Carpet cleaner advice

[Still_Small_Voice]

Anyone know of any decent spray on carpet cleaner?  I have a cream colored carpet that just looks awful and I want something to clean it with.  Anyone have any advice for this subject other than replacing my carpet or getting tile or wood flooring?

[Windseeker]

I used to clean carpets back in the day. What do you mean by spray on carpet cleaner?

 

Is this something you want to do yourself? I would recommend a steam cleaner over the chemical ones. Chemical ones leave lots of junk, better to cook the dirt out of the carpet and suck it away. Then if you really love your carpet have them treat it with a scotch guard type treatment. 

[Wingnut]

For an entire room, or spot cleaning?  If the latter, I recommend Spot Shot.  If the former, I have no idea.

[Guest]

I'm happy with the Rug Doctor and the carpet cleaning solution they have.  They actually quit carrying those in Lowe's.  They now have Bissell ones one can rent.  I don't know if the Bissell solution are any good.  I still have a lot of the Rug Doctor solution that I used in the Bissell machine.

[Still_Small_Voice]

Windseeker I am going to eventually rent "The Rug Doctor" to clean my carpets with.  I agree Anatess that it does work good.  It has worked good for me in the past.  But it usually burns up about four hours of time renting it so I am waiting for time off to do it.

 

I will try the Spot Shot Wingnut.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[pam]

Rug Doctor isn't my choice of carpet cleaners.  I like having a wand that you can scrub with. You can't do that with a Rug Doctor.  But if you are in the Salt Lake Valley I know of the best place to rent one that gets you 2 days for the price of 1.

[Guest]

Rug Doctor isn't my choice of carpet cleaners.  I like having a wand that you can scrub with. You can't do that with a Rug Doctor.  But if you are in the Salt Lake Valley I know of the best place to rent one that gets you 2 days for the price of 1.

 

It comes with an accessory bag - there's a wand in it.  You can use it to clean couches and stairs.

[pam]

It comes with an accessory bag - there's a wand in it.  You can use it to clean couches and stairs.

 

Not the wand I'm talking about.  I'm talking about the wand that professional cleaners use.

[pam]

I'm referring to this:

 

 

You can actually use it to scrub a particularly heavy traffic area or a spot.  You can't do that with Rug Doctor.  This is the kind of machine that I rent.  Works SOOOO much better and you don't have to change the water as often.

[applepansy]

I love Kirby's carpet cleaner solution.  Even if I didn't have a Kirby I'd use it.  It gets out everything.  It then dries to a powder that is easily vacuumed up, leaving no residue.

[Iggy]

The problem with Spot Shot, Resolve and other spray on *spot* cleaners is they are soaps. You don't rinse them out so when you do use a machine if you don't use the product to control suds, then you will overload the machine with suds and make a worse mess. 

 

Been there, had it happen to me. I rented a machine and the previous renter of the house had used the spray on cleaners. Fortunately I caught the over-sudsing soon enough. Took four bottles total of the suds reducer just for the oversized living room, and two bottles each for the dining room and three bedrooms!

 

The next place I rented, I rinsed the high traffic areas using the suds reducer FIRST, then shampooed with the machine. Bissell or Rug Doctor are good. I bought the small Bissell hand machine, which I do spot cleaning with. No more sudsy/soapy cleaners.

 

Also, when I do the rental machines. After I pre-rinse and shampoo I go over the same area with plain water to really rinse. Then go over once more with NO water to suck up as much water as the machine will or is able to suck up.

 

It is a lot of work, but think outside of the box. Do you wash your dishes with really soapy water and put them in the cupboard straitaway? Do you wash your body with soapy water and not rinse?

 

Then why do you wash walls, cupboards, vinyl & carpeted floors with soapy water and NOT rinse? When I cleaned homes for a living, the company I worked for had us rinse what we washed. We also didn't wash with dirty water, or rinse with soapy water. 

