OT: Best way to clean BERBER carpet

[jennifer293]

I have berber in our bedrooms and up 14 stairs and I HATE IT!!! Well a few days ago one of my DD's got sick with RED FRUIT PUNCH on the off white berber and I have a HUGE stain in her room (even after an hour of scrubbing on my hands and knees). I need to clean all of the carpet anyway and I was wondering what was the best machine to clean it with or should I have it professionally done.

I would like to eventually get all new carpet or put hardwood through out the rest of the house, but if I want to go to Disney in July we will have to go cheap right now..LOL


TIA

 

[Mellie2162]

I need to get our carpets cleaned entirely too, but generally for spots and nasty stains I use my Bissell Spot Bot. I love it. It uses a combination of the Bissell shampoo and that oxyclean stuff. Before my dog died he had an intestinal obstruction and vomited dark red blood in several areas of our house. My spot bot cleaned it right up.

 

[Mkaz]

If you are looking to just do that one spot for now, I would recommend Blue Coral. It is a foam spray. It's in a blue can. It really works great. DS got sick in my van one time and it wasn't pretty. I had to clean the entire seat and the carpet. It took the odor out too.

We used to own a Bissell Big Green Machine. It had a power head just like a vacuum. We really liked it. We gave it away when we bought our house. We ripped up all of the berber after we moved in because we just couldn't stand it. I swear that two of the worst inventions ever are berber carpet and drop ceilings.

I hope that you get the stain out.

 

[jennifer293]

If you are looking to just do that one spot for now, I would recommend Blue Coral. It is a foam spray. It's in a blue can. It really works great. DS got sick in my van one time and it wasn't pretty. I had to clean the entire seat and the carpet. It took the odor out too.

We used to own a Bissell Big Green Machine. It had a power head just like a vacuum. We really liked it. We gave it away when we bought our house. We ripped up all of the berber after we moved in because we just couldn't stand it. I swear that two of the worst inventions ever are berber carpet and drop ceilings.

I hope that you get the stain out.

Well we have lived here for 3 years and I had it cleaned before we moved in because parents lived here before I did and my mother is a smoker, so I had to get that smell out of here. All of the carpet really needs to be done and I am afraid if I do one spot it will be cleaner than the rest of the carpet..LOL

I wish I had the money right now to rip it all up because it is the worst stuff ever made!!!!

 

[princesscj]

I hate berber carpet as well!!!

I have so many stains in mine, ugh!

Good luck with this....

 

[PaulaSue]

I have a Hoover steam cleaner and i have good luck getting stains out with it. Pretreat the stain and HOT as you can get water.

I love my carpet, it is all through the house, but for the terrible way the seams were done in the middle of the rooms. It was original to our townhouse 12 years ago and it still is in good shape but for the seams.

 

[tildebtduewepart]

Why do you all hate berber so much? I just ordered some for my house (living room) and now you are making me very nervous.

Is it harder to clean/vacuum than plush? I thought it was supposed to be more durable than regular plush carpeting.

aaaahhhhh - with so much $ on the line, have I made a bad decision?

 

[hapandpam]

We have had a berber for approximately 13 years in our family room and dining area. What I don't like is that it isn't plush, and doesn't have that soft feeling, even with a good pad. What I do like is the durability. We have 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 children and it has held up amazingly well with many accidents of every sort you can imagine. It does need to be replaced at this point, but it has really held up with a lot of use (and abuse).

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Nothing against berber here. It's great for rooms with high traffic. I think it holds up very well. I wish I had put more of it down.

I've tried many products, and BY FAR, the best carpet products I have found to use are Nature's Miracle (uses enzymes - very safe), and Spot Shot (must ventilate well).

I have treated many carpet spots! I NEVER scrub spots - in truth, this just drives the stain deeper into the carpet in most cases.

I usually start with Nature's Miracle, and let that soak for at least a few hours. I put it in a spray bottle. It works great on clothing stains too - especially if you don't wet the shirt first. The quicker you use it the better. You might improve the results if you treat the spot a second time.

Spot Shot is not especially good stuff to breathe, but it will remove almost any stain - even dried blood!

After I treat most spots, I go over them with my home steam cleaner. (especially to remove the Spot Shot) I forget the brand, it's kind of getting old anyhow...if you don't need to use one like I do, you have two options - you can rent a pretty good one, or you can hire a professional. I think the pros are worth the money. Even the rental is not nearly as powerful as the kind of steam cleaner they use. Just don't get sucked into buying extras from them. Good luck!

 

[rockyroad]

Why do you all hate berber so much? I just ordered some for my house (living room) and now you are making me very nervous.

Is it harder to clean/vacuum than plush? I thought it was supposed to be more durable than regular plush carpeting.

aaaahhhhh - with so much $ on the line, have I made a bad decision?

I love mine.

Some of it is 12 years old and has been flooded in the past. The insurance company paid us for it, we replaced part of the house but much was still in good shape and with kids it wasn't worth the expense to replace it.

When we picked out this carpet, we put the samples out on the patio. We liked this color and it blends with the color of the soil in our yard. After the samples got rained on a bit, we quickly decided that this was the stuff.

I would like to change it out eventually, but with three kids in college now, it's going to be with us a while longer...unless I win the lottery...

Oh yeah, after the flood(caused by a broken ice marker line while we were out of town) the restoration guys used the steam cleaner machines... and not the one on a truck. The ones on a truck are wonderful, but expensive. For my house it would be around $500, so I have a steam cleaner and do a bit when I have the time and energy.

