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?
Correct.
Wood ash is mostly mineral oxides, which, when mixed with water, make alkali solutions.
That’s how they make soap.
When she gets up, I can ask her what she uses, if you like.
Thanks! I’m all ears, that’s why I asked the question for opinions and recommendations.
Of course when I’m done, I probably won’t have to do it again for a year or so. I have no pets or kids. But it’s always good to know stuff!
As an aside, I do not think man has yet invented something to take the smell of a 14 month old out of the carpet... friend of mine drove me somewhere and he had a kid - I swear, if that car was mine, I would have sent it to the crusher and paid them to do away with it!
Be prepared to leave your home overnight if using one. Use as much water as necessary, use very good cleaner, also make sure you have a fan to help dry the carpet.
The get out of dodge overnight so you don’t step on it and dirty it back up.
Thing is pellet stove continuously draws in outside air and heats it, so it gets pretty dry in my place. Sometimes I even put a pot of water on it to boost the humidity a bit.
Carpet will be totally dry by mid-morning.
Look the machine you rent over carefully. I used to rent them out, and know that people would just rent the machine to clean up a flooded basement after a sewage backup. They returned them in less than sanitary condition.
better idea . . .
Pull up all the carpet and put down rugs.
Carpets will never be clean. Just dirt and germ magnets.
On a budget, finish 18” of the floor around the edges of the rooms and roll out your carpets.
You could have them dry cleaned when needed, or just wack ‘em out in the sun on the line in the backyard. Looks real nice too.
The problem is that the Rug Doctor is state of the art carpet cleaning equipment circa 1950. If you must use it, use liquid laundry detergent (NOT CONCENTRATED!) at about half the recommended dosage. If it has been cleaned with a Rug Doctor previously, you might even skip the detergent, just use straight water. (I used to turn off the cleaning solution when cleaning up after the Doctor. Some people use so much detergent that it would foam up a Butler rig two years later.) Dry stroke (don't use the spray) about two or three times for each wet stroke. Put an ounce or two of liquid fabric softener (it is a de-foamer) in the recovery tank. A capful of fabric softener in a quart spray bottle is a good thing if you have spot cleaned with commercial products. Just spray on any foamy spots. If you need to put the furniture back before the carpet is dry, make sure you have some kind of barrier between the furniture legs and the carpet. Metal legs or feet will rust and some furniture stains will bleed into the carpet. We used to use two inch cardboard square for legged furniture and styrofoam blocks for flat pieces. Unstained wood blