Rug doctor - any good ?

[Toyless]

Following on from my aquarium filter leaking, I now have a large stain on the carpet that needs sorting.

I can rent a Rug Dr thing for about a score - anyone used one, are they any good or shall I just pay for a pro to come round and clean the carpet ?

[neilsie]

yep, hired one several times to clean cream carpets. Make sure you test it first. Also be prepared for some wool loss.

[F i F]

Also beware using too hot water, the Rug Doctor has some stiff brushes which are designed to vibrate and agitate the carpet and help the cleaning action. If the water is too hot you can sometimes leave tracks in a wool carpet.

[Rich135]

Worked really well on our wool carpet a few weeks ago (but now we need it again after the wife spilt tea!!).

Re-iterate the warning about water not being too hot (can cause shrinkage). Also, get the hand tool thing, I find that works really well on the main stain spots.

[Great Pretender]

The thread title promised so much...

[CatherineJ]

We use one from time to time having 2 dogs. They are absolutely brilliant.

[F i F]

Rich135 said:

(but now we need it again after the wife spilt tea!!).

Pls report back how you get on, as I tipped a cup of tea over on a cream carpet and despite mopping it all up until kitchen towels could not get anymore it has still left a mark. Tea acts as a dye on natural fibres and a real git to remove.

Where is carpet cleaner when you need him?

[thegman]

My experience was:

- It smelled bad
- It didnt get rid of any bad stains
- It made the carpet a bit cleaner in general


Considering the price once you have included the cleaning fluid and cost to go and get it etc, next time I will be just getting somebody in...

[motco]

It's good in my experience and the hand tool good on furniture. One caveat, though, is to make sure you thoroughly go over the furniture and don't leave gaps in the passes or you'll have visible stripes. Certainly the fluids are exepnsive but if you use the machine regularly you'll have a rolling stock of the stuff as you won't use it all at once.

[pimpin gimp]

thegman said:

My experience was:

Considering the price once you have included the cleaning fluid and cost to go and get it etc, next time I will be just getting somebody in...

You must have pretty cheap professionals around your way!

£25 for 24 hours hire, a £6 bottle of fluid cleaned our townhouse carpet perfectly well, they hire them at most supermarkets/diy stores so presume a 20mile max distance to get one - It cost us no more than £35 to do ours, I'd love to see a professional do it for that!