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Homemade dry foam shampoo for kirby

Submitted by Debbie

I have a Kirby vacuum/shampooer and have not been able to afford any shampoo for it. I have searched the internet for a couple of years now to try and find a recipe where I could make my own. Yesterday I found one and I would just like to share it. It works just as good if not better than the Kirby dry foam shampoo. Please test a small area first. (This recipe is for shampooers that use dry foam cleaner)

Mix all ingredients in a large bucket then lightly stir to mix. Add the WATER first to cut down on all the bubbles.

3 quarts WATER
3 Tbs DISHSOAP
1 Tbs WHITE VINEGAR
1/2 tsp AMMONIA

If you have any stubborn spots you can pre-treat with any window cleaner.

Visitors comments

works great Comments By: John R I tried this mixture, and it works just as good if not better than the Kirby brand stuff, for a fraction of the price. THANK YOU DEBBIE !!   i will try today Comments By: Imus Im going to try this mixture out and see how well it works, I used to work for Kirby and I'm pretty much hooked on the Kirby brand shampoo. I hope this works as I can't afford shampoo atm   Geat Tip Comments By: Jocelyn Bishop Where can I buy dish soap - is it the same as washing up liquid TipKing says: Yes it is   Worked well Comments By: Jocelyn Bishop Well done to Debbie for tip. Tried on my carpet and worked. Will not be using Kibby brand again. Didn't know what dishsoap was but used washing up liquid and no problem at all. All items will now be kept in my storage cupboard for future use. WELL DONE will save me pounds.   THANKYOU Comments By: christy Will be very keen to try this, just did my carpets using the kirby stuff and went through nearly a whole bottle to do 3 rooms...i am new at this too!   "Idiots"! Comments By: Mr. Knowitall You are leaving SOAP, in on your carpet. Detergent needs to be RINSED_OUT. Now how are you going to RINSE your carpet??? I own a Vacuum Shop and I've researched many angles to save my customers their hard-earned money. But this is childsplay. If you steam clean your carpet, you wont need any soap. It'll still be right there, where your kids are itching on it. Some things are not worth saving a few bucks. Good-luck!   Haven't tried it yet but just wondering Comments By: Anon Mr.knowitall, you are one of them, you're in sales, why would you want anyone to be able to replace a product you probably sell? It's only 3 Table spoon to a whole 3 quarts of water, can't be to much soap to remove. Obviously if a person can't afford something as simple as carpet shampoo then it's highly likley they won't be able to afford a carpet steamer, besides Im sure the stuff Kirby sells isn't rocket science. Since you deal with carpet supplys what would you suggest a person uses since you care so much about trying to help people save money.   Comment on Dishsoap Comments By: Sondy Dishsoap is just what you use to wash your dishs, (Dawn, Joy ect.) In responce to leaving dishsoap in your carpet. If feel safe with that since we also eat off of the dishes that are washed in it. I agree with the other person that 3 tbp. for three quarts is not bad and you collect most of that with the dirty water. I'm trying this tonight. Thanks soo much!   Great Money Saver Comments By: Sondy I used this recipe last night and it works great! I think that I will cut the dishsoap down to 2 tbsp. because it built up foam on the front of my Kirby. Otherwise it was great. There is no odor left behind and I realy like that. I have 3 inside dogs and it took care of all the dirty spot. I'll never buy shampoo for my kirby again. Thanks so much.   Thank You Thank You Comments By: Brittani I Found This Recipe Over A Week Ago And Hesitated To Use It... I Have Now Used It To Clean 6 Of Rooms And Plan To Finish The Last Room Today. Works Wonderfully And Saving SO Much Money Makes It Even More Wonderful. Thank You Thank You Thank You For Your Help. ** Thought I'd Add That Once This Recipe Is Made You Don't Have To Use 3 Cups Of It + Water As You Would The Kirby Shampoo Which Is Concentrated. You Just Fill Up Your Kirby Tank With This Solution As Is. It Is Not Concentrated... Took Me A Few Mins To Figure That Part Out :)   money saver! Comments By: Caileen This recipe works great! I used Tide this last time because I was out of dish soap & it worked just as well. And smells great too!   AWESOME RECIPE Comments By: Garry What a great recipe, works better than the Kirby shampoo without a doubt. Just make sure that you do not use this stuff as you would with the Kirby shampoo, meaning this is not a concentrate, just put it straight into the tank. As my memory serves me a friend over 10 years ago had a Kirby and used to use this recipe, I think it may have been a trade secret amoung Kirby salesman and people who used these machines commercially. I have 3 cats and and used this recipe today on some stains - all gone and very happy.   Looking to save money and found this!! Comments By: Hughlene I just cleaned my carpet with the Kirby shampoo and planed on cleaning more often. BUT the cost of the KS was going to eat my breakfast (so to speak). That is when I thought to Google a homemade recipe. There are 6 (small dogs) here and two of them are allergic to some soaps. I was thrilled to see some one used laundry soap. I will be trying this recipe with the laundry soap that the dogs tolerate next week. I will also try some of the oxygen laundry additive t see if it helps with odors. The KS didn't do as well as I had hoped. THANKS!!   