Odd Question about Carpet Shampooing around a Fish Tank

[tiwali]

Hello everyone.

I have heard some horror stories about people using Carpet Cleaners around their fish tanks and having disastrous results. I haven't shampooed the carpet since getting a tank but here is the setup. I have a 90-gallon tank with corner overflow with Glass Tops and the bottom of the tank sits about 3 feet off the ground on the stand.

The front of the stand has a magnetic cover on it and behind it is my 29-gallon sump that is completely open inside the stand.

My carpet shampooer is my Kirby Vacuum which cleans via foam rather than a spray. So the question is can I use this thing in the same room as the fish tank without adverse effects or do I need to give it a wide berth?

My wife wants to clean the carpets in the living room and I want to make sure we aren't going to do any damage to the tank.

 

[GaryE]

I don't know if you'll get a definite answer. There are a lot of factors with different cleansers, etc. I would do it with the windows open, any air filtration or bubblers temporarily turned off, the tank covered, etc. Really prepping for it would be quick and easy.

There is always a risk, but it probably isn't a huge one.

 

[Colin_T]

I used a Bissel carpet shampooer around my tanks and never had an issue. It used a liquid shampoo mixed with water and had a minor perfume odor to it but I never had issue.

I did use air pumps to run the filters. My tanks had coverglass. I did have the window open and we used to have the air-conditioner running. It was an evaporative air-conditioner that sat on the roof and sucked air in from outside and pumped it into each room via ducting. So any fumes that might have been an issue would have been blown out the window.

If there is a really strong perfume in the shampoo, make sure there is plenty of air flow in the room.

I think you will be fine and shouldn't have an issue. If you're really concerned, put a cover over the trickle filter/ sump, open the window/s in the room and put a fan in the doorway so it blows air into the room from outside that room.

 

[emeraldking]

I do clean the carpet but with the doors open... Haven't had any problems yet by using a carpet cleanser.

 

[Magnum Man]

I would just shut off anything that would make intrusion into the aquarium easier ( like air pumps, maybe even any filters not sealed ( I wouldn’t worry about canister filters, but maybe open topped hang on tank filters ) and would guess the type of cleaner used, probably varies a lot, pay attention to any instructions on the bottle…

 

[CassCats]

I've not had an issue with our carpet cleaner, but if in doubt it's always safe to cover the aquarium when you work