[Lewis Newby]

Am I being stupid here? It says not to mix too hot, but I have tried from luke warm up to hand hot and still cannot fully dissolve it.
The result has been a couple partially blocked jets which so far have cleared themselves, and also lots of white powder residue in the solution tank. This rings alarm bells for my regarding build up damaging the pump.

What am I doing wrong or should I be filtering it?
Only been using half a week, decided to try it after the sample pack as it seemed pretty good stuff.

[john martin]

Am I being stupid here? It says not to mix too hot, but I have tried from luke warm up to hand hot and still cannot fully dissolve it.
The result has been a couple partially blocked jets which so far have cleared themselves, and also lots of white powder residue in the solution tank. This rings alarm bells for my regarding build up damaging the pump.

What am I doing wrong or should I be filtering it?
Only been using half a week, decided to try it after the sample pack as it seemed pretty good stuff.

I never have a problem with this but ... 
 warmish water helps dissolve , agitate it , ie stir it and then fill the remainder ,  or use tap pressure to agitate it in the bucket ,  another good way is to put some in a bucket and ( if u have a prespray lance ) blast it with warm water from the machine .
Any undissolved bits should be stopped by the strainer filter in your clean tank ( u should have one )
And ... get some citric acid powder on ebay and shake a bit in and flush the system at the end of the day or every week . It will dissolve anything u fer might be there .

[Kev Loomes]

As above - the filter should stop any bits in your tank, but the hotter the water the easier it is to dissolve (like an powder).  Also have you got filters on your wand? If not get an inline filter - this may help your cause with blocked jets.

Not quite related but another good tip is to get an old solution line and cut it so that you have length enough from where you connect it on your machine - to reach in to the waste tank, so when you finish a job empty all your waste then use the remaining hot water in your clean tank to rinse the waste tank out with your pump running and gate valve open. It gets nicely in to the nooks and crannys leaving it nice and clean and doesn't smell (all the fluff gets dislodged really easily as opposed to waiting until your tank is dry). Even better when using an acid rinse and a deodouriser

[Lewis Newby]

Thanks guys, il try a little hotter and see how it goes. The product does have a max temp for mixing of around 60degrees I belive so I don't want to affect its performance,  to be fair I have no idea quite how hot my hand hot is.

Both my machines have a filter, but I had a small blockage still which cleared itself, perhaps just a one off but I'm wondering if some had re solidified between jobs overnight or something.

And yes kev I have a priming hose which I use to pump solution through the vac hose and then around the waste tank to keep on top of it. I didnt do it one day last week and my van stank the next day.

Thanks for the replys kev and john

[JandS]

I clean the waste tank after every job....have to empty the tank anyway so might as well make it useful using the method Kevin mentioned.

[Buckland]

I just started using UM as a prespray in a pump up and it does take some effort to dissolve and it makes a milky looking solution and often there is residue in the bucket - not like SPM which hardly ever failed to dissolve and the solution goes completely clear - these are "similar" products right? I bought UM because it is cheaper and I'd not tried it before - haven't been amazed yet but it does do the job...

dave

[Lewis Newby]

Dave, spm is a powdered boosted microsplitter. A pre spray only.

Ultimate master is a detergent and can be used as a pre spray or in tank rinse. That's exactly the problem I'm referring too. Not done the maths on costings, it may be cheaper buy you use more of it. Spm is just 1 small scoop per litre of pre spray as opposed to UM which you might make 30-50litres of solutions for a job if using in tank

[john martin]

Just to show differences /similarities

Going by the data sheets ...

SPM   is  made of             30/50% STPP  ( phosphates )
                                                   5/10%  Sodium carbonate  ( washing soda )
                                                   1/3%  sodium percarbonate   ( oxy bleach )

Ultimate Master is made of     
                                                    50/70% STPP  (phosphates )
                                                     1/10%  Sodium carbonate ( washing soda )
                                                      1/10% sodium percarbonate ( oxy bleach )
                                                       
                                                       1/10% surfactant  ( probably EA )
                                                        1% D-limonine  (orange solvent )
                                                         1% antifoam
                                                          Enzymes ?  (  not mentioned on MDSD but perhaps )

So as u see they are pretty similar apart from the additional ingredients UM has , which to me could only be beneficial to the cleaning process . 

