If you don’t have a carpet extractor at home, the next best option is to have a Shop-Vac available.
When you clean carpets with microfiber cloths or brushes, only the surface dirt and stains are released. Hot steam or liquid cleaning can eliminate more problems, but you need a tool that can remove that water after applying it.
Upgrading a Shop-Vac to become an extractor is an affordable way to enhance your home cleaning chores. You also can rent or purchase an extractor for an even more thorough process.
Which decision is right for you?
Shop-Vac or Extractor for Carpet Cleaning?
A Shop-Vac or similar style vacuum from a competitive brand is made to clean garages, shops, and similar areas. Some models have a wet/dry feature for household spills. An extractor removes liquid and stain-lifting solutions from carpets to provide a more profound cleaning experience.
Shop-Vacs and extractors use similar technology. By creating suction, the goal is to remove debris and liquid from the floor, furniture, upholstery, and other soft surfaces.
The motor’s power helps to determine how much suction you receive. You’ll need a product that delivers at least 1.3 horsepower to avoid spending the entire day working on your carpets.
A carpet extractor offers a primary tank and hose that works with your preferred cleaning agent. You can spray the areas that require treatment with this tool directly.
Some models have a heating option that can power through tough stains and problem areas with little difficulty.
If you have patterned carpeting at home, an extractor is a worthwhile investment to consider.
Although a Shop-Vac isn’t as effective since you must clean the carpet separately from the tool, many models come with a powerful motor and a wet/dry design to get the floor dry quickly.
Can I Turn My Shop-Vac into a Carpet Extractor?
The average homeowner doesn’t have a carpet extractor to use. Although they can be rented at most retail stores locally, that fact doesn’t help rural property owners or those who can’t afford the expense.
Here’s some good news. Most Shop-Vacs can be turned into a carpet extractor with one attachment.
The actual product you need depends on the vacuum brand you own at home. You’ll also need a wet/dry Shop-Vac for this job.
If your model has a permanent filter installed, you won’t be able to implement the following steps.
| Advantages of Using a Shop-Vac | Disadvantages of Using a Shop-Vac |
| A Shop-Vac with an extractor attachment is typically less expensive than purchasing a carpet extractor. | Shop-Vacs don’t provide a cleaning solution tank for direct application. You must complete the work before extracting the liquids. |
| You have one tool that can perform multiple jobs instead of possibly owning two products that do the same thing. | It takes more time to clean carpet with a Shop-Vac because this tool has no way to perform touchup work. |
| A Shop-Vac has more portability, allowing you to use it in the garage, shop, and other areas of the home. You can even take it outside to clean your vehicle. | The design is meant for dry or wet agents, whereas a carpet extractor is specifically designed to remove liquids from your flooring. |
Before you start the Shop-Vac conversion, the first investment must be the carpet extraction attachment.
The Happy Tree Hand Wand provides the most flexibility for those converting a Shop-Vac to a carpet extractor.
It has enough versatility to work with portable equipment or attach to a trunk-mounted system.
The transparent head lets you see the grime you’re sucking away from the carpet while providing 3.5 inches of width to make relatively quick work of each chore.
With its size, the Happy Tree Hand Wand lets you clean spaces that other tools can’t touch. You receive two adapters in the box to work with different vacuum styles, but you’ll still need to verify compatibility before finalizing a purchase.
What Shop-Vac Should I Use as a Carpet Extractor?
The best Shop-Vac to use for carpet extraction work is the 12-gallon, 6 HP stainless steel tank model. It provides a wet/dry user experience with a three-in-one function to deliver a versatile user experience.
You can use this Shop-Vac to remove dust, debris, wood chips, or even damp sewage. If you plug the hose into the blower attachment, you can remove grass clippings from the sidewalk or clean out challenging corners in your yard.
You’ll receive over 26 feet of cleaning reach with this Shop-Vac, which makes your carpet extraction work that much faster.
You’ll receive several attachments in the box, including a filter, a filter cover, and a vacuum bag. I’ve found that it makes the cleanup work fast and fun to do.
What Shop-Vac Alternative Should I Use as a Carpet Extractor?
If you don’t mind working with a brand other than Shop-Vac, I highly recommend using the Vacmaster Professional Series vacuum. You can get a 14-gallon model with a 6.5 horsepower motor and a stainless steel tank for fast extraction work.
The suction that this vacuum produces is quite remarkable. It delivers 123 CFM and 83 inches of water lift, reducing the drying time of your carpet by getting almost all the moisture out.
