Does anyone want to chime in on the pads they use and how many rooms/sq ft. they traditionally clean with one pad before changing. I understand that it is going to depend a lot on how much soil is on the job, but consider just the majority of jobs, ours anyway, where there are stains and spills, but not major make readies or anything.
Just wondering, I use the inexpensive all cotton pads from Challenger, they work well for me, wear out pretty quick, but I can also get a lot more for the price of other pads. I have began to look around and noticed most pads not sold by challenger run 15.00 to 20.00 a piece. I have no problems with the 3 dollar pads, I just usually have to change them every room or room and a half.
Re. how many sq. ft. of carpet you can clean with a single pad: it does vary a lot, but maybe 100 - 200 s.f. per pad might be a close estimate. It also depends upon the pad. The Challenger cheap-o pads are all-cotton and on the thin side - a sure formula for rapid wear-out. However, at the price they currently sell for ($3.00) value-wise, they are a very good buy.
I prefer 2-sided pads, like Challenger's 100% cotton ones.
These are virtually the same as were sold by the makers of the Argosheen c.c. product for several decades. I also have a lot of 19", single-ply, mostly cotton pads, which I have taken to a person who does commercial stitching and tailoring. I had her sew these pads into double pads. That way instead of having to replace a pad as soon as it has become soiled, all I have to do is flip it over to the clean side. Downside: it's a real handful (literally!) to try and squeeze out by hand, so I usually immerse them in one of those side-handle bucket-wringers to squeeze out the excess water.
With these pads, I can sometimes go several hundred sq. ft., if the soil is light-to-medium.
I'm a big fan of Enduro pads from Challenger I ordred some last summer and have yet wear them out completely. I use them primarily on CGD So they do take a beating For residential I have been using microfiber pads. The ones I use are big and hold alot of moisture and soil.They are not as agrresive as Cotton but they do pick up nicely. I have also used Glads but I got some out of the bad batch early last spring. The ones that stayed together worked great On my big rotary I use Tuways and micro's
