my honest experiences of the Challenger thus far :

i've done 8 resi jobs thus far with it. all turned out fantastic. results are definitely better than i received with my Portable HWE unit. takes a little longer to clean than my Portable did. this evens out though as i am getting better results.

clients are extremely pleased. have used the Challenger on carpets ranging from light to what i consider heavy soil and i am pleasantly surprised after every job

the steps i take to clean are as follows :


1) pre-vac

2) pre-spray (started using liquid Procyon on house number 4 and thus far love it)

3) pre-scrub with my Host machine (counter rotating brush machine)

4) OP clean with my Challenger and cotton pads wrung out good with warm/hot water. (i prefer the cotton pads Steve Smith sells, tho i like the double sided Argo pads to)

5) post-vac to pick up any "fuzzies" and set the pile.



the pre-scrubbing has made quite a difference i must say. it is an added step, but is really simple and quick with the Host machine, i highly recommend it. MUCH faster, physically easier and more effective than a carpet rake (grandi-groomer). plus, i feel the added agitation reduces the need for dwell time of the pre-spray (which with Procyon is a must so i've been told).

so what are your steps when you OP clean? anyone else pre-scrub?

thanx --- Derek.

I think that the high levels of scrubbing agitation
of the Challenger makes the need to do a pre-scrub
step unnecessary in most situations. When I encounter
particularly heavy levels of soil, or extensive spotting, I pre-scrub with a green-stripe synthetic
pad. Since many vacuum cleaners tend to get plugged up quickly when vacuuming up damp fibers and related
residue, I instead vac with a Dirt-Devil porta vac.

Its more open airflow design never seems to clog. While you'd think that it would take a lot longer to do this step than with a full size vac, it really doesn't. Maybe a minute or two per average size room.

ahh thanx for the reminder Mark, i have a green striped synthetic pad that i could use just for this. save the time of bringing in another machine.

thanx --- Derek.

Derek,why not after prespray application,pad as normal then go back over with a dry pad?I do this for any residual soil and moisture.Some times I even throw in HWE in between these two steps!Anyways,there is enough moisture left over after your first pass with the Challenger,so as to not cause any damage.
Patrick

Patrick, nice idea. when you pad after the prespray, are you going over it with one or two passes with the damp pad? then one-2 passes with the dry pad?

thanx --- Derek.

BTW, the only times i've dry padded was once when the client wanted it to dry ASAP and the other time was with trashed carpet that needed a little OOMPH. i don't think i'd ever do it on newer carpet or "fragile" carpet that i think might have a problem with tip bloom.

The number of passes called for varies with the degree of soiling. One pass may suffice for 90% of a room or more. But the heavy traffic spot or footprint
area (as in front of a favorite chair or sofa) may require multiple passes. (5 - 10 - 15 - 20, or whatever is required to work out the heavy soil.)