Hurley's Gold

Cleaning your own carpets

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  • TX69

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    Dec 23, 2012
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    The wife is on me to call and get a company to come out and clean our carpets. Between myself and two big dogs we make a good mess that needs a commercial type machine to suck the dirt out. In an effort to save a few bucks I don't mind renting the machine and doing the work myself.

    Has anyone here rented a Rug doctor machine from the grocery store and done their own carpets? How well did it go and would you do it again?
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    Feb 1, 2010
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    Nothing you can rent has the "suck" that those commercial machines have. Look for coupons. It's worth having a pro do it. Just went through this.

    FYI, most new carpets get damaged from steam. Hot water good, steam bad.
     

    CanTex

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    Mar 4, 2009
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    Tips for cleaning. Vacuum, clean out the vacuum and repeat. Rent a good quality machine from local store. Use HOT water. Extract 2 or 3 times the time you put down water. Carpet should be just slightly damp to the touch when you are done. Open the windows if it is a nice day, put a fan or two to blow across the carpet if you desire.

    Use cardboard pieces wrapped in foil or wax paper between the carpet and any furniture legs that are not plastic while the carpet is drying.

    If you have stains, pre treat after vacuuming and before starting the machine. If you have urine or other mess, you may wish to get an enzyme urine product to take care of those prior to doing any of the other work.

    Now, figure out that you will spend about an hour per room and calculate how many hours you need. Have I done it, yes. Would I do it again? yes if it were one room, but not if it was 3 or more.

    If a professional company quotes you a price over the phone, be leery of them. The good ones will price according to room square footage as well as amount of furniture to be moved and blocked as well as the type of carpet and the level and types of staining.
     

    SR9TEX

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    Sep 23, 2013
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    Just buy your own and do 3 passes on each room and it will work. That's what I do more time consuming but when you own your own machine you can do it all on your time as many times as you like.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    The carpet cleaners you buy at the store don't work that great. I have one.
     

    no2gates

    These are not the droids you're looking for.
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    Aug 31, 2013
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    Those rental machines are the best way to do it yourself. Nothing I've seen that you can buy has the amount of suction that the rental machines have.
     

    robertc1024

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    Jan 22, 2013
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    Switch to hardwood. I rented a couple of the steam cleaners at HEB - they worked pretty well. Pre treating is a must.
     

    shortround

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    Jan 24, 2011
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    Every time we rented a rug cleaning machine was a waste of time, effort and money.

    We now vaccuum weekly, and replace the carpet and pad every ten years. No different than a mattress.
     

    ROGER4314

    Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
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    Jul 11, 2009
    10,444
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    East Houston
    My custodian at the school ran a side business cleaning houses. She told be the beat way to clean a carpet with one of those machines was to use clean water only. That way soap residue was not a problem in the rinse action. I guess she spot cleaned tough places with soap.....but not the entire carpet.

    I fixed mine! I ripped out every shred of carpet and had ceramic tile installed 100%. It's so much better for my allergies. I would never consider carpet again!

    Flash
     
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