Anybody own a Rug Doctor?

[pocketrockets]

Kids and carpet just don't mix.

Rip out the carpets and hopefully you have hardwood floors underneath. Even if you have to have hardwood flooring installed it will be sooo worth it in the long run and be easier to clean!

 

[popeye]

WTF..I just had some nasty renters move out and have been searching on the net for some good carpet cleaning tips. I would have never guessed I would find them on WF!

 

[Mike]

Oh man. I've got my work cut out for me. *sigh* The joys of children. I love my kids, but things like this sure tries your patience.

 

[chatmasta]

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.

I think some parenting classes offer referrals to carpet cleaners. Definitely check it out.

 

[Fatbat]

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.

FTW. I wrote on the walls ONCE when I was about three. I can still remember it clearly to this day. I never did it again.

If I took a blue marker and ran it through the house... well, I can't even imagine such a thing because I would have never done it.

Aren't the markers that you are giving your kids water soluble vegetable based children's markers? You know, the kind that will wash up with a bit of warm water and soap? Or are you handing out solvent based markers to your young kids?

There's no carpet here in Spain. Every house and apt has white marble floors, ceramic tile, slate or hardwood with area rugs in places. If I ever buy or build back in Canada I'm not going to have carpet in my place. Cut polish and put marble wax down. Sweep every other day, sweep and mop once a week. Wipe anything that gets spilled right up.

 

[turbolapp]

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.

heh...I'm guessing no kids?

Edit: you really can't explain it to people without kids , you just have to live it. This is not meant to be condescending or anything (I know it looks that way) It just is.

To add to the stories my first one when he was 2 wrote all over the white cabinets I had just painted, in permanent black marker. I was so angry that I yelled at him. A freakin 2 year old who was just proud of his artwork. Damn I still feel guilty to this day.

 

[kimboslice]

heh...I'm guessing no kids?

Edit: you really can't explain it to people without kids , you just have to live it. This is not meant to be condescending or anything (I know it looks that way) It just is.

To add to the stories my first one when he was 2 wrote all over the white cabinets I had just painted, in permanent black marker. I was so angry that I yelled at him. A freakin 2 year old who was just proud of his artwork. Damn I still feel guilty to this day.

2 girls under 5 and my house is constantly in shambles... even with a housekeeper...

If you don't have kids you would not understand...

 

[Mike]

Markers are taboo around my house now. Whenever I find them they go in the trash. My six year old is old enough to know better and he rarely colors on walls or carpets now, but my 3 year old still hasn't figured it out.

Yes, the ones that they have (had) are supposed to be washable, but washable seems to be more of a marketing thing than an actuality. The worst is when Chris (my 3 year old) gets into mom's purse and pulls out the Sharpie. The last place we lived had an entire wall (up to three feet high at least) covered in permanent marker. Sharpie isn't kidding when they say it's permanent. I tried magic erasers - didn't touch it - goo gone - smeared a tiny bit - and a hand sander - lightened it a bit, but it was still there even after I sanded down to drywall. Finally, I had to paint over it. I can't remember how many coats of primer it took. The only Sharpie in the house now, is in the top of my workbench and the boys can't reach it.

Somehow they always manage to time things when I'm on the computer and my wife is out of the room or something. Or we'll both step outside for a cigarette, then come back in to find new messes.

What is it with kids and dogs? Obviously, they know it's not something mom and dad want them to do or they wouldn't be sneaky about it.

*banging head on wall*

 

[chatmasta]

When I was a kid, I colored on the walls once. It wasn't even at my house, it was at my cousin's house and we did it for "christmas decoration." Needless to say, I never did it again. It's definitely a problem if this is a repeat occurrence, and it's going to be 1000x worse when they are teenagers. You might have sharpie troubles again, but they won't be using them for coloring.

