carpet cleaner rental....

[Gibson486]

Anyone ever try those carpet cleaners you can rent at supermarkets? Are they any good? Should I just pay Stanley Steamer to do it? They would charge $90. I need to get this done b/c I am moving out and my management company says i have to clean the carpet.

 

[rudder]

The rug doctor ones are decent and they do pick up a lot of dirt. But depending on what type of carpet you have you may want to consider stanley steamer. These rentals usually leave a lot more water in the carpet that those truck mounted units. this could draw up your carpet and require you to tighten in back up.

 

[dullard]

Consumer Reports covered them a year or so ago. If I remember correctly, they said that the rental cleaners clean, but really didn't to a great job.

If you were going to pay $90 for Stanley Steamer, you might as well pay $100 and have a cheap steamer of your own (Hoover or similar). Sure, it probably won't do quite as good of a job, but who cares for a rental apartment that you are moving out of. And it'll still do good enough to erase most stains.

 

[BoomerD]

IMO, if you were cleaning the carpets and you were going to continue to live there...Stanley Steemer. We use them about once per year to clean our carpets. They do a good job.

Since you're moving out, IF it's permitted in the terms of the lease/rent agreement, get one from the grocery store, although, by the time you pay rental and buy the chemicals, you're gonna be close to half the Stanley Steemer price...or more.
Some places don't allow DIY carpet cleaning, and require professional carpet cleaning because...people who do it themselves usually do a shitty job, sacrificing quality for speed and cost.

 

[EagleKeeper]

IMO, if you were cleaning the carpets and you were going to continue to live there...Stanley Steemer. We use them about once per year to clean our carpets. They do a good job.

Since you're moving out, IF it's permitted in the terms of the lease/rent agreement, get one from the grocery store, although, by the time you pay rental and buy the chemicals, you're gonna be close to half the Stanley Steemer price...or more.
Some places don't allow DIY carpet cleaning, and require professional carpet cleaning because...people who do it themselves usually do a shitty job, sacrificing quality for speed and cost.

This.

It used to take me about 3-4 hours to do a 3 bd house. Then it takes 6-8 hours (depending on humidity) to dry.
I would then lend the unit out to one of two neighbors and then go back through the cycle again. I would charge them 1/2 the rental cost and provide the chemicals.

After two runs, the carpet was clean.

Chemicals will last about 4-6 cleanings.

A professional truck mount will do such a place in 1-2 hours and allow 4 hours to dry. Their systems suck up much more water than the little ones.

If you find a company that does a good job; use them every 4-6 months. Well worth it and they will do a better job (little extra things) for you as a repeat customer.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I've rented the carpet cleaner a few times, and I'm happy with the job it does. I go over all my carpet floors twice, and it gets things pretty clean. I never wear shoes in the house, so it's not like my place ever gets really bad.

I rent from Home Depot. I prep ahead of time (move furniture off the carpet), and I can usually get the cleaner rented and back to Home Depot within 4 hours doing my two bedroom place with living room and hallways. They charge less for a 4 hour rental than for a 24 hour rental. I think it comes out to less than $20. I buy the cleaning solution at Costco; it's a lot cheaper. It takes a day to let everything dry out... in SoCal.

You'll should probably wear ear protection with the Rug Doctor thing. It's pretty loud.


Don't buy one of those Hoover or Bissel home cleaners. I borrowed one from my girlfriend a few years ago, and it wasn't good. (1) They're not $100 like the guy above says; well over $250 if I remember correctly. (2) They have small water tanks, and you'll be refilling them many times and it'll be annoying. (3) They don't suck up much of the water you lay down. Much less suckage than the rental.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I've had to use the Rug Doctor a couple of times and they work pretty good. Rental and Supplies will cost you about $50-60 per day.

 

[dullard]

(1) They're not $100 like the guy above says; well over $250 if I remember correctly. (2) They have small water tanks, and you'll be refilling them many times and it'll be annoying. (3) They don't suck up much of the water you lay down. Much less suckage than the rental.

