Bob Savage
Member
Running that alkaline emulsifier through the steel coiled heaters, will keep away the rust and black water monsters.
Like Bill mentioned, I too have no qualms cleaning a white sofa using our LP heater. In fact, all of our upholstery is cleaned using the truckmount.
Yes, that white deposit you see on the inside of your fittings/coil, is the calcified coating on the inside of your coil and fittings from the alkaline going through them. However, over time I've discovered it can build up enough to effect flow rate (only noticeable when running dual wands, which doubles the amount of flow you'll need for cleaning).
So, I will alternate back and forth using the alkaline, and then switch to an acid rinse for a while. What that does is this. When back to the acid rinse, it will slowly dissolve the thicker inside coating, still producing alkaline soap at the wand, and will etch away at the calcium.
When the flow rate starts dropping using this procedure (about every 3 years), I will then clean out the coil and fittings. I use a mixture of Muratic acid and water, disconnect the heater from the TM plumbing, and use a small acid seal-resistant pump to flush and clean the inside pipes. The acid solution is in a 5 gallon bucket during this flushing procedure.
After flushing all the crud out, I then set up a fresh alkaline solution, and pump it through for a while. During this entire process, the heater is NOT on. This is a cold-water operation.
Connect the heater back inline with the truckmount, and you are good to go.
Like Bill mentioned, I too have no qualms cleaning a white sofa using our LP heater. In fact, all of our upholstery is cleaned using the truckmount.
Yes, that white deposit you see on the inside of your fittings/coil, is the calcified coating on the inside of your coil and fittings from the alkaline going through them. However, over time I've discovered it can build up enough to effect flow rate (only noticeable when running dual wands, which doubles the amount of flow you'll need for cleaning).
So, I will alternate back and forth using the alkaline, and then switch to an acid rinse for a while. What that does is this. When back to the acid rinse, it will slowly dissolve the thicker inside coating, still producing alkaline soap at the wand, and will etch away at the calcium.
When the flow rate starts dropping using this procedure (about every 3 years), I will then clean out the coil and fittings. I use a mixture of Muratic acid and water, disconnect the heater from the TM plumbing, and use a small acid seal-resistant pump to flush and clean the inside pipes. The acid solution is in a 5 gallon bucket during this flushing procedure.
After flushing all the crud out, I then set up a fresh alkaline solution, and pump it through for a while. During this entire process, the heater is NOT on. This is a cold-water operation.
Connect the heater back inline with the truckmount, and you are good to go.