 

[Roundabout]

My problem isnt with walls, its the damn bed sheets and bedspreads. I have a 7 and a 2 year old, the 2 year old loves to grab my 7 year olds markers. I walked into the bedroom tonight and theres a giant markered X on my pillow. WTF - lol

 

[JohnCJackson]

I have 2 kids. I pretty much expect to replace all the floors, walls, and furniture over a 2 year period. Or ( most likely) just accept they will all look like shit. And did I mention the pets? I think I might buy the house next door just for myself so I can have at least one room that isn't markered, pissed or shit on.

 

[chatmasta]

Jesus Christ...its not the kids....its you. Sorry but that's reality. Kids pissing, coloring, and shitting on the carpets should not be a yearly, monthly, or weekly occurrence. There's no reason for it to happen more than once. Once it does, you punish the hell out of them so they never do it again.

 

[turbolapp]

My problem isnt with walls, its the damn bed sheets and bedspreads. I have a 7 and a 2 year old, the 2 year old loves to grab my 7 year olds markers. I walked into the bedroom tonight and theres a giant markered X on my pillow. WTF - lol

This made me laugh. "You just lay your little head down here daddy, ignore that x there, ...oh and I've forgiven you for that candy bar you wouldn't let me get at the store earlier...muahahahahah"

 

[Fatbat]

Jesus Christ...its not the kids....its you. Sorry but that's reality. Kids pissing, coloring, and shitting on the carpets should not be a yearly, monthly, or weekly occurrence. There's no reason for it to happen more than once. Once it does, you punish the hell out of them so they never do it again.

FTW again.

I have friends who let their kids completely run amok and do whatever they like and they have the worst behaved kids. My parents, and those of my girlfriend, would have never stood for a fraction of the shit these kids get away with.

One guy I know would rather pay for something his kid smashed while visiting our house than discipline the child. Instead of stopping the kid in the middle of an act of vandalism, he'd just say "don't do that sweetheart" or "stop that honey", and inevitably it would lead to "oooohhh, I'm really sorry... how much was that?".

I'm certainly not advocating beating children, but if they don't have enough fearful respect of their parents because of the consequences they will face for their actions, then the parents have no control whatsoever.

Nothing pisses me off more than a child that tells their parents "no" when asked to do something and gets away with it.

 

[Rage9]

FTW again.

I have friends who let their kids completely run amok and do whatever they like and they have the worst behaved kids. My parents, and those of my girlfriend, would have never stood for a fraction of the shit these kids get away with.

One guy I know would rather pay for something his kid smashed while visiting our house than discipline the child. Instead of stopping the kid in the middle of an act of vandalism, he'd just say "don't do that sweetheart" or "stop that honey", and inevitably it would lead to "oooohhh, I'm really sorry... how much was that?".

I'm certainly not advocating beating children, but if they don't have enough fearful respect of their parents because of the consequences they will face for their actions, then the parents have no control whatsoever.

Nothing pisses me off more than a child that tells their parents "no" when asked to do something and gets away with it.

+1 this is probably why I hate children so much. I don't know about some of you guys, but if I ever AND I MEAN EVER fucking did something like color a wall my ass would have been punished so bad I would never have thought twice about it again. I'm not saying you have to be a bad ass all the time but there needs to be some respect and consequences.

 

[turbolapp]

WTF are you guys talking about? we're talking about our own houses not other people's houses or public spaces.

My child is extremely well behaved (I say child cause one is 7 and the other is one and there is no such thing as a 1 year old being well behaved ) It it quite easy to teach (discipline means teach btw) your child how to be respectful of himself and others. But it's not something they learn overnight. And if you think that you can just correct a child after one time of marking over furniture or cabinets you're either 1) flat out fucking wrong or 2) abusive and should be locked up. Because the only way to absolutely ensure that a 2 year old will never write on door is to beat the shit out of them.

Personally I'd rather have the toddler artwork.

So again, I'm going to say, no kids, eh?

 

[Fatbat]

(discipline means teach btw)

Sure it does, but the word has more than one use. Number one on the list, "punishment".