You are correct that it has an annoying small tank. You'll have to fill it/empty it once a room (more if it is a large room). The lower water suckage isn't too bad of a problem, you just have to go over the same spot a few times to dry it decently. With mine, the carpet is dry to the touch after about 4-6 hours.

But, you are quite wrong about the price. Here is one for $80, or another for $73, and they can be had for less on sale. Although, I suggest paying at least $100 to get a good steaming function.

 

[Rumpltzer]

You are correct that it has an annoying small tank. You'll have to fill it/empty it once a room (more if it is a large room). The lower water suckage isn't too bad of a problem, you just have to go over the same spot a few times to dry it decently. With mine, the carpet is dry to the touch after about 4-6 hours.

But, you are quite wrong about the price. Here is one for $80, or another for $73, and they can be had for less on sale. Although, I suggest paying at least $100 to get a good steaming function.

Doh! Okay, corrected on the price. The chick I borrowed from bought hers at Costco for over $250... and I think it had a heater... not that the heater would really heat the water... it just wasn't good in many ways compared to the rentals that I've used.

I need to clean the rental every time I pick one up from the store; no one cleans them before returning them. The Home Depot guys do let me pick which one I want to rent, though, so I try to get the one that looks cleanest. Then there's always some water leakage in the car... it's not like the rental is without pains, but it does a good job.

I can uderstand hiring someone else to clean carpets. I do it myself to save a little money, but I also trust myself to do a good job more than I trust carpet cleaner guys.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

The rug doctor (kind you rent or buy for $600 or so) are a lot better than the crap bissell/equivalent most people buy.

However, the suction stinks compared to the truck mounted vacuum from stanley steamer or some other local cleaning guy. A lot of the dirty water stays in the padding to evaporate over a week or so. This is why your carpet looks awesome right after you clean it but stains and such 'come back up' after awhile.


IMO if there are no animals and people generally take off their shoes then a rug doctor is fine. If your carpet is fairly dirty then you're better off paying them to come out.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Doh! Okay, corrected on the price. The chick I borrowed from bought hers at Costco for over $250... and I think it had a heater... not that the heater would really heat the water... it just wasn't good in many ways compared to the rentals that I've used.

I need to clean the rental every time I pick one up from the store; no one cleans them before returning them. The Home Depot guys do let me pick which one I want to rent, though, so I try to get the one that looks cleanest. Then there's always some water leakage in the car... it's not like the rental is without pains, but it does a good job.

I can uderstand hiring someone else to clean carpets. I do it myself to save a little money, but I also trust myself to do a good job more than I trust carpet cleaner guys.

Costco does sell the rug doctor, it's very boxy and 'industrial' looking imo compared to the cheapies.

 

[thescreensavers]

I used the one from homedepot, works well.

 

[HannibalX]

I've owned retail grade cleaners and compared to the Rug Doctor they are junk. I've been using the Rug Doctor for years now and it does a great job.

One thing you don't want to do is use the cleaner solution that is sold in the super market. Head to Home Depot, Ace Hardware or practically any "dollar store" and pick up a jug of Mean Green, it's a general purpose detergent and degreaser and it works fabulous on carpets, it's also low foam so you won't clog the machine with foam every ten minutes. You can get a jug for about $5.

Prepping carpet for cleaning is as important as the cleaning itself. Buy a can of spot treatment (brand doesn't matter from my experience). Vacuum the hell out of the carpet first then liberally apply the spot treatment to all high traffic areas and any heavily soiled areas. When doing the actual cleaning one pass isn't going to cut it. Also, you have to get the same area of carpet from different angles.

I can typically do my entire house in about four hours which includes all the prep time. If your local store rents the "wide" version of the Rug Doctor get it. The tanks are much larger, it has a more powerful motor and the cleaning track is wider as well.

:thumbsup:

 

[Gibson486]

They are actually having a sale at my supermarket. 1 day is now $10. Not bad.....I hope it lasts until nest week, that is when I need it.