[scott johns]

never had a problem with um just fill machine up heaters on wait to hits about 50c then add
um slowly it dissolves easily excellent product

[Mike Halliday]

Just to show differences /similarities

Going by the data sheets ...

SPM   is  made of             30/50% STPP  ( phosphates )
                                                   5/10%  Sodium carbonate  ( washing soda )
                                                   1/3%  sodium percarbonate   ( oxy bleach )

Ultimate Master is made of     
                                                    50/70% STPP  (phosphates )
                                                     1/10%  Sodium carbonate ( washing soda )
                                                      1/10% sodium percarbonate ( oxy bleach )
                                                       
                                                       1/10% surfactant  ( probably EA )
                                                        1% D-limonine  (orange solvent )
                                                         1% antifoam
                                                          Enzymes ?  (  not mentioned on MDSD but perhaps )

So as u see they are pretty similar apart from the additional ingredients UM has , which to me could only be beneficial to the cleaning process .

What's would be the  other 30-50% in spm?

[john martin]

These detergent powders have a %bulking agent that doesn't get mentioned ...to bulk the powder , help flow . Prevent clumping etc .
Sodium sulphate.

[Buckland]

Just to show differences /similarities

Going by the data sheets ...

SPM   is  made of             30/50% STPP  ( phosphates )
                                                   5/10%  Sodium carbonate  ( washing soda )
                                                   1/3%  sodium percarbonate   ( oxy bleach )

Ultimate Master is made of     
                                                    50/70% STPP  (phosphates )
                                                     1/10%  Sodium carbonate ( washing soda )
                                                      1/10% sodium percarbonate ( oxy bleach )
                                                       
                                                       1/10% surfactant  ( probably EA )
                                                        1% D-limonine  (orange solvent )
                                                         1% antifoam
                                                          Enzymes ?  (  not mentioned on MDSD but perhaps )

So as u see they are pretty similar apart from the additional ingredients UM has , which to me could only be beneficial to the cleaning process .

thanks john that's interesting - I have not done that comparison I had just been hearing people rave about UM - I know UM does not mix as well but I guess that may be/ is probably irrelevant to its cleaning ability - just been using these two products primarily for last year or so with similar results - I rinse with very hot solution almost always plain water - I am only ever really "surprised" now by results when cleaning so-called Stainmaster or bleachable synthetics

Three or four years ago I used to use PC HeatWave as a metered product thru the wand on the TM until I actually had a blockage inside the solution system! heatwave actually built up and blocked a feed from the HX! tapping the blocked hose produced white powder - I picked up the metal sleeved hose the other day tapped it and there was still detergent powder in the tube! I'll never use an alkaline detergent in the solution system again not at the temps I use anyway...

dave

[tim handley]

um is very very good..........  but, im finding powdered f90 even better and it mixes a lot easier..............

[SteveAllan]

Hey Tim, have  you done a comparison with the F90 and Nitro at all.

[tim handley]

no i havent bought any nitro yet, however im getting fantastic results at very low cost with the powdered f90.............
occasionally with a bit of added  premium citrus  from JK added to the pre spray,  works a treat every time!

[clive ware]

Tim,
are you using formula 90 as a prespray or a rinse?

[tim handley]

depending on job really, if not too bad i just use it in tank, but if doing a bad un, use as a pre spray with a little of restormate orange booster, works amazingly well on virtually any soiling................ rather like the fact its pretty much non foaming as well!!

[Robin Ray]

Tim do you use the F90 at the same dilution as a prespray and an extraction solution?

[tim handley]

i mix the pre spray a tad stronger tbh, depending on the type of carpet and type of soiling............