An extractor differs from a wet-dry shop vacuum or a small portable carpet cleaner in a few key ways. Extractors are professional-grade machines that deep-clean carpet and upholstery much more thoroughly than other options, leaving carpets, floor mats, and more with a like-new appearance. Extractors are intended for use on more serious stains and spills or heavy dirt and grime build-up. An extractor uses pressurized water mixed with a cleaning solution, along with very powerful suction from a built-in vacuum to clean carpet or upholstery more thoroughly than scrubbing with foaming chemicals by hand. It sprays the water and cleaning chemical, such as Adam’s Extractor Shampoo, into the stain or affected area of carpet to break down the stain more effectively, and then immediately sucks out the dirt contamination and cleaning solution with a very strong vacuum suction. This leaves the area less damp than other cleaning options and will allow materials to dry out more quickly, with the best results in terms of stain removal.

The Adam’s Heated Carpet Extractor has several advantages over smaller carpet cleaners. Most smaller spot-cleaning carpet cleaners come with smaller capacity water tanks of 1 gallon or much less, which require frequent draining or refilling if you are trying to clean larger areas. On some less expensive spot cleaners, once the dirty water tank becomes full, if you continue using the machine and do not power it off quickly enough, the dirty water can overflow and begin leaking out of the machine all over wherever it is sitting - which might be the carpet you just cleaned. Our extractor features a 3-gallon tank to hold plenty of water and shampoo solution that will then be sucked back into a separate 3-gallon dirty water tank, allowing you to clean much larger areas each time before having to drain the dirty tank and refill the clean tank.

Many smaller spot-cleaning machines have suction hoses that are 2-3 feet in length or less, in order to keep costs low and suction strength adequate, but when detailing tight areas in a vehicle, this will require you to move the machine around frequently - sometimes even having to rest the machine on a seat while cleaning the carpet underneath it and vice versa. Our Carpet Extractors eliminate this annoyance by having a 15-foot suction hose with a very strong 804 watt motor and 76” of lift, so that you can set the machine safely outside of the vehicle and have much better maneuverability of the handle for cleaning various areas like carpets, upholstered arm rests, and seat backs. The 2-Stage motor for the vacuum provides ample power to suction out larger amounts of water than spot cleaners, meaning the carpet and upholstery will be less damp and dry out more quickly, so less down-time before the vehicle can be driven again.

The third difference between many spot cleaners and professional extractors is having a heating element to provide additional cleaning strength with hot water. The Adam’s Heated Carpet Extractor uses a 600 watt heater to bring water temperatures up to 200℉ to break down more stubborn stains that have set in and dried into a surface. But the main benefit of a carpet extractor is that the overall level of effort in removing dirt and stains is much easier compared to cleaning areas by hand with chemicals and scrubbing with towels. In this video, Adam shows the process of removing stains and cleaning upholstery by hand, and as you can see, it is a more labor intensive process that takes more time than using a carpet extractor: How to Thoroughly Detail Your Cloth Interior

Pro Tip: Agitate stains with a cordless drill and the Adam’s Carpet Drill Brush, then use the Extractor to pull even more dirt from the area!

At a cost of $959.99 after 20% off discounts, our Heated Carpet Extractor is an expensive investment that may not be in everyone’s detailing budget. For this reason, we now offer essentially the same extractor minus the heating element, the Adam’s Non-Heated Carpet Extractor, at a more affordable price point of $639.99 after 20% off discounts. It still comes with the same 3-gallon tank capacities, 15-foot hose, and excellent suction power, but in a slightly smaller and lighter-weight housing since it does not include the heater. You can still pour hot water into the tank and achieve excellent results, but the hot water will cool down more quickly without the heated feature.

A few important guidelines for using the Adam’s Carpet Extractor are as follows:

• (Heated version) Do not run the heater without water in the tank.
• (Heated version) Turn off the heater if it has been on for more than 10 minutes of inactivity.
• Pour the Extractor Shampoo into the lower clean water tank first, then pour in the warm water.
• 2-3 oz of Extractor Shampoo is usually enough to mix into the 3-gallon tank.
• For extremely soiled carpets, use 5-6 oz of Extractor Shampoo.
• Empty the dirty water tank after each use to avoid unwanted smells in your garage or storage area.

For a full how-to video on using the Adam’s Heated Carpet Extractor, click the link below: Deep Clean Your Carpet and Upholstered Surfaces with Adam's Heated Carpet Extractor