etc


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

As Kev said , I tried the steam route twice with big machine , total waste of time, George from then on in, as it pulls out the agitated dirt and you see the results in the machine.
The steam just move the dirt about even having damp cloth to soak up top after steaming


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Excellent replies and reasons........ Bissell looking like the best option at the moment!


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## Hamm (Apr 3, 2019)

I have both the sc2 and the bissell. I use the steamer to clear the rubbish in the gaps in the trim/dash rather than on the carpets. I picked a second hand sc2 up for £35 on ebay and a new bissell for £120. Have a hunt around, I’m sure you could get both.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Hi brocks

I dont have a Bissel, but currently have a Vax 6131T. Fantastic bit of kit, and we have used it for loads around the house - stocking up glass & wine after I dropped a bottle of red on the kitchen tiles, cleaning up after our son was sick, emptying the coolant tank of the focus before replacing it, emptying the cistern to replace a faulty flush mech. Oh, and for cleaning upholstery lol. 

I picked ours up about 10 years ago for around 70 quid, and it has definitely been one of my better investments. You could buy a wee wet and dry vac for humble money (screwfix titan perhaps), and get a steam cleaner too. I've never really bothered with the solution tank, as I usually mix upholstery cleaner and apply with a spray gun, so I reckon a wet & dry vac would probably do grand tbh. 

Good luck,

Cooks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## detailR (Jul 23, 2016)

I have all three of these.
Bissell Spot Clean Pro, Shinemate EP803 and a Karcher SC3.

Of the three, the steam cleaner is used the least. Its handy for the occasional job but it's pretty much only used to clean headlinings these days.

I use the EP803 a lot, it can get into places a small pad on a DA or even Ibrid won't (when oscillating) but you could live without it if you're not polishing cars all day every day.

I'd say the Bissell sees the most action. 
I have a couple of wet vacuums but this has become the go to as it sprays and sucks at the same time and its so light and compact.
I take it home often to clean the sofas and things too so it has a lot more uses and it comes with 2 heads, 4" and 2"(I think).


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## blademansw (May 23, 2011)

I've also got the EP803, its a cracking little polisher. Depends if you are going to be doing more polishing, or more carpet cleaning really!


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## The happy goat (Jun 26, 2019)

Wet vac leave the steam cleaner, you cant beat a good APC for the interior!


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

@detailR EXACTLY the response I was looking, makes sense, plus I followed some previous thread advice and can see several steam cleaners available locally for humble £££

Thankyou all so much for giving up precious time today especially to reply!

Merry Christmas ( Bissel on its way!)


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

sbrocks said:


> @detailR EXACTLY the response I was looking, makes sense, plus I followed some previous thread advice and can see several steam cleaners available locally for humble £££
> 
> Thankyou all so much for giving up precious time today especially to reply!
> 
> Merry Christmas ( Bissel on its way!)


Merry Christmas to you too, sbrocks. Hope you're having a great day. 

The Bissel looks like a great wee machine - might actually order one myself.

Cheers

Cooks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Thankyou C! 

Spot Clean Pro currently reduced on Amazon, there goes my Xmas vouchers! Last year was a Blo RS and a Carbon Collective Hex 15! Love getting actual “things” rather than frittering the gifts away each year!

Looking forward to using it now!

Many thanks to everyone who gave me the advice and settled my mind


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

sbrocks said:


> Thankyou C!
> 
> Spot Clean Pro currently reduced on Amazon, there goes my Xmas vouchers! Last year was a Blo RS and a Carbon Collective Hex 15! Love getting actual "things" rather than frittering the gifts away each year!
> 
> ...


Yeh, I'm the same tbh. My two got me KKD R-Evolve, a set of wheel storage bags for the A5 rims, and some PIAA headlamp bulbs for my wee mk1 focus. Oh and a few quid too.

Cheers

Cooks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

Bissell for me, used it last night when I spilt some red wine on the carpet, came straight out.


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Bissell arriving 28th apparently! Also received a set of 4 drill brush attachments..... just need a decent fabric / upholstery cleaner now. Was thinking Autosmart Brisk, but think the Bissell comes with its own trial size of fluid. Have Dark Matter upholstery spray cleaner and AS G101. Anybody with any suggestions they will be warmly received!


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

sbrocks said:


> Bissell arriving 28th apparently! Also received a set of 4 drill brush attachments..... just need a decent fabric / upholstery cleaner now. Was thinking Autosmart Brisk, but think the Bissell comes with its own trial size of fluid. Have Dark Matter upholstery spray cleaner and AS G101. Anybody with any suggestions they will be warmly received!


Sbrocks, try to stay away from using an APC on upholstery, and only use a dedicated upholstery shampoo. APC has surfactants that are designed to attract dirt, and the APC needs to be thoroughly rinsed out of any fabric with clean water, or the residue will, as it is designed, attract dirt after you've cleaned the upholstery. If you get G101 on your hands, you'll notice that it's pretty hard to rinse completely off your skin, and leaves a residue - this is apparently something to do with the surfactants. A chemist explained that to me a few years back, and it made perfect sense tbh.

I picked up a bottle of BMW upholstery shampoo from Prentices in Portadown when my 3 series was in for a service a while back. Seems to have done the trick on my cousin's golf when I cleaned it during the summer.

Happy scrubbing.......

Cooks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Cheers Cooks, good advice right there, will get a chat with Stevie Pollard (my AS rep) in the New Year


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## samm (May 19, 2006)

sbrocks said:


> I have around £150 to add to my current detailing set up. I am a keen "enthusiast" and have a fairly comprehensive collection, including 2 x DA derivative polishers (Porter Cable and Carbon Collective Hex15)


I wonder how many of us that started on DW back in the day still have a Porta Cable (and Transformer). I still use mine occasionally. But I have about six other polishers these days.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

sbrocks said:


> Cheers Cooks, good advice right there, will get a chat with Stevie Pollard (my AS rep) in the New Year


I know him well! Bought quite a few bits from him over the years too. A very decent guy.

Brisk is great, and bio brisk is also very useful to have in the armoury, for milk spills (or when the kids are car sick....) where an enzyme / biological agent is needed to remove the lingering smell.

I must give him a shout to get some stuff too at some point. In saying that, I've probably enough in the garage to do me for about 10 years....

Cheers,

Cooks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Bissel Spot Clean Pro arrived today! And also managed to locate and purchase a Karcher SC3 used (but appears minimal use and all accessories present) for £45 locally which I think is a really good price... most SC1’s locally are around the £50 mark! So was very pleased to get my hands on this one! 

Thanks everyone who, as usual, gave their advice quickly, accurately and willingly! 

Looking forward to getting the new kit practiced with and then utilised!


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## JB052 (Mar 22, 2008)

Let us know which cleaning solution you end up using once the Bissell samples are finished.


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Brother in law picked up the same deal, and grabbed some of the Screwfix Nonsense Carpet Cleaner from Screwfix. Seems reasonably priced and he (being more motivated than me) has already tried it successfully! 

I have the sample Bissell fluid, some Valet Pro and some Rug Doctor solutions available. Plus my next door neighbour owns / runs a professional carpet cleaning business so I might hit him up for some “professional” gear! 

Will report back with results!


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