Supported by Britex
It’s been a crazy start to 2020 and not in a good way! Where I live in Canberra, we had hazardous smoke levels for weeks on end, which was impossible to keep out of the house. Before having to lock the house up again over winter, I wanted to deep clean our home — especially tackling our rugs and upholstered items that smoke could have seeped into.
I assumed this is a job I would need to hire the professionals to do but flicking through one of the latest Bunnings magazines, I saw an advert for a Britex cleaner. It looked impressive so I did a bit more research into it and loved what I discovered:
- a machine you can hire for a daily rate from Bunnings, Woolworths (and selected Coles, IGA and hardware stores)
- one that uses gentle yet effective cleaners that won’t damage the materials in your home (or be harmful to your family or the environment)
- a simple to use yet powerful machine that achieves results
- a cleaning mechanism that research shows can reduce the bacterial load by up to 99.95% (using a Britex Carpet Cleaner with Britex Cleaning Solutions in a high traffic office area).
I decided to give it a go and intended to hire it for just a few days but when I saw the results that came out of that barrel, I decided to clean just about everything in my home!
I got a lot of questions about the machine when I shared my cleaning efforts on social media so I created a video below for those of you also looking to deep clean your home or you can keep reading for more.
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How does the cleaner work?
The machine has two main tanks. In Tank B, you add the cleaning product and warm water (the ratio of water and cleaning product is on the bottle but generally around 9L of warm water and 2-4 capfuls of cleaning solution). Once you’ve cleaned the area, the liquid that is vacuumed back into the machine will go into Tank A so it’s also important to add 2 capfuls of their defoamer product to this barrel before you start.
There are different attachments depending on what you want to clean — a smaller upholstery head that’s ideal for your sofa or car, and a larger carpet wand that’s suited to bigger areas.
Once the machine is filled and ready to go, simply press the ‘PUMP’ button and hold the trigger on the handle for the warm water and cleaning solution to come out. Work in sections and then go back over and ‘VAC’ the area you just did.
When you’ve finished, empty Tank A of the grubby water and if there’s still liquid left in Tank B, you can open the valve to release it.
There are stickers all over the machine with instructions and they also have a comprehensive YouTube channel here with helpful videos.
What can you clean with it?
You can clean just about any upholstered item (other than curtains) including:
- sofa
- rugs
- carpet
- upholstered chairs
- upholstered bedheads
- mattresses.
The vacuum on the machine is incredibly powerful so the item you’re washing need to have structure which is why curtains aren’t suitable.
How well does it clean?
I have never been more impressed by cleaning results in my life! I was sceptical as to how well this machine would clean — but it has budged the most stubborn stains in my home.
In Patrick’s room, I had a large coffee stain that had been there for over a year that I had given up on. I’d tried spot cleaning it with special carpet cleaners from the supermarket, wool wash and other DIY formulas I’d heard were good online, but nothing worked. Using the Britex ‘Spot n’ Stain’ spray on the area and then going over it with the carpet cleaner completely eliminated the stain.
It also removed all of the stains and discolouration from our sofa, and all of the stains from our wool rug. Some stubborn stains did require me to go over the area a couple of times but there were significant results each time.
Is it safe to use?
If you’re concerned about whether the cleaning solutions or machine may damage an item in your home, it’s best to use it in an inconspicuous area first. I used the machine on a range of fabrics including felt (dining chairs), wool (carpets and rug) and synthetic fibres (polyester and viscose blend on my sofa) without any issues.
There are no toxic smells and areas are safe to use immediately afterwards although it’s best to allow carpet to dry fully before walking on it.
How much does it cost?
The machine costs under $40 a day to hire and the cleaners cost between $8.50-$21.50.
I used less than 1 2L bottle of carpet cleaner to clean all 4 of the carpeted bedrooms in our home and 2 large area rugs. Also, I used just 1 bottle of upholstery cleaner to clean our sofa, rocking chair, 8 dining chairs, 2 cars and mattresses.
I will be hiring this machine annually to deep clean our home. It’s also a great option for people who have ended a lease and need to hand a property back over — the results are better than professional carpet cleaners I’ve hired in the past and at a fraction of the cost.
Would you recommend it?
If you couldn’t tell by this glowing write up already, the answer is yes, Yes, YES! I’ve been raving about the machine to my friends and family for weeks and generally what I tell them is:
- it’s excellent value for money
- it works better than any cleaning product or machine I’ve EVER used
- all the cleaners are non-toxic and safe to use
- it’s quicker and easier to use than it appears
- you’ll find cleaning becomes addictive and your home will thank you for it!
And of course, I always show them the video of what came out of that barrel! You can catch it at the end of the video above but I just love seeing people’s reaction to how filthy that water is, ha ha.
If you have any other questions about the Britex machine or how you can deep clean your home, post them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you. You can also find more information on the Britex website here.
More cleaning and organising ideas here
Photography by Thorson Photography