It provides a seven-foot hose and a 20-foot power cord to maximize your reach. The hose resists kinks and clogs with its design, while you get plenty of filters and accessories in the box.
The tank gets a little heavy when it’s full of liquid, but that also means you know that you’ve done a great job!
I think my favorite feature is the drain port on the side. If I’ve overfilled it, I can wheel it outside to a proper disposal area and let the fluid flow.
When Should I Buy a Carpet Extractor?
If all the floors in your home are covered with carpet, it makes senses to have a dedicated carpet cleaner. This tool makes fast work of the ground-in stains and dirt in ways that a standard vacuum cannot touch.
Entry-level carpet extractors look a lot like an upright vacuum. These products usually come with the instruction to clean your floors with a conventional vacuum before using the extraction process to remove dirt.
Deep cleaners don’t require this additional step and are twice as powerful as their entry-level siblings. That also means they’re twice as heavy to move around the home.
Although the weight might not seem problematic when you have a rambler, it can be a problem if you haul the tool up and down the stairs each weekend.
Here is an overview of what to expect if you’re thinking about a carpet extractor for your home today.
| Issues to Consider with Carpet Extractors | Why This Consideration is Crucial for Carpet Extractors |
| Heavy When Empty and Heavier Full | Most carpet extractors weigh about 65 pounds when they are full. Even when empty, you’re adding between six to 15 pounds of cleaning solution to a full-sized model. You’ll want to view the manufacturer’s notes in this area to find the solution that makes the most sense for your home. |
| Settings, Accessories, and Specs | Some carpet extractors use a single tank with two chambers for cleaning. It’s usually more convenient to have two separate tanks, especially when you fill the unit with gray or black water. Think about investing in a model with a longer cord to limit repositioning downtime. |
| Cleaning Solution Requirements | Almost every carpet extractor manufacturer recommends a proprietary cleaning solution for their machines. For routine cleaning, you don’t need a specialty formula. Save those investments for kid and pet messes. |
| Carpet Extractor Noise | The average vacuum cleaner produces about 70 decibels. An extractor is more than 10% louder than that. Some models are above 85 dB, which means hearing protection could be helpful. |
| Cleaning Time Required | A Shop-Vac comes out of the closet, ready to get to work when you have an extractor attachment. If you use a carpet cleaner, you’ll need to move furniture out of the way, fill the tank with cleaning solution and water, and move slowly over each space. |
What Is the Best Carpet Extractor to Purchase?
The Galaxy 2000 Commercial Carpet Cleaning Extractor makes fast work of dirty carpets. It offers a 12-gallon solution tank and an 11-gallon recovery space, which provides enough room to take care of about 1,500 square feet. On a lighter chore day, you can cover about 2,000 sq. ft.
With this model, you receive a 25-foot vacuum and solution hose, providing enough length to manage an entire room from a central position.
That also means you can clean your stairs without trying to balance the machine on your hip.
This carpet extractor has dual two-stage vacuum motors for a powerful suction experience. It delivers 100 PSI and 150” WL, which works with almost any rug style.
It works so well that your carpets will be dry within a couple of hours. The suction is comparable to truck-mounted equipment.
You can equip a 2000-watt external heater to this unit for even more cleaning power. You’ll receive a two-year warranty on parts and labor, while the poly body on the Galaxy 2000 comes with lifetime protection.
Is a Carpet Extractor Better Than a Shop-Vac?
Shop Vacs provide carpet extraction benefits on a small scale. Anyone with a large home or extensive carpets to clean should consider using a dedicated extractor. Both options offer a similar result, but one tool is meant for this work, and the other gets adapted to it.
We’ve got two dogs and three cats at home. We love them dearly, but they create plenty of messes to manage throughout the day.
One of our dogs is a devious German Shepherd who loves stealing boxes to shred them.
When you combine that mess with the standard in-and-out dirt and debris that comes from daily walks, our white carpets get dirty fast.
And no – the white carpets came with the house. We’re waiting until they wear out to replace them.
Until then, we’re using a carpet extractor to keep everything clean. We have a Shop-Vac for daily maintenance, and then we do the extraction once per week.
It’s not just the change in carpet color that’s impressive. We notice an immediate improvement in the home’s overall odor and environment. It just feels clean.
I’d recommend having both tools available to use. If you must choose between one or the other, it depends on your needs.
Heavy-duty work requires a heavy-duty tool. If you have something lighter, a Shop-Vac and conversion should work.