 

Take three buckets and two sponges (or hand towels). One bucket has HOT soapy water, the other has HOT clear water and the third is EMPTY. One sponge is very light in color - use this to rinse with. The other is darker in color - use this to wash with. Put plenty of old towels or absorbent rugs rolled up on the floor of the three foot wide section of wall you are going to wash. Dip the washing sponge in the soapy water, you want it drippy wet and start at the BOTTOM - wash a three foot wide by four foot high spot. Squeeze the sponge out in the EMPTY bucket. Get it wet again, wash the area above the four foot section you just washed. 3 ft. x 4 ft. You will need a step stool to get all the way to the top. Squeeze you wash sponge out in the EMPTY bucket. Now with the mostly dry wash sponge, start at the top and wipe off the wall all the way down to the floor. Squeeze out the wash sponge into the EMPTY bucket. 

 

Now go to the clear water. With the light colored sponge, get it dripping, soppy wet and start at the top of the wall and rinse - pushing on the sponge as you go down the 3 foot wide washed section. Squeeze the sponge out in the EMPTY bucket. Repeat only going from the bottom up. Squeeze out sponge into EMPTY bucket. Now with a thoroughly squeezed out rinse sponge, wipe the 3 ft section as dry as you can.

 

Repeat washing, rinsing and drying in 3 foot wide sections. When your EMPTY bucket is 3/4 full, dump it out. Either in a sink or down the toilet. If you prefer to use hand towels, that works too - just be sure to wring them out into the EMPTY bucket as well as you can. I happen to have a mop- bucket that has an attachment that will squeeze water out of the mop - so I use this bucket as my EMPTY bucket and place the hand towels folded up and use the lever handle to squeeze the liquid out. 

 

Your soapy water and clear rinse water should stay *clean* throughout the entire job. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands, and add more HOT water and soapy solution as needed. I do this when the buckets are half empty. 

 

Depending on what dirtied the walls the cleaning solution will vary. If there were smokers in the house, then it is Pine Sol (or store knock-offs) and TSP. I will wash the 3 x 4 section - Twice. Cigarette tar and nicotine is really nasty, and requires two washing's. I use hand towels - well actually they are Bar rags that I buy at the Cash and Carry (Smart & Final) - they are white and I can easily see how many times I will have to wash an area before I rinse. Also the bar rags can be tossed into my washing machine on a rinse cycle + spin cycle to "freshen" them up. Oh, I use three to four wash AND rinse rags. 

 

It is more work - but what I clean stays clean for a LOT longer. Soap attracts dirt and grease. Whether it is in your water as you wash dishes or your clothes, or on the walls, carpets, flooring or cabinet fronts. 

 

After I cleaned my cabinet fronts (wood doors) I coated them with a Bees Wax polish I have. It is such an old bottle that the label has worn off. But it protects the wood surface and keeps the kitchen grease from penetrating the cleaned surface. The next time I clean the cabinets - I will shellac them instead. The shellac can easily be removed with denatured or rubbing alcohol and *painted* on again. 

[Still_Small_Voice]

I used the Spot Shot yesterday.  I used half the can on the carpet right in front of the main door.  It got almost all the dirt and stains out and it looks much better.  I want to eventually just have wood floor portion right in front of the main door.

 

So what is the other carpet cleaner called Pam?  Rug Doctor worked pretty good for me in the past.  I live near the Salt Lake area.

 

Edit: Iggy, it looks like I may have to study your way of carpet cleaning.  It could save me some money.

[Backroads]

Hire out. There's always a deal by some company or another.

For small spots I use dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar.

[pam]

I used the Spot Shot yesterday.  I used half the can on the carpet right in front of the main door.  It got almost all the dirt and stains out and it looks much better.  I want to eventually just have wood floor portion right in front of the main door.

 

So what is the other carpet cleaner called Pam?  Rug Doctor worked pretty good for me in the past.  I live near the Salt Lake area.

 

Edit: Iggy, it looks like I may have to study your way of carpet cleaning.  It could save me some money.

 

I don't know of any specific name or brand. Rug Doctor is just a brand name.

 

I rent from a cleaning/janitorial store in West Jordan.

[classylady]

I need to clean my carpets this month.  I own my own steam carpet cleaner (can't remember brand), but I'm so worn out after cleaning one room.  I keep putting off cleaning my carpet because of the physical drain it puts on me.  I'm tempted to have a carpet cleaning service come in and at least do my living room.  But, because I own a carpet cleaner, I can't see shelling out extra money for experts to come in.  And, truth be told, when I've had professional companies come in, they haven't done any better of a job than I can do.