Posted on 02/17/2012 11:58:52 PM PST by djf
OK I broke down and rented a Rug Doctor. My carpet is a little under two years old and not in bad shape except I have a pellet stove and no matter what you do, it puts out a fine gray ash that dulls everything.
So far, the results seem good, it will never look like new again, but looks a whole lot better than before. Problem being is that it uses a TON of water and I can hardly get by doing 75 sq ft or so without refill.
Opinions? Hints? Anybody know the great Rug Doctor secrets held by only the ancients and Lazamataz?
Some carpet cleaners have multiple settings for the water flow. I don’t have any idea what machine/model you are using, but I know that I have had that issue in the past. If there’s an instruction book, it might help.
And here’s a link to the site with a tutorial and a guide of sorts, maybe it can help:
http://rent.rugdoctor.com/how-to-clean-carpets.php
With all these ladies getting Brazilians these days, I’m surprised there’s hardly much need for a Rug Doctor.
Lol!
Yur bad!
The machine says it takes 11 amps, wonder if that’s enuff?
I’ve used them...be prepared to use everything a lot. You might consider using other similar cheaper carpet cleaner liquid. Although the rug doctor spot remover seems to work pretty good. You will be going back and forth refilling and mixing A LOT.
Dunno... I prefer shag myself... ‘70s style. Disco rug. Can ya dig it ?
....AND, it takes time,meaning that lifting technique they suggest...... well takes it’s toll on your back. They work, but you have to work slowly
I have 1983 shag right now, I should have changed it a few years ago when I first moved in and business was better.
What seems to be the best is one wash followed by two rinses. Of course I will never know for sure until it is totally dry and has been vacuumed once or twice.
Actually, I was happy with the balance. Doesn’t bother my back so much as the “Work” button has to be kept continually pressed for it to run...
And I been cheating a bit, adding about 2 tsp. TSP per gallon... (the real stuff, not the fake TSP!!)
That’s a really good idea. Will have to do that the next time I deploy mine.
I thought you were looking for a good Gynecologist.
The attachments that they try to rent to you for an extra charge are not very good. I mean the ones that are supposed to do furniture and stairs. Save the three bucks. Don't rent them.
Buy carpet cleaning fluid at Wal-Mart or suchlike. The Rug Doctor fluid is too expensive. You don't need to use much -- maybe even less soap-to-water than they recommend, and they often recommend just a couple of ounces of cleaner to a gallon of water. Mix the cleanser with a bucket of the hottest water you can run from the tap and pour it into the Rug Doctor asap. I have a bucket that I think is 22 quarts and it fills the regular size Rug Doctor perfectly. (There is a larger-size wide Rug Doctor for large rooms.) Bissell O2 and Bissell OxyGen2 are pretty good cleansers.
If you have some major stains or very dirty high-traffic areas of the carpet, pre-treat them before you use Rug Doctor. Folex brand Instant Carpet Spot Remover is good. Get a stiff scrub brush and use a circular motion. If you have pet stains buy one of the special pet stain carpet products - they actually work remarkably well.
You can only use Rug Doctor to clean carpeted stairs if you're very strong and in good shape. You'll have to hold up the machine yourself while it aspirates out the dirt and water. You can try just putting in a little bit of the water to lower the weight, but it won't make that much difference. As I said above, the attachments for stairs and furniture are pretty much useless.
Vacuum thoroughly before you start. Vacuum all the carpets/rugs a couple of times. Clean the Rug Doctor filter regularly -- maybe every two or three times you fill Rug Doctor with soap and water. When you start, try to get the hang of using Rug Doctor -- you squirt the soap/water mixture on generously, then you vacuum it out thoroughly so that the carpet is only left slightly damp. This the beauty of Rug Doctor actually -- its powerful suction removes dirt effectively and leaves the carpet/rug almost dry. Some of the other posters talked about rinses. I never do that. Pre-treat the worst areas, use hot water with just barely enough soap, vacuum the dirty water out of there thoroughly, and you'll be walking on a clean rug in just a couple of hours.
Where I live Safeway and some other supermarket/big-box stores rent Rug Doctor, but I usually rent it from a local dry cleaner that closes on Sunday. I rent the machine Saturday night and don't have to return it until Monday morning.
Now that you’ve begun to use the Rug Doctor it’s probably too late for this, but it’s always a good idea to dry vacuum the carpet as well as you can before you start shampooing it. You can save money if you rented by the hour by vacuuming first, and also by pretreating bad stains with a spray type pretreatment and a brush. Turn your water heater to maximum temperature so you will have the hottest water available (turn it back when finished). Be sure your water softener has freshly regenerated if you use one. Then go get the Rug Doctor and shampoo away.
Add water to it and you make acid. Cut the PH before you use the rug Dr.
Add water to what and make acid? Wood ash is a source of alkali if anything. The carbonized content is difficult to completely get out of any rug as it is not soluble, though mechanical flushing can get some of it.
Oh, it’s a good idea that when the rug has dried after shampooing, apply a Scotchgard type spray.
Sick, sick, sick...LOL
I’ve been making sure that any area I use it on has already been vacuumed multiple times.
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