 

[DrPizza]

re: Hannibal's suggestion of using a different cleaner - just be careful as some types of cleaners cause surfaces to attract dust/dirt. Laundry detergent does this IIRC. On heavily soiled areas, we've used a cheaper (but more effective cleaner, such as tide & added in oxyclean), but would always go over it once more with the recommended cleaner, and we also did a "rinse" cycle with no cleaner, as well as going over it several times with no water in it at all to get even more of the moisture out. I've always been satisfied.

 

[ElFenix]

the hoover/bissell are just fine as long as you use boiling or simmering water. and go slow (which you have to do with a rug doctor anyway).

 

[tortillasoup]

Renting a rug doctor is pretty much worthless. Either buy yourself a cheapie bissel or rent yourself a Bissel Green Machine. The green machine is suppose to be really really good at cleaning, though I haven't tested it myself. Rug Doctor is ancient and basically a joke of a machine. I should mention there is a huge difference between the Bissel and the Hoover carpet cleaner. Bissel is a much much better machine, even if you buy a machine that costs half as much.

 

[bradley]

I agree. The best residentially available carpet cleaner (that rivals and bests commercial cleaners) is the Bissell Green Machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8GTWEYywQ

What makes it so great is the large rotating brush, two separate motors (one for the brush, one for the vacuum,) two very large separate water tanks (dirty and clean water,) also the vacuum has an adjustable height to ensure closest carpet proximity.

I haven't seen a carpet cleaner pick up this much dirt and water. The carpets are literally dry to the touch in two hours. I cleaned an area with another machine, a week later to tackle the same area with the Green Machine, it became noticeable cleaner. Very impressive.

The only downsides is the unit itself is fairly heavy, something like 50+lbs. There's no separate compartment for any cleaning detergent, it has to be mixed in the fresh water tank. There is no steam function, although hot motor air is designed to blow from the bottom.

 

[Kaido]

Here is one for $80, or another for $73, and they can be had for less on sale. Although, I suggest paying at least $100 to get a good steaming function.

Wow! When did home carpet cleaners get so cheap??

 

[Uppsala9496]

A friend of mine owns a carpet cleaning business. If you do decide to rent one from the store, only use half the amount of detergent it calls for. Problem is they don't have powerful enough suction and it leaves soap residue on/in the carpet which in time attracts more and more dirt.

Out of curiosity I decided to test his statements last November. Used the recommended amount in the dining room area and half the amount in the living room area (both get the same amount of foot traffic).
Dining room area is much, much dirtier now.

If you can find a local company to do it for $50-$80 it is well worth it. They will do a far superior job than any rental or store bought machine.

 

[mikeford]

Last I looked the truck mount guys with the advertised low prices have a TON of add on charges, spot cleaning, stairs, etc etc. so final price might be the cost of a decent machine, but the Rug Doctor etc should be close. You only get so much suction from a truck mount unit, and the 100 foot hose wastes some of it.

BTW I hate carpet, and plan to remove every bit of it from my house eventually, it NEVER really gets clean.

 

[DT4K]

In general, the Hoovers and Bissells kind of suck, but not in a good way.
You have to go over the same spot like 10 times.
We had a Bissell that lasted a good 10 years and worked, but it was a big pain in the ass.
We recently replaced it with a Hoover that worked ok, but left the carpets really wet. One thing I found that helped a lot was strapping a 5 lb ankle wait to the front of it. It made it a pain to push, but it helped suck up a lot more water and get the carpets cleaner.

I've heard pretty good things about the Rug Doctors. I think Costco was selling them at one point for about $350.

 

[Exterous]

Wow! When did home carpet cleaners get so cheap??

A little over 4 years ago

 

[Scarpozzi]

We've had hardwood floors for years, but I used to have a rental apartment...

When I had a tenant move out, I'd take that opportunity to call in a carpet cleaner. I used a local business and paid about $90 to have it cleaned.

I rented a supermarket machine once, but it didn't pull as much of the water out of the carpet.... It's well worth the money to pay someone with the best equipment unless you do deep cleanings very regularly.

 

[lupi]

I'd never rent one. The dipshit landlord would say it doesn't count unless you have a receipt from a carpet cleaning service.