* Main Entry: 1dis·ci·pline
* Pronunciation: \ˈdi-sə-plən\
* Function: noun
* Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin disciplina teaching, learning, from discipulus pupil
* Date: 13th century

1 : punishment
2 obsolete : instruction
3 : a field of study
4 : training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
5 a : control gained by enforcing obedience or order b : orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c : self-control
6 : a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity

So again, I'm going to say, no kids, eh?

You don't have to actually have children to understand what makes for good parenting.

We were all kids ourselves and it's not hard to remember how we were raised to understand what was and wasn't successful about how our parents did things.

I can remember quite clearly back to about the age of three, and even some events that happened when I was two, and can remember quite vividly when I was disciplined.

Beat the "living shit" out of your child? No, but I'd get the back of a hair brush or a wooden spoon from my mom across my hands if I did something wrong. Not the first time, I would be warned. Do it again though and there would be consequences.

The bathroom in the apt we lived in when I was three was perfectly in line with the hallway and I figured out I could run the toilet paper off the spool down the hallway until it ran out. I thought it was a great game, best thing in the world. I did it once, was warned not to do it again. It was so much fun I did it a second time and I got the spoon across the hands.

I never did it a third time.

My dad would occasionally spank me. Probably only happened about once a year up to about the age of 10 I think, and only for the most heinous of offenses (playing with matches in the house, threatening the neighbor's kid with a hatchet, shoplifting candy from the grocery, etc.)

I also spent a good deal of time sat on a little stool in the corner up to about the age of 4 and beyond that an even greater amount of time confined to my bedroom, sat on the bed, no reading or playing with toys allowed. As a rather active kid sitting still for any length of time was not something that was enjoyable. However, other than coming out for dinner, I once spent 3 days straight sat on the bed.

I had great respect for my father, but we often engaged in psychological warfare. The old man usually won though.

 

[erect]

You don't have to actually have children to understand what makes for good parenting.

Far from the truth, you've only seen it from one perspective and never on the compassionate side.

My daughter spent her time coloring on the walls, hell I even encouraged it since the wife did faux finishing at the time ... we just covered it up and had a fun day. That's not saying she was allowed to do it everywhere, there are boundaries. I still to this day (she's 11) color with her on the fridge with expo markers.

You guys would suck as parents with all your strict discipline. Kids will be kids and the stains that come with them are just part of doing business.

^^ all that being said, I'm not too proud to say I'm a helluva dad and have the most well behaved, polite children on the planet. The trick is to know when to be stern and when to let loose ... around the house is free time.

She does get the psychological warfare but there is nothing she's ever done that's required dad raising his voice or his hand. It's not because I'm a pushover, she just knows when I'm serious ... and has for many years.

Turbo's right though, anytime under 2.5 years there's not shit you can do about destruction.

I can remember quite clearly back to about the age of three, and even some events that happened when I was two, and can remember quite vividly when I was disciplined.

I don't remember anything before 6, that must have been a pretty traumatic experience for it to stick with you this long. That doesn't sound like discipline to me, rather shock and awe. See, it does take having kids to understand what it takes to be a good parent.

Now, back to the carpet talk

 

[Fatbat]

I don't remember anything before 6, that must have been a pretty traumatic experience for it to stick with you this long. That doesn't sound like discipline to me, rather shock and awe. See, it does take having kids to understand what it takes to be a good parent.

I remember a lot of being three, not just the discipline. Birthday, Christmas, an exceptionally huge liquid shit in my pants, going to Winnipeg to see my grandmother, my parent's marriage, a trip to Vancouver Island, getting my foot slammed in the car door, getting my hand stuck in an elevator door, and getting a cat stand out in my mind amongst other things. I can remember it all quite clearly.

The stuff I remember of two isn't so clear but wasn't disciplinary at all.

 

[kimboslice]

Jesus Christ...its not the kids....its you. Sorry but that's reality. Kids pissing, coloring, and shitting on the carpets should not be a yearly, monthly, or weekly occurrence. There's no reason for it to happen more than once. Once it does, you punish the hell out of them so they never do it again.

You don't have any 2 yr olds do ya?