- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
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.
The sponge filter is in the large opening on the underside of the kirby shampoo tank. It is where the shampoo tank connects to the kirby. The cap the manual is referring to is the shampooer tank cap. It looks like a cup.
If the mesh screen in the hose is in place (try pulling it out of the hose and seating it in the tank where the hose connects.) and you're still having very little suds...(I'm assuming you're using Kirby shampoo as well)...I would suggest going slower when yours "laying down suds". And lower the shampooer head all the way to its lowest setting. I have found if there are a lot of oils in the carpet, the emulsifiers in the shampoo break down quickly and make the suds "disappear".
Be sure to go back over the carpet with the tank in the off position to scoop up any excess moisture. If excessive oil (from cooking, barefeet, and pets are main causes) is the cause of the lack of suds, numerous shampooings will rectify that situation.
there is a little plastic round piece with a mesh screen that should go on the hose part of the shampooer that connects to the tank...make sure that its seated properly since it's this mesh screen that produces the suds
×