Rug Doctor VS Professional cleaning (Lowes, tanks, vacuum, drain)
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Do professional carpet cleaners use equipment that is better than these Rug Doctor machines that you rent at the super market? I'm trying to decide whether it's worth paying someone to do a cleaning. I don't mind doing the work myself if a Rug Doctor machine does about as good a job.
Some use a chemical and there is no real washing involved, some use huge powerful industrial suction vacuums which drain out to your street, and some use a rug doctor style machine. If you are just doing it to clean the area and there is no major smell or stains I would use a rug doctor otherwise a larger company will have more powerful equipment.
Professionals are better at cleaning rugs, because they do it for a living, but they cannot perform miracles. Its not going to look new, or get every stain out.
If the rug is that bad, save the money and simply replace it.
I've done both, plus purchased and used my own home carpet cleaning equipment, and IMO, no DIY method comes close to getting it done by a reputable professional.
For one thing, the Rug Doctor type rental equipment is often in poor shape and/or dirty. The other thing is that it is very difficult to get all the cleaning solution out of the rug with the DIY equipment, and soapy residue left in the carpet will quickly attract dirt and make the rug look like you never cleaned it at all within a very short time.
The truck mounted unit does a much better job. Plus they are able to buy much better chemicals and cleaning solutions. They also clean deeper and pull out more of the moisture.
I'm not impressed with the dry cleaning carpet cleaners. The steam cleaners, though, will do a much better job than a rug doctor.
A big problem with the rug doctor is that it will not get all the carpet shampoo out of the rug and it will attract more dirt.
Another problem with the rug doctor, for me, is that it is heavy work and you have to lift and empty heavy tanks of dirty water.
I'd much rather pay the professional to do a better job and haul the dirty water away.
If you are living there and want the carpets cleaned occasionally, if they are not too dirty, you can buy a carpet shampooer (like a Hoover) and don't use any shampoo. Use the hot water and some white vinegar. It will remove surface dirt and freshen up the carpet and makes a nice difference. It isn't deep cleaning, though.
Do professional carpet cleaners use equipment that is better than these Rug Doctor machines that you rent at the super market? I'm trying to decide whether it's worth paying someone to do a cleaning. I don't mind doing the work myself if a Rug Doctor machine does about as good a job.
For the most part, carpet cleaning company's all basically use similar equipment. Truck mount cleaning systems are more powerful than the rug d****r type rentals but, the length of hose the truck mount system has on the hose reel should be considered also, 200'? 250'? more?
Portable extraction units work just as well as truck mounts. They both perform the same basic function, the human component is the factor. The effort put into the cleaning is what makes the difference.
No matter what, the vacuum system on a either a truck mount or a portable unit will have more power with a shorter hose vs a longer hose.
The biggest issue with the Rug Doctor is the soap it leaves behind.
I used it for many years doing my home. It did a pretty good job and the dirt it gets out is pretty incredible to see. It injects soap water, scrubs, then sucks it up.
To be effective you need to do your carpet twice. Once with the soap mixture then go back over it while still wet with nothing but hot water in the tank. This rinses the soap out of your carpet that was left behind. I also alternated the direction, went perpendicular to my original run.
Why is this important? Because the leftover soap will attract dirt (it's sticky like soap scum on a shower/bathtub). It will end up making your carpets look worse quicker than if you hadn't done it.
I would also recommend using a spot pre-treatment as it does a good job of loosening up the soiled areas.
If paying a pro I would look into a company that uses a Rotovac. It's basically a high powered rug doctor. Does a much better job than the standard "steam cleaners". It will probably cost a little bit more but will do a much better job on your carpet.
To be frank you'll probably spend 4-5 hours in a typical house using the Rug Doctor. After renting it and buying the chemicals you're probably out around $45-$50. So you're saving about $100. I called in a pro to do my house the last time I had the carpets cleaned and it was WELL worth that $100!!!
I just call a carpet cleaner. I never got a satisfactory job out of a rug doctor.
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