Carpet Cleaning

[JamesMom]

For those who bought residential units (Hoover, etc) do they suck up enough water after a year or two? I had one in an apartment about 20 years ago and it left the carpets wet, not damp, but wet after about a year. I trust the comnmercial quality Rug Doctor to get the carpets reasonably dry. And did the brushes hold up? For the cost of a decent home machine I can rent a rug doctor for a few years. Want to know your experiences with the home machines after a year or two to see if it worth it to continue renting or just buy. I am tempted to buy a rug doctor but even with the best Kohls coupon it is still around $400 - a bit steep for me though I am sure it would last a decade.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

OP said she has a few hundred dollars to spend cleaning her carpet. THen why not buy a carpet cleaning machine that you can use over and over again. I bought mine 7 years ago and have gotten my moneies worth. I have the Hoover Wide Steam paid like $299 for it.

That's exactly the machine that I have. I use it a LOT on my pale gray bedroom carpeting. I found that the way to keep it looking cleaner is to shampoo it, and then re-do it with clean, hot water. It takes longer to dry, but doesn't leave the soap residue to attract more dirt.
Oh, and we NEVER walk on it until it is totally dry!

 

[Mrs D]

I love all the input! My DSIL had a residential one then started paying a company to come. I guess I had figured that since she stopped using it, owning one wasn't a good choice.
Now, I'm rethinking....

So how long does it take to dry - for all methods?

 

[churchpilot]

We have the Hoover Steam Vac and it does a good job, but the stains come back and it takes a while for the carpets to dry. A friend came over one day raving about her Electrolux carpet clearner and what an amazing job it does on her worn out, soiled carpet. She ended bringing it over about 2 weeks later and I nearly fainted when she was through with my back traffic area.
She used these little nobby things to pull the nap up and then put different brushes on and the solution she used (turbo shampoo) dried almost instantly (it is considered dry cleaning). My carpet looked brand, spankin new. The shampooers are not cheap, but I found one on Ebay for $60 (retail around $500) and bought three new carpet brushes for it ($80) and I have been happy ever since. I don't have much carpet, but what I do have is gorgeous!

 

[deva]

OOoooo great thread! Those of you who use professional, and have a name, please share it!

Do you move all your furniture - or just everything but the sofas?

We have new carpet, and then some that we have decided to replace instead of clean, but it is taking a bit longer to do that, so I am thinking of trying to clean it.

I live near Cleveland and use Arslanian Brothers, a local company. I have used Stanley Steemer and they did a good job too. I think they are just about everywhere. Key for me is truck mounted system.

I get a 10% discount if furniture is moved, so we move everything. They can clean around big things like entertainment center, dining buffet, bed (as long as you don't want under the bed cleaned).

 

[deva]

I love all the input! My DSIL had a residential one then started paying a company to come. I guess I had figured that since she stopped using it, owning one wasn't a good choice.
Now, I'm rethinking....

So how long does it take to dry - for all methods?

I put on ceiling fans and run a small oscillating fan. With the extra air blowing around they dry in maybe 6-8 hours. I give it 24 hours to dry completely and then re-vacuum before I let the kids on it. I know it is extremely rare, but there is a condition called Kawasaki disease that has been linked to carpet cleaners. I seem to recall that it occurs more often with the DIY cleaning machines and the soap you use with them and has been linked to kids crawling around on wet, freshly shampooed carpet. You can google it for more info.

 

[emh1129]

After using our Hoover SteamVac, the rugs seem very slightly damp. It really sucks up most of the water and you can tell because there is almost as much water in the dirty water chamber at the end as was in the clean water chamber when you started.
They dry very quickly, within 2-3 hours I would say they are completely dry. I also open the sliding door and all windows, if weather cooperates.
We've only had it for maybe 4-ish months, so I can't attest to what it will be like in a year or two. But so far, we really like it.
This is the one we have (but we bought it at Wal-Mart):
http://www.amazon.com/Hoover-F5914-...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1255461604&sr=8-1

In regards to the Rug Doctor rentals- I thought that it did just fine with the cleaning (just a bit expensive and a pain to lug back and forth) but my issue with it was that it seemed to tease the carpet with the brushes, making it.. almost frizzy, if that makes sense?

