Good Investment for side work? I got a shopvac and an array of products...home depot didnt have a shampooer for me so id like to ask the experts where to find one for a good price and of good quality

The best way to clean carpet is with a carpet extractor or steam cleaner. I'm not a fan of shampoo cleaners. an extractor removes the dirt/chemicals from deep inside the fibers for the best cleaning. steam cleaning is also good. in both cases you remove the dirt into a receptor tank, a shampooer only moves the dirt around. Gary

Agree wholeheartedly with "Old Poly-Breath" on this one - the extractor is the way to go. They're calling for rain all this long weekend up here and I plan to hit the Home Depot, pick one up and do both Caddys - after the domicile is done, of course. Can't let the little lady of the house down now, can I?

how much you think these will set me back

For a good one, probably around 400-500 bucks.

i think my brother is gonna start work for kirby soon, do they have any good extractors/vac/etc

Old kirby vacs are like tanks... they run forever. Not sure about their extractors though, haven't had any experience with those.

Me either - but Kirby has never made crap. so I would be comfortable getting something with their name on it,,,,,,

kirby shampooer is crap. New commercial portable extractors are over $1000 you can find some on ebay cheap you want 100psi to effectively clean with that is if you plan on doing alot of interiors.

EuroSteam just came out with this model:

http://eurosteam.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=23_37&osCsid=708f708b9e130b9b9635acc0b1edd42c

This is what I use to clean the house carpets and my cars with. I purchased it at Sears, but I think WalMart may sell them also. This one is the Deluxe model but the Plus model is just as good and is about $200.00. The only difference in the two is that the deluxe model has a (supposedly) power driven hand tool, which is too bulky to use in the car. There's also an Ultra model. They each have a hand tool for upholstery and it is perfect to do your car with. I've used several differnet kinds of these machines and this one is very user friendly and is by far the best at efficient cleaning. Use the Hoover solution, which can be purchased at WatMart for about $9.00. A friend of mine purchased Hoover's new model that heats the water. It is not user friendly, nor worth the extra price. Hopefully this will include a picture of the unit, if not it is called "SteamVac" by Hoover.