Green Floor Cleaning With Recycling Carpet Extractor Machines

Some carpet extractor machines recycle and reuse its water. How does this work and what are the benefits? 

There is a family of carpet extractors that recycle, filter and chemically treat the solution before reusing it. This process allows you to recycle the cleaning solution up to seven times. This increases productivity and is a very green process since it conserves water, decreases chemical usage and maximizes productivity. The filters are easy to clean and there are safeguards in place so when the water is unable to be filtered and reused then the pump will not dispense any more solution.
- Eric Hickman, Product Manager, Powr-Flite, Fort Worth, Texas

The benefit is longer times between dump and refills. It works by taking the dirty water extracted from the carpet, filtering it and putting it back down on the carpet. The problem is, once the water is dirty, virtually no amount of filtering can make the water pure again. Ideally, the water should be filtered enough that it could be used for drinking water. If it isn’t, I would not recommend putting dirty water back on the carpet.
- Brian Simmons, Product Manager, Nilfisk-Advance, Inc., Plymouth, Minn.

Are carpet extractor machines that recycle the water effective on all stains?

Carpet extractors that recycle water are effective on all stains. If you are dealing with difficult or older stains I recommend pre-treating the stain and allowing proper dwell time. If you know what the stain is composed of use a chemical designed for the stain.

TACT is required for all cleaning processes with all machines. TACT = Time, Agitation, Chemical, and Temperature. If the stain is grease or oil, you may need an alkaline-based product or the use of a heated recycling extractor to speed up the carpet cleaning process.
- Eric Hickman, Product Manager, Powr-Flite, Fort Worth, Texas

Is extracting carpets with ozone-assisted water effective on stains? What are its benefits?

Ozone-assisted water is most effecitve in removing microbial contamination from carpeted surfaces. Ozone-assisted water will not work on the toughest soils and stains without the use of a carpet cleaning chemical added to the machine. Ozone-assisted water is used frequently in nursing homes and day cares due to the types of contaminants fround in these facilities.
- Eric Hickman, Product Manager, Powr-Flite, Fort Worth, Texas