 

[Cruise]

After using our Hoover SteamVac, the rugs seem very slightly damp. It really sucks up most of the water and you can tell because there is almost as much water in the dirty water chamber at the end as was in the clean water chamber when you started.
They dry very quickly, within 2-3 hours I would say they are completely dry. I also open the sliding door and all windows, if weather cooperates.
We've only had it for maybe 4-ish months, so I can't attest to what it will be like in a year or two. But so far, we really like it.
This is the one we have (but we bought it at Wal-Mart):
http://www.amazon.com/Hoover-F5914-...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1255461604&sr=8-1

Just bought this one on Amazon and should have it by Thursday!

I think owning my own will work out better as I realized I'm going to need it a couple of different days so I'd end up renting a Rug Doctor more than once within a couple weeks.

I think the final selling point though was realizing I didn't really want to have to pick up and return a Rug Doctor from the store in my car.

 

[S. C.]

We own a Rug Doctor and love it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We've had this one around 2 yrs and still works great. I like that I can grab it down from the attic and use whenever I want for however long I like. Esp good after one of the kids gets sick (puke)

It does take a while to dry (overnight) but after washing I go over it again and rinse really well as I have heard too that leaving too much soap on attracts more dirt. I also use less soap than they recommend, keeping it on light traffic mode.

I like the attachment device too. Did my whole minivan in 1-2 hrs. including trunk.

My sister borrowed it and loves it too. We got it at Kohls on sale and with a 30% off coupon, around $160. Even if it dies in 4-5 yrs we get our $$$ worth doing whole house 2x/ yr.

Kids are not allowed any food outside the kitchen except popcorn.


http://www.amazon.com/Bissell-9200-...3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1255628765&sr=8-3

 

[Mom2Ben02]

We have the Hoover Steam Vac and it does a good job, but the stains come back and it takes a while for the carpets to dry. A friend came over one day raving about her Electrolux carpet clearner and what an amazing job it does on her worn out, soiled carpet. She ended bringing it over about 2 weeks later and I nearly fainted when she was through with my back traffic area.
She used these little nobby things to pull the nap up and then put different brushes on and the solution she used (turbo shampoo) dried almost instantly (it is considered dry cleaning). My carpet looked brand, spankin new. The shampooers are not cheap, but I found one on Ebay for $60 (retail around $500) and bought three new carpet brushes for it ($80) and I have been happy ever since. I don't have much carpet, but what I do have is gorgeous!

Can you link me to this carpet cleaner??

 

[churchpilot]

Can you link me to this carpet cleaner??

Do a search on ebay under Electrolux shampooer and several will pop up. Right now the cheapest is $69. The brushes that are mentioned that pull your carpet nap up are called nap brushes. Mine came with the shampoo brushes and the nap brushes. Don't buy imitation shampoo, get the Turbo Shampoo from an electrolux dealer or from a Sewing and Vacuum shop. I think Lowes carries Electrolux, but they have been renames Aeres or something like that. Hope this helps. Will PM you the info too in case you gave up on my responding!

 

[Darkside]

I am an owner of a professional carpet cleaning business in 2 states(Florida and Alabama) for over 20 years. First of all, we recommend that our customers get a home cleaning system like Hoover, Green Machine, Rug Doctor, etc. They are great for homes with pets and kids. We recommend any type of branded pre-treater, but just use clear, clean, hot water as your rinse solution. Carpet manufacturers(please see your manufacturer warranty for specifics) generally require that your carpet be professionally cleaned at least once every 18 months to maintain their carpet warranty, we recommend professional cleaning once a year. White Vinegar (acetic acid) can be used for a cleaning solution, but is a little over kill, it is very good at treating urine contamination. One home pre-treater you can use is 1 table spoon of a clear laundry detergent to 24-32 ozs. of water(use a beauty supply spray bottle). PLEASE NOTE-only use a non-bleach(labeled sometimes as sodium hypochlorite) laundry detergent. The laundry detergent companies use the best cleaning chemicals like non-ionic and ionic surfactants, enzymes, etc. If anyone is interested I would be happy to email a home spotting guide for free. The guide shows you how to use rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and other house hold items to spot your carpets safely. Hope this helps.