Anybody own a Rug Doctor?

Mike

Mike

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Jun 27, 2006
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I'm just wondering if there's any difference (other than color) versus the rented ones. I've had a couple steamcleaners before and they sucked (not in the good way) compared to the Rug Doctors. So, I end up renting one about once a month.

Yeah, my kids are hell on carpet. I have a blue marker line going from the ground floor up to my older kid's bedroom, and just below said marker line are red letter C's. Oh yeah, can't forget the various pop and milk stains throughout the house and the food coloring in the dining room. Ugh.

Is it worth buying a Rug Doctor or is there a better machine out there?
 


Mike - believe it or not, Windex takes even the hardest stains out of carpeting, but be prepared to scrub till your arm falls off. But it works, and is one of those Internet secrets you can Google as well.
 
LOL! Windex FTW! Whenever I hear about Windex doing something other than windows it reminds me of the dad in Big Fat Greek Wedding. Funny movie - for a chick flick.
 
The cheapest an BEST thing to use on carpet stains is regular plain old 3% H2o2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) that you get at the store for like $1.80 for a 32 oz bottle.

I can't remember it ever affecting the dye of the carpets I've used it on.

If you read a couple of my other posts lately, I use to sell vacuums which included shampooers and steamers. The H2o2 did a GREAT job. Resolve can be used after to help get a protective barrier on the carpet.

The rented Rug Doctor is really going to be your best bet. Buying the Pro really isn't going to make financial sense or do much of a better job. Those things DO break down and are quite expensive to get fixed.

When my daughters were little I would find the little black formula drip stains in the weirdest places and use the peroxide to get them out.

Just let the peroxide set on the stains for a minute or so. Then DAB it out by just standing on a towel with your foot to let it pull the stain straight up. Wiping can spread the stain.

If you have INK or Permanent marker stains, the peroxide will lighten it but in this case lighter fluid usually gets the rest out.
 
I'm taking notes here cause otherwise this house is getting new carpet when we move.

UG I hate carpet.

OH and I love the windex thing too. Anytime someone thinks something can do everything I usually say so that's your windex. My mom thinks colloidal silver can kill/cure anything so that's her windex.

Edit: can anyone recommend a good company? I like to pay people to do this shit.
 
turbolapp said:
Edit: can anyone recommend a good company? I like to pay people to do this shit.
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Not sure if you have Stanley Steamer in your area, we use them once a year.

The trick to these guys is they employ all teenagers. So call, say you want a tiny area done (e.g. your smallest bedroom). When the guys come over, you can pay them under the table (e.g. $100) and theyll do the entire house.
 
SEO_Mike said:
I have a blue marker line going from the ground floor up to my older kid's bedroom, and just below said marker line are red letter C's.
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Blue markers: Ugh!

I just walked in from salmon fishing to find blue footprints down the stairs and through the hallway. My nephew decided to break open a blue marker and step in it.

Oxyclean did the trick in removing the carpet stains - though the wood I'll have to sand down and refinish. (Unless anyone has a good suggestion?)
 
Wright said:
Blue markers: Ugh!

I just walked in from salmon fishing to find blue footprints down the stairs and through the hallway. My nephew decided to break open a blue marker and step in it.

Oxyclean did the trick in removing the carpet stains - though the wood I'll have to sand down and refinish. (Unless anyone has a good suggestion?)
Click to expand...

Short of Xylene or Lacquer thinner to just lightly rub the top layer of sealer off and then hit it with sealer again, sanding just might be your best option.
 
Wright said:
Blue markers: Ugh!

I just walked in from salmon fishing to find blue footprints down the stairs and through the hallway. My nephew decided to break open a blue marker and step in it.

Oxyclean did the trick in removing the carpet stains - though the wood I'll have to sand down and refinish. (Unless anyone has a good suggestion?)
Click to expand...

OH man, I feel your pain. Kind of like when I walked through the dining room to see my 3 year old with green hands and mouth sitting in a puddle of green, blue and red food coloring.

:mad:
 
Wickedfire - not only for gay webmaster, housewifes and butlers are also most welcome...
 
Roundabout said:
Not sure if you have Stanley Steamer in your area, we use them once a year.
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Stanley Steamer is actually not that great, they're heavy on shampoo .. which smells nice but ends up settling into the base of your carpet. After several trips (and years) you'll start to see pieces of your carpet coming up. Shampoo ends up drying and falling to the base and works like sand paper when you walk on it.

I spent some time as a young lad actually steam cleaning carpets in casinos. Don't laugh, I was paid by the sq. ft. and the casino was like 120k of them.

Turbo, give Steamatic a call .. they're all over Texas. Hot water, light soap, good chemicals if necessary.

Great advice Roundabout: I remember taking side jobs for $40-$50 ... just don't expect it to be perfect and go ahead and move as much furniture out of their way as you can.

Mike: Brand to brand there's not much difference. The trick to get the stains out is to use boiling water, not just hot. If something is belligerent, hit it 1st then do the rest of your carpet and come back to the stubborn stains.

