dEFOaMeR in a pinch????????????

[Mikey P]

If you had to de-foam a carpet in a hurry (big) and did not have access to a carpet cleaning supply joint WHAT would you :?: or could you grab from a Piggly Wiggly or Home Depot :?:

 

[dealtimeman]

was pondering the same thing last sunday.

 

[Hoody]

Hair conditioner.

 

[Cameron1]

Fabric softener .....every homeowner has plenty in the laundry room

 

[Bob Hauser]

I thing salt ??

 

[Dr Vapeur]

vinegar

 

[Scott Rogers]

most grocery stores and hardware stores (Home depot/lowes/Ace/etc).sell defoamer. Its in the carpet cleaning rental section.

You can also get spa defoamer from Home depot/lowes in the pool and spa section

 

[Royal Man]

Solvent works and you should have some on the truck.

I haven't carried defoamer in 20 years.

 

[Jim Martin]

I thing salt ??

Bob nailed it.....add salt to waste tank................

 

[Walt]

I kid you not, rug doctor has great defoamer. Several years ago we were up late stripping floors one night and the foam was out of control. A quick stop at the grocery and all was well.

 

[Brian R]

Fabric softener .....every homeowner has plenty in the laundry room

We have a winner!

I've done it. Shhhh don't tell anyone.

 

[Mikey P]

Info not for me but for two members here who are away from their computers/long way from home and working on a 600,00 ft job.. :!:

Hired help put 3 gallons of pre spray in 5 gallons of water and sprayed down 1500 sf.. :shock: :shock:

 

[Zee]

Hired help put 3 gallons of pre spray in 5 gallons of water and sprayed down 1500 sf.. :shock: :shock:

Dang!!! If that was a high foaming prespray...they may have to hit up all the nearby groceries stores for all the available defoamer. :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[dgardner]

Ace Hardware has defoamer, at least in quarts. I have purchased there in a pinch.

 

[Johnny]

Pee on it (acid).

Sorry. I'm trying to get to 1,000 posts.

 

[Bjorn]

Spa defoamer

 

[Ron K]

Take hired help, chop.......
No wait.... who would let the "Hired Help" mix and apply the sauce??
You get what you pay for.


Oh yea Rug Doctor Defoamer does work well.

 

[Brian R]

 

[joe harper]

WHITE VINEGAR........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheep & will do the job....!

Spray area with a pumpsprayer or hydroforce...
Meter through chemical meter...."Great for descaling "ALSO"
Dump a gallon in the waste tank...!


The smell will DisApAtE.....overnite... !gotcha!

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Ditto on white vinegar, I always have it on the truck anyway.

Turn down your pressure, (I've even removed the tips to flood without foaming).

Run machine idle speed to minimize turbulance in the hose and waste tank. Dump the tank before foam gets to top.

Raise Hg (wrap a towel around vac relief). Minimize picking the wand off the carpet to avoid gulping air.


After making one such "emergency rinse pass" over the affected carpet, go back and clean it normally.

 

[Walt]

Ditto on white vinegar, I always have it on the truck anyway.

Turn down your pressure, (I've even removed the tips to flood without foaming).

Run machine idle speed to minimize turbulance in the hose and waste tank. Dump the tank before foam gets to top.

Raise Hg (wrap a towel around vac relief). Minimize picking the wand off the carpet to avoid gulping air.


After making one such "emergency rinse pass" over the affected carpet, go back and clean it normally.

Really? Wow. Makes sense. I was totally doing it wrong.

I took over an account and I have no idea what they were using as a prespray. Dawn? I've been fighting with a couple of areas. Too dirty to encap effectively and to foamy to steam clean.

Just so I get this straight. Prespray with white vinegar? What ratio?

Good stuff.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Yes prespray the carpet with it. I mix it half with water and HF at 10:1. Most of the foaming action is from jet impact and turbulence in the vacuum hose. Thus putting defoamer in the waste tank is "too little too late".

 

[joe harper]

Yes prespray the carpet with it. I mix it half with water and HF at 10:1. Most of the foaming action is from jet impact and turbulence in the vacuum hose. Thus putting defoamer in the waste tank is "too little too late".

White Vinegar is a miracle worker in many situations...! A great acid..very hard to damage
anything even @ full strength.. !gotcha!

It is great on tannin stains:coffee, tea, urine, etc..."Also has a NATURAL deodorizing effect."

I use on "SOME" Oriental fringes...10% bleach .."then immediate spray with Vinegar"
The vinegar neutralizes the bleach...!

 

[joeynbgky]

DO NOT USE SALT IF YOU HAVE AN ALUMINUM WASTE TANK!

Rug doctor comes in handy I have about 60 bottles of it left I bought on a pallet from a warehouse, that had water damage and the labels were not clear to read!

 

[Steve Lawrence]

nice thread, thanks everyone!

 

[Ron Werner]

well, you KNOW the Rug Dr defaomer is going to work. Has to considering the soap they use.

 

[Ron Lippold]

thanks for the help fellas, shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin we got her handled just a nother 10-15 dasys........

 

[mmarkovic]

Most things I've read on this forum topic I've tested and tried different brands of consumer softener for laundry. Downy ended up for me to deliver the best knock down when I dilute it with some water to help disperse it. Snuggle was worthless so test brands before you get excited. Knock down in the waste tank is one thing but when the hoses get loaded from heavy foam coming directly out of the carpet you end up stopping often so you can suck up softener enough to knock down this CFM reducing foam. It can literally turn a 1.5 inch hose into a 1" hose in seconds. If you use soft water your foaming problem is even more difficult to resolve.

Some have commented that the softener chemistry affects the emulsification process if used as a prespray or applied to the carpet while cleaning but if there is already an over use of detergents the dirt and oils are already suspended in the dried surfactants and just need to be rinsed out as efficiently as possible so I say go ahead and prespray away as long as you know that you are dealing with this over foaming situation.

I was doing hotel rooms where previous "in house cleaning" crews constantly over applied and never rinsed properly the sudzy bubbles from the carpet. This dogged down the whole cleaning process for me.
I was once told that the old fashioned urinal cakes used in typical gas station bathrooms would melt down foam in the waste tank really well but besides the overpowering odor exhausted these cakes (made from the same compounds as mothballs) were toxic to breathe (carcinogenic) and are now banned by the janitorial industries.

And so we just keep searching for the best solutions. I say learn on....

 

[SamIam]

Wow old thread pretty sure that's when Lippold helped a guy clean Fort Knox???

Who was the guy who got that account and paid Lippold a grip?

Also small foam issues you can rub crystal defoamer on and rinse.

Large areas I liked Lee's response.

 

[Cleanworks]

Rug doctor no longer sells defoamer. In a pinch, I use volatile solvent in a trigger sprayer. Spray into your vacuum hose periodicaly and it will solve the problem