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Best to not put shampoo in machine. Put traffic lane cleaner in sprayer with hot water, spray onto carpet after thorough vacuuming, allow cleaner to dwell 5 to 10 minutes and clean and rinse with fresh clean water in machine. For best results do NOT put shampoo in he machine even though it was designed for it. Most of the machines brought in for repairs are clogged with soap gunk. Carpets will be cleaner and stay clean longer because the soap has been rinsed out of carpet
You didn't give a model number so I'll tell you both methods. The F5xxx and F6xxx models have a cap at the top of the clean water tank that doubles as a measuring cup. The cap is about 3 inches in diameter. Fill the cap to the fill line with shampoo and dump it in the tank. Then fill the tank with hot (Not Boiling) water.
The F7xxx series has a 2 section tank. The large section is for hot (Not Boiling) water. The smaller section is for shampoo. Fill the smaller section with shampoo and the Steam Vac will mix the water and shampoo for you in the proper proportion.
I just did and it's multiple steps but not too hard.
There are complete detailed explanations if you do a search engine on kirby shampooer instructions. I found one explanation on Ebay, and another on EHow. www.goodvac.com/Articles.asp?ID=153
Step one - vacuum your carpet more thoroughly than you usually do. Each back and forth pass - four times.
Take off the dirt bag and the head off of your Kirby.
Where the dirt bag attaches to the Kirby is where the shampoo mixing container goes. Before you attach the mixing container on there take your container and fill it to the 1st line for a very small area, 2nd for a medium sized area, and to the third line for an average sized bedroom. A large living room may need a second container. For the solution - you must use Kirby shampoo. If you fill to the first water line - use one capful, 2nd line 2 capfuls, and etc. Make sure the sponge filter is positioned on the mixing container in the spot where it hooks onto the vacuum (mini-emptor).
The shampoo brushhead I find to be the biggest challenge because that L-shaped tube attachment gets in the way of the belt lifter when you try to hook on the belt. The belt is going to hook on the brushroller the same way it does on your vacuum head. Pop the brush roller in the head of the shampooer and then sit that head onto the tray mechanism.
Once you puzzle piece everything together and now ready to shampoo. Let me tell ya this - after the hassle of putting everything together - just do the whole room and make it worth the bother.
Turn the machine on, and lower the shampoo head ALL THE WAY DOWN, unless your carpet is ultra thick and then maybe just one click up. Turn the dial on the shampoo mixing container to on. Push the machine forward rather quick and pull back slow. Do overlapping passes.This will spread the foam nice and evenly. Let the foam sit for about 5 minutes, then turn the dial to off and go back over it slowly forward and backwards massaging the foam solution deep into your carpet fibers. Then let it sit for 2 - 3 hours. Then vacuum really thoroughly. Right after I go through the shampooing process and the carpet is still moist - I use a carpet brush and I scrub the foam even deeper into the carpet.
Good luck. Hopefully you will be motivated in the fact that I just did mine and the high traffic carpet looks really good. I just had clients come in and they noticed the difference right away, as it looks like a pro came in and did the job.
if its a bissell,go to bissel .com and request a manual sent to you.there should b a cartridge that you push a button to unlock so u can fill it with water or carpet shampoo.I fill mine half water half carpet shampoo. then u put it back on ,make sure it either clicks or snaps on.plug in and turn on,they usually have a button that turns that say wash or rinse.it depends on your machine.
You should have the new aquamate, it has a blue top to fill with the water and water/soap solution that pops down into place. You will need to use your power nozzle hose and tube, connect it to your shampooer (make sure to connect the power connection just like the power nozzle). Fill your water up, large compartment is for cold water only and the smaller compartment is for one cap full of soap then the rest filled with cold water. Start with just a splash of water or an empty basin in the rainbow. The trigger will control your water spray and the brush underneath. There are two levers on the back of the shampooer marked with a shower head and a bar of soap. Use the soap with the shower head and the soap on and the water only with just the shower head on. You will want to also go over the area shampooed with both off to **** up the remaining water. Make sure to clean your floor thoroughly before shampooing.
The very best thing to do is to fill the dispenser tank with hot water....just plain hot water. Take it outside on concrete, so you can see what you're doing, and operate the cleaner heads. Alternate back and forth. What's happened is that the machine has set with solution residue in it, and it is stopping it up. The hot water will eventually dissolve the goo, and the machine will start working properly. It may take more than one tankful of hot water, but one will probably do the trick. To keep this from happening again, run another tank of hot water after you've finished. I do it on my carpet after shampooing, and it has the added bonus of vleaning the pickup side as well!
Best regards, --W/D-- please feel free to rate this solution....thanx!
First a short explanation of how the Kirby shampoo system works: Kirby uses a “Dry Foam” type of shampoo. Basically, it spreads a shampoo foam solution on the surface of your carpet. This foam needs to stay on the surface of the carpet until it is completely dry (usually 1 to 2 hours depending on temperature and humidity) As the foam dries, it soaks up grease and dirt. You then vacuum the carpet and up comes the shampoo residue along with the absorbed dirt and grease. It does a very good job on the surface but will not extract stains from the bottom of the carpet or carpet pad. Several other brands such as Electrolux, Hoover and Koblenz make Carpet Cleaning machines that use the same system. So, you’ve read your manual, you’ve removed the carpet cleaning nozzle and the bag assembly from your Kirby, you’ve installed your shampoo tank and carpet shampooing nozzle tray and you start to shampoo but all you get on your carpet is a puddle of soapy water and no foam. Here’s a few things to look for:
Make sure you are using a Dry Foam Shampoo(preferably Kirby) and NOT an extraction shampoo, the Rug Doctor shampoo you had left over from your last rental will not work.
Make sure you have the correct mixture. If you are using Kirby Dry foam shampoo you simply fill the tank with water and put a tank cap full of shampoo in with the water. You can use other brands of “Dry Foam” shampoo, but the mixture ratio may be different, so read the label first.
Don’t reuse last year’s leftover mixture, it’s probably no good.
Make sure a family member didn’t pour any leftover mixture back into the empty shampoo bottle - further diluting a mixture will not produce any foam.
Don’t use shampoo that’s seen extreme temperatures.
Check the tank and make sure that the sponge filter is in place and if it is in place that it is not deteriorated. The sponge filter is located under the tank at the point where you attach the tank to the hole that you removed the bag assembly from.
Check the hose that runs from the tank to the nozzle. It should have a screen in the end that attaches to the tank (older models had a cloth screen with a metal retainer, models after 1989 have a 1 piece metal and plastic screen.
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