Compared to other portables available today the Power mate is not very powerful and can hardly be described as a professional machine for the professional carpet cleaning operator. This kind of machine is ok for the occasional 'in house' clean up of establishments like nursing homes, etc. Would be very hard work using this day in day out. When I started 35 years ago machines of this power were all we had, so we had to make up for the lack of performance by using strong alkaline chemicals to achieve a result. This is not acceptable today. It's difficult I know when funds wont allow better equipment, but without the right equipment, how are you going to get the job done? I had no money when I was starting, I had to borrow off my mother to get my first extraction machine, then struggled for ages to pay her back, but it got me going.
Dave.