Tornado® PS Spotter 2-Gallon Portable Carpet Spotter, 55 PSI

It's the last apartment on your turnover list, and there's a coffee ring on the bedroom carpet two flights up. The box extractor is in the van, it weighs more than you want to haul up a stairwell, and a towel will only push the stain into the backing. The Tornado PS Spotter is the machine you bring for that job. It's a portable carpet spotter that weighs 20 pounds, has a grip molded right into its body, and fits in a car trunk or on a closet shelf.

Small doesn't mean weak. A 55 psi pump sprays solution through the clear-view hand tool, and a 1.2 hp vacuum motor pulls it back up at 94 CFM and 84 inches of water lift, so the spot is flushed and extracted instead of left soaked. The 25-foot cord is 10 feet longer than the Pro Spotter's, which means fewer trips to find the next outlet.

Tornado covers it for 2 years on parts, 2 years on labor and 10 years on the rotomolded body, and we're an authorized Tornado retailer, so that warranty starts the day it arrives.

Which One Do I Need: PS Spotter or Pro Spotter?

Both are Tornado spotters, both spray at 55 psi, and both sell for $999. The difference is where the machine lives.

• PS Spotter (#98220) if the spotter travels with you. At 20 pounds you carry it up stairs, into a car, onto a boat or across a parking lot in one hand. The 25-foot cord helps when outlets are far apart. It's the better fit for auto detailers, carpet cleaning routes, property managers doing turnovers, and anyone cleaning upholstery in several buildings.

• Pro Spotter (#TE010-G03-U) if the spotter stays on one floor and rolls. It holds 3.5 gallons of solution instead of 2, pulls harder (104 CFM and 89 inches of lift), has a 13-foot hose and a telescoping handle, and weighs 35 pounds. For a hotel housekeeping closet or a school custodial cart, it does more per fill.

The honest note: if the machine will mostly roll down hallways, the Pro Spotter gives you more tank and more suction for the same money. Pick the PS Spotter when weight and size are what decide it.

The Owner's Insights on the PS Spotter

The PS Spotter is two tanks stacked on top of each other. The recovery tank sits on the solution tank, held by two latches. Flip them, lift the top tank off, and pour it out through the hose inlet. The solution tank has a wide mouth, so you fill it straight from a sink or bucket without a funnel. When you're done, the cord wraps up and tucks through the molded handle, and the whole machine is about the size of a small cooler.

Now the honest part. This is a spot machine. Two gallons and an 8-foot hose is the right amount for a stain, a chair, a car interior or a flight of stairs, not a whole room. There's no heater, and the box comes with the hand tool only; the floor wand and the steel pull handle are optional extras. It also isn't a dry vacuum, because it has no dust filter. If you need to clean rooms rather than spots, look at the Tornado Marathon SE 900 instead.

Why You'll Love the PS Spotter

• 20 pounds with a molded-in lift grip. One hand carries it up a stairwell or into a trunk, and there's no bolted-on handle to work loose.

• 94 CFM and 84 inches of water lift. Strong enough to pull the rinse water back out, so the spot dries instead of wicking the stain back up overnight.

• 25-foot power cord. Reaches across a hotel room, down a church aisle or around a car without hunting for another outlet.

• Clear-view hand tool. You watch the dirty water come up the tool and stop rinsing when it runs clear.

• Quiet, compact design. Tornado says the PS Spotter's quiet running has made it a favorite in health care and school buildings, where you clean around people.

• Float shut-off. When the recovery tank is full, a float closes off the suction to protect the vacuum motor. Empty it and carry on.

What Can You Clean With a Portable Carpet Spotter?

Tornado lists carpet spills and stains, upholstery and furniture, and car, boat and RV interiors. In practice that means the coffee spill in a lobby, the stained seat in a waiting room, carpeted stairs a walk-behind can't reach, restaurant booths, and the seats and floor mats on a dealership lot. For bigger carpet spots, add the optional stainless Tornado 98347 drag wand so you can work standing up.

Setup, Care and Replacement Parts

Unlatch and lift off the recovery tank, pour up to 2 gallons of water no hotter than 140°F into the solution tank with a low-foaming extraction chemical, and check that the foam motor filter is in place. Latch the tank back on, connect the hose and hand tool, plug in, and set the rear switch to vacuum and spray. Keep defoamer in the recovery tank, and use the vacuum-only setting for a last dry pass.

After each job, rinse both tanks, flush the pump with a quart of clean water and an ounce of white vinegar, and rinse the foam filter. Once a month, Tornado recommends flushing 8 parts water to 1 part vinegar through the machine. If the spray jet clogs, soak it and rinse it, but never poke it with a pin or wire, because that bends the spray pattern and leaves streaks. Machines shipped in winter can arrive with washer antifreeze in the lines, so run clean water through it before the first job.

Tornado's part numbers for the add-ons and spares: 8-foot solution and vacuum hose 30744, clear utility tool 30857, 4-inch upholstery tool 98343, 6-inch stair tool 98344, 18-inch crevice detailer 98342 and steel transport handle kit 31215. Hoses count as wear items under the warranty. Message us a part number and we'll quote it. Our guide on how long carpet takes to dry after cleaning covers what to do once the spot is out.

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Add the PS Spotter to your cart, or message us first if you're equipping several vans or buildings and want to talk quantities.