Short of that, listen to what Midas has to say .. she speaks the truth. Always try an out of the way piece of carpet in the closet 1st to see if any discoloration happens.

Funny story: I did Harold Ford's house a few times. Beautiful $800k+ home in an awesome part of town. Once inside, it looked like shit because his carpet had permanent streaks of red up and down the halls where his kids had kool aid fights using water guns. He also let his youngest piss in his closet when he woke up at night.
 
erect said:
The trick to get the stains out is to use boiling water, not just hot. If something is belligerent, hit it 1st then do the rest of your carpet and come back to the stubborn stains.
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JUST boiling water? Or should I add a little Oxyclean or H202 to the water?
 
Midas Touch said:
Short of Xylene or Lacquer thinner to just lightly rub the top layer of sealer off and then hit it with sealer again, sanding just might be your best option.
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Thanks, I'll give it a try.


SEO_Mike said:
OH man, I feel your pain. Kind of like when I walked through the dining room to see my 3 year old with green hands and mouth sitting in a puddle of green, blue and red food coloring.
:mad:
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A wonderful age filled with exploration. :eek:

My oldest, when he was 4, with the help of a friend decided to paint my winter tires, and each other, with green cement floor paint.

And the only thing one can do, no matter how angry, is to laugh about it.

Well, that and get pictures to show his future girl friends. :D
 
SEO_Mike said:
JUST boiling water? Or should I add a little Oxyclean or H202 to the water?
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And use a Shamwow to soak/sponge up the water. :D


I'm actually serious. Cheap carpet cleaners don't suck up all of the dirt and stain and it settles back down into the base of the carpet, slowing resurfacing over time so you want to try to soak/sponge up as much as possible.
 
Midas Touch said:
^^^^LOL^^^^
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I take it that was a flub? You just scream "vagina" to me, what can I say.

SEO_Mike;61085 7 said:
JUST boiling water? Or should I add a little Oxyclean or H202 to the water?
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Sure you can add some if you want, like a cap full or 2 for general traffic areas. Most people just have dirt stains and stuff ... it's really not necessary to add much to remove that stuff. Just move the steamer as slow as you can since it's not nearly as powerful as a commercial one.

I've got a little hoover steamvac that holds a few gallons of water and when I do my room, I have to refill the thing 2-3 times. That's not because I'm totally dirty, rather that's how slow I move the machine.

That blue marker probably won't come out, depending on how long it's been there. You'll probably have to use chemicals for that to have any chance but try hitting it hard 1st with just straight stuff. Chemicals are like a last resort IMO if you're concerned about the longevity of your carpet.

Wright said:
And use a Shamwow to soak/sponge up the water. :D
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Wright is right .... but I think the shamwow is an overkill. Your carpet will still hold some dirt, but nothing too terribly bad. It won't make a visible difference really

The quicker you can dry it the better (fans cranking, windows open). Never walk on it until it's totally dry to touch, that water will suck the dirt off your feet and put it right back on your carpet.
 
Wright said:
And use a Shamwow to soak/sponge up the water. :D


I'm actually serious. Cheap carpet cleaners don't suck up all of the dirt and stain and it settles back down into the base of the carpet, slowing resurfacing over time so you want to try to soak/sponge up as much as possible.
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This is another reason why you want to use multiple fans to dry the carpet after steam cleaning.

As the the TOP of the carpet fibers dry they start to WICK the moisture UP from the base of the carpet to the tips of the strands to continue evaporating.

During this process any stained water that got pushed down in the matting, and wasn't sucked out during the initial extraction, will bring that TAINTED moisture back up into the top fibers.

This is the reason that a carpet likes GREAT right after it is steamed, but usually looks a little dull a week later. Some of the badly stained areas will also reappear after the carpet dries due to the wicking action pulling it up from the matting beneath.

This is why when I have done my carpets in the past, I have tile now, I steamed the carpet and then shampooed it. Then I would rinse the carpet TWICE and let it dry for a week.

Then I looked for any reappearing stains and spot treateded them. Then I would steam the entire carpet again with only a HIGHLY DILUTED amount of bleach water. Then I rinsed it two more times with ONLY boiling hot WATER in the machine. Then I turned on the fans and would periodically go back over it ONLY extracting as the fans were drying it. As the carpet drys and would pull the water up from beneath, any puddling under the matting moves and re-congregates. Using the machine every now and then during the drying helped to keep those puddles from staying formed beneath which in turn lead to faster and cleaner drying.






They were long as days doing this. But "I" don't think
 
If you currently really need to use one monthly..... wouldn't it be cheaper and easier just to teach the kids not to write on your walls and spill shit all over your carpet?

Just a thought.

I don't even want to imagine the trouble that I would have been in with my parents when I was younger if wrote on the walls or if they had to rent a carpet cleaner monthly because of my mess. :eek:
 
DUH, a HOMER moment!!

To actually FINISH my last reply:

They were long assed days!! But "I" don't think that a carpet can be cleaned properly in just one day by most of the franchised cleaning companies out there.
 
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