Certified Carpet Tech. Comments By: Anthony Well I've been injured for over 9 months now and even a pro carpet guy like me cannot afford a professional extraction so I busted out my Kirby and desided to try the shampooer and I have no shampoo so here I am. A couple things alarmed me about the ingredients. You see carpet manufacturers apply a protecter to your carpet and as a consumer you are trying to keep your carpet for as long as possible so chemically it is possible to remove the protectant. I am only doing this in a pinch and stains will absolutely stick now that the protectant is GONE! So as soon as I can I will be needing a full steam extraction to remove most of the residue that will for sure remain after this process and also carpet protectant reaplied and brushed in. The good news is that my carpet is pretty clean looking on the top and I paid 0. I'm sure some people are like well I have heavily soiled carpet so more soap and ammonia. This would be a huge mistake so be smart and only do a once over and let dry and do it again so the carpet backing does not get wet(LATEX) does not like water. Be careful not to delaminate your carpet. So don't over due it. and I also towel dried the top portion of the carpet and yes I removed even more remaining soil and residue. But so far this method is only ok for the life of your carpet ,not good. But like I said my carpet looks pretty good. And I'm concerned for the resoiling timeline. Will It be sticky and attract dirt and be dirty looking again in a month. Time will tell and I will let you all know. Alot of info just tryin to share with you all who might not know. Also the kirby guy slipped up and said to refill a single bottle is like 2.00-3.00 dollars. So ofcoarse the vacuum salesman will say that but he is right to some degree. (ALL) CLEANING METHODS WILL LEAVE A TRACE!!!!!!!!!!!! I know. I took the full coarse and am certified. I'm not sure how to rate this because in a pinch it's a 5 for sure cause it looke so good when finished. But my experience tells me that only the top is partially clean and not a complete job so I'm going with a 4   Thinking about using it Comments By: Daniel Gonzales From all the good comments im thinkiing about using it. I hope it works . My carpet is dirty!!!   Worked Great! Comments By: Michele Thank you for the recipe -- Worked Well!! I'm passing it along!   question how to use Comments By: mike I tried the recipe but was not sure how to use with the shampooer tank. Do I consider the recipe as premixed and pour directly into the tank or fill the tank to one level and add a capfull of the recipe.   dishsoap or washup soap Comments By: Mike I have never heard of washup soap. where do I buy it.   STOP THE MADNESS! Comments By: Old Carpet Veteran Okay, I am going to tell you EXACTLY why nobody should use this assinine recipe, but first you have to understand exactly HOW Dry Foam Shampoo works. There are TWO kinds of shampoo (NOT to be confused with detergent, or soap. They all ALL DIFFERENT and have there own unique purpose.) The first shampoo is what's considered a "Wet" shampoo....old technology and the 2nd is a "Dry" shampoo....New technology. The wet shampoo does NOT crysalize and MUST be rinsed out. It simply loosens soil from the fibers so an extractor can easily rinse the soils and shampoo away, that's all and nothing more. The dry shampoo, like the kirby shampoo on the other hand will crystalize when dry, holding the encapulated soil within itself ready to be dry vacuumed away once completely dry. Of course you can also rinse and extract afterwards too if you like, but it's not nessasary. Now, this....concoction that you guys are using is nothing less that a bucket full of disaster. First, NEVER, EVER use dishwashing, or laundry detergent on a carpet. It will NEVER crystalize and will simply lay there, leaving behind a terrible residue that will only attract layers and layers of soil until you finally rinse that yuk away. As for the vineger....The only thing that will do is lower the ph of that witches brew of a concoction. White vinegar is wonderful to use for tannin stains and to lower the ph of a chemical, but that's pretty much it as it is an acid and acids STOP the soil removal process. As for the ammonia added to the mix....WHY? It doesn't make sense. Including ammonia into a mix with vinegar is an oxymoron. You see, ammonia is an alkaline...the OPPOSITE of vinager. That would be like trying to drive you car with your foot on the brake pedal. Get it? Now, if you want to use a solution of just 7% Clear ammonia and 93% water for a wonderful, self neutralizing spotter and blood stain remover that will last you a life time, then have at it. But do NOT mix it with vinegar. And finally, if you people want this old carpet cleaning veteran for 30 years opinion on DIY carpet cleaning that REALLY WORKS, then I reccomend using Capture Dry Cleaning Compound. It's made by Milliken, a carpet manufacture, so they know what they're doing and it works beautifly. Host is another great Dry cleaning product and BOTH are approved by the Carpet And Rug institute....Unlike this witches Brew I read about here. Of course you could always hire a pro like me, or simply shell out the extra few dollars for the darn Kirby shampoo and be done with it. That's my 2 cents.