2 Step Cleaning

Why would it not be safe to extract with solution?  When you extract you are already using clean, hot water.  Adding a solution to that can save time and effort!!

Why limit yourself to a mere two steps?

The most efficient soil removal when extraction cleaning is a progressive procedure.

First remove much of the 70-80% of soil that will come out dry with a pre-vacuum. A good brushing vacuum cleaner will also start the process of pile conditioning.

Having removed much of the dry soil, you can then start adding liquids without making mud (or at least make a cleaner mud). Whether the first wet stage of the clean is pre-spotting, a general pre-spray, or just pre-spraying of the traffic lanes will depend on the condition of the carpet and the products to be used.

If you are to use an in-tank detergent then in many instances only the heavily-trafficked area will need to be pre-treated. When a pre-spray is applied it make sense to brush it in to ensure that the product makes full contact with the soil (see http://www.worldofclean.co.uk/index.php?show_aux_page=32 ).

On low-profile commercial carpet this can be achieved with a conventional rotary or oscillating pad machine, but on a piled carpet the two contra-rotating brush machines such as the Host or Envirodry will not only achieve the objectives of agitation of the pre-treatment but also greatly enhance the pile reconditioning element of the process.

My preferred HWE process involves the use of detergent-free  and soap-free pre-conditioning agents followed by a plain water extraction rinse, so I pre-treat all of the carpet.

To many, who are 'one-machine minded' this will sound a long-winded process but the more efficiently the early stages of the clean are performed, the quicker the final rinse will be - so if you are working to  a high standard rather than merely playing 'beat the clock', the total cleaning time is not increased.

Me too!

I love Breyers

How about 10 STEPS

HeartlandSteam wrote: 10 steps...seems like overkill to me

It's not really ten steps. Step 1 is showing up and Step 10 is the customer smiling. There's a lot of filler in there. I take a lot of legit steps in my process, but that wasn't the point of this thread, which is why no one else went into it.

Yea, ya know I guess whatever makes the customer feel like their moneys worth