Carpet cleaners?

[Bonnie Campbell]

Okay, I've had a dog sick for a week here and I HAVE to buy a carpet cleaner. Any suggestions? Pros/cons? I've been looking at the Hoover Steam Vac......

Thanks!

[Bryan Rocker]

I bought a steam cleaner some time ago. It worked OK for a while. It no longer works and when I need to clean the carpets I just go down to the local BORG and rent one for $19.99 a day.

[John Newell]

Whatever else you do, soak it with Resolve. The stuff is like magic on organic, errr, problems.

[warren kafitz]

I have three of the Hoover Steam Vac. My house and two rentals. They work great. I have the model with rotating brushes.
Warren

[David G Baker]

I had a Green Machine several years ago and it worked fine for me. I think it is made by Bissell. It was the canister type and used hot water.
Rental of a steam unit may be the better way to go or hire the work done.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We've got one of the Hoovers with rotating brushes. It works well.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I also have a Hoover with the rotating brushes purchased at Lowes for around $300. It works as well as a rental unit such as Rug Doctor.

Please be aware that the term 'steam vac' is not true for Hoover, Bissell or Rug Doctor as advertised. They simply use warm to hot water and do not generate any steam. A real steam cleaner is three to five times more expensive but is a better choice for folks with severe allergies.

Also, whatever machine you buy, there is a carpet solution specifically designed to remove and deodorize pet (and people) stains. Overall, the cleaning chemicals are fairly expensive...sort of like ink cartridges for cheap inkjet printers.

-Jeff :)

[Joe Mioux]

you say you have to buy a carpet cleaner, Resolve works really well.


I am assuming you didn't mean you have to but a Steam Cleaner.

Capture Carpet Cleaning System works really well for general cleaning of carpeting. It is not wet product, but rather a dry powder that gets scrubbed into the fibers and then vacummed.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Yeah, if you seen my carpets, and knowing there are 5 dogs here, I HAVE to get a cleaner. Renting would run me as high, if not higher, as often as I'd need it done. Just been putting it off, but after this week I can't. I've been using spot cleaner. And it looks like it too :o

Does the Hoover work well with shag type carpets too? Yeah, I know, shag went out 30 years ago, so that'll give you an idea on why I need one too lol It's either clean it or buy them stick on tile squares and start replacing it as I can (a LONG "L" hall and 6 good sized rooms).

And.... any model suggestions? I notice there are about 5 out that I've found online.

[Matt Meiser]

We have a Hoover too. It works well, but maybe not as well as the rentals, mostly due to suction power. You can tell it works because the waste water is NASTY! :D

[Justin McCurdy]

This thing works magic, and it is only around $200. By the way, I have a dog and 2 kids under the age of 5 so it gets used a lot.

[Jon Lanier]

Ah, just buy new carpet. Or put down a hard wood floor.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

You are in Mississippi?
With the humidity there wouldn't it be easier to replace the rug?

I used one of those cleaners (rug Dr I think) you can rent in the grocery store.
It left oodles of soap residue in the rug and of course water and then the mold set in.

I tore the rug out within the week.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I wish we DID have hardwood flooring. Just have whatever they put in as sub-flooring 30-40 years ago. I don't know if I'm up to ripping it all out myself. So figure if I can do something, no matter how small towards saving the carpet I better try. I swear I'll never have carpeting in a house again, dogs or no dogs.

[David G Baker]

Bonnie,
The former owner of my home had dogs and you would not believe the flooring under neath the carpet. Major damage was done by years of dog misbehaving.
I covered the old floor with the coated paper in some areas and Luann and particle board in others. The carpet pad that I purchased has an odor and stain seal on it. I didn't want to re-install carpet but it was the cheapest alternative considering the floor damage.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I'm thinking of tearing up one end section of the hall carpet to see how bad the underlay is. Don't want to get to drastic since if I can't do the job I'll need to find someone I can afford to fix it. Hubby said to go ahead tearing it up.... so we'll see. But still got living room and dining room carpet I HAVE to clean :(

Probably will order one of the Hoovers tomorrow.

[Christopher Stahl]

We also have a Bissell Proheat 2x Cleanshot and it does a pretty good job. This is our second Bissell. Had a previous model that only lasted about 3 years, but lots of use because of the animals. The new models seem to be better built.

From the way it sounds, most work well, but won't take the place of a true deep cleaning steamer. These are easily rented at the local BORG. You'll be fine with these units to clean up a mess from the animals.

[Cary Falk]

Our son had the flu one winter and blew up on the carpet. We had a professional cleaner out and the stain came back after the carpet dried. We finally got some Natures Miracle (found in pet stores)and it took care of it. I now swear by the stuff. It is also marketed under names like Kid'n'Pet, Citra Spot, etc. It contains natural enzymes that eat? up the problem.

[Rich Stewart]

Blew up? That MUST have been a mess.

[Cary Falk]

Yeah, it was coming out both ends. He was nice enough to come down stairs to let us know and left a trail all the way.:eek:

[Russ Filtz]

+1 for the Hoovers. Whatever you do, get the older style more boxy version. The newer one with the roundish water solution tank will crack depending on what you put in it. I went through several before I decided it didn't like the oxy-clean I use to help clean. The plastic is the hard brittle kind. The older style is more of a polyethylene, flexible. The repair shop guy also said he hated the newer ones.