I think what people don't get is that there are steam-cleaners who hack the sh*t out of jobs...I know just about everyone here has heard a story (regardless of company) about a steam cleaner who left a custys carpet wet for 2 days. Chemdry knows there's a lot of folks with that experience and play off of it. Is it true that ALL steam cleaners leave "buckets" of water in carpet...hell no, is it true that some do...yes. Lack of training, substandard equipment, bait-n-switch hacks etc...they're still out there.
The fact is, the chemdry system does a good job, but truly, there's nothing special about their process. I know the bubbles set them apart, but lets face it, they don't do any better than just rinsing with water...trust me, I know. If you have a good truckmount with good heat and an RX-20, you can achieve the same (if not better) results than CD...I say "better" because their TMs will only produce a max psi of 100-120, that's the part that sux...there are plenty of jobs (trashed) that could use the psi being turned up to 300-400, but they don't have that option...and for a $25,000 TM, you'd think they'd have some pressure. They actually have to use a water otter on tile jobs for pressure, there's another $1,000.
The people who hate the Chemdry TMs the most.....CHEM-DRY Franchise owners. Think about it, CD was nothing more than a spray tank, buffer and some pads....super low costs...now, $25,000 TM, Powerhead (their RX-20) and way more chemical costs...my local CD (and a lot of others) still use the spray/buff method and upsell the TM system...so if there's anything to bitch about CD's is now they're bait-n-switch scums. Just my .2 as an ex-CD chimp.