 

[arminnie]

Why do you all hate berber so much? I just ordered some for my house (living room) and now you are making me very nervous.

I don't hate berber carpeting, but I found that it did take some getting used to. If you have sensitive feet at all, it can feel a little harsh (like sisal) when you are barefoot.

Also some of the older berber was terrible about staining. I had some from about 15 years ago. I had a leak and the reclamation guy that came out told me how much trouble they had with wool berber - even water would make an indelible stain on it. (My flood did not go on the carpet).

I feel certain that today's berber does not have that staining problem. It looks great and is very durable when it comes to wear.

 

[rockyroad]

I don't hate berber carpeting, but I found that it did take some getting used to. If you have sensitive feet at all, it can feel a little harsh (like sisal) when you are barefoot.

Also some of the older berber was terrible about staining. I had some from about 15 years ago. I had a leak and the reclamation guy that came out told me how much trouble they had with wool berber - even water would make an indelible stain on it. (My flood did not go on the carpet).

I feel certain that today's berber does not have that staining problem. It looks great and is very durable when it comes to wear.

Well, mine is not wool, so maybe that is why is has held up so well.
And I did really abuse the carpet sample before we chose it. The abuse included leaving the samples out in the rain, so maybe that is why we had good luck with it holding up to the flood.

 

[jennifer293]

I have a Hoover steam cleaner and i have good luck getting stains out with it. Pretreat the stain and HOT as you can get water.

I love my carpet, it is all through the house, but for the terrible way the seams were done in the middle of the rooms. It was original to our townhouse 12 years ago and it still is in good shape but for the seams.

I went ahead today and went to Walmart and bought the Hoover Steam Cleaner. I have cleaned everything but the stairs and all of the stains have came out thus far. For the "fruit punch stain" I sprayed scrubbing bubbles on it first.. I figured if it can clean my toilet and tub it can take a stain out of my carpet. I had to go over it a few times but it did come up. YAY!!!!

I do know if I build another home it will not have any carpet in it!!!!!!! I don't care how much more wood costs!!!

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[daemom]

Scrubbing bubbles!! That's great that it worked! I've found a cleaner called Folex that works great on spots! I bought it at Target, but have seen it at Wal-Mart and Lowes.

 

[rach2674]

We bought a house almost a year ago that was about a year old. It has berber through most of the house and I'm not thrilled. I've had it before and it seems to show stains easily. And this house is horrible. I don't know what these people did, but if you walk barefoot on it your feet are black in about an hour. It's disgusting. I'm either going to try to get it cleaned or get something to do it myself. We have an older steamer, but it doesn't do anything. Not sure what type I should get, so any suggestions would be great.

Rachel

 

[jennifer293]

Just finished the 14 stairs going to the upstairs and I sprayed the scrubbing bubbles on each step and let it sit while I did the next one. It took all the dirt out of those as well. They look like brand new stairs...I am so happy all of my carpet is FINALLY stain free!!!!!! Now off to another project!!


****Note: When using the scrubbing bubbles as with any chemical in the home open the windows for plenty of ventilation until the carpet dries somewhat!!

 

[jennifer293]

We bought a house almost a year ago that was about a year old. It has berber through most of the house and I'm not thrilled. I've had it before and it seems to show stains easily. And this house is horrible. I don't know what these people did, but if you walk barefoot on it your feet are black in about an hour. It's disgusting. I'm either going to try to get it cleaned or get something to do it myself. We have an older steamer, but it doesn't do anything. Not sure what type I should get, so any suggestions would be great.

Rachel

Well mine was not to the point that it turned my feet black but it was when my parents lived here.. (Mom is not the greatest housekeeper.. )


My suggestion is the Hoover Steamvac and a few cans of SCRUBBING BUBBLES!!!

It worked for me!!!

 

[runwad]

Thats funny cause I really like the berber carpet, mine is probably 14 years old and still looks great, only thing is now they have such pretty colors and mine is a dull gray from the previous home owners when the kids get a little older I'll replace it and get more berber unless they come up with something better by then. Hardwood floors look nice but they get so dusty with little dust balls in the corners all the time and if you live in the north way too cold in the winter and hard, did I mention hard???? Who wants to lay on the floor at night watching tv on a hardwood floor, I'll take my berber anyday but hey that's why I live in my house and you live in yours.

 

[tildebtduewepart]

Thanks for the input on the berber. We have 4 dogs and an 11 year old so durability wins at this point, over comfort. When it is time to replace it, we should be at a different stage in life and may make a different choice when replacing it. Hardwood was an option, but at $7K, not really viable!

thanks for all the positive feedback.

 

[angwill]

I love my berber so much I took out all the shag and replaced it with berber. My living room berber is an off white with flecks of color and we have had it for 11 years and there are only a couple of stains that would not come out. One was when my mother spilled coffee on it and put a pillow over it to hide it and was too lazy to clean it and too embarrassed to tell me so I could clean it and it sat like that for the week she stayed with us. The other is the cigarette burn she put in it that same week. I use a hoover steam vac pro on my carpet and it gets it really clean. I also use resolve for spots. I have a husband, child, and father in law who all refuse to take their shoes off at the door so it takes a lot of abuse too. I think some people just prefer shag and that is ok for them but I personally love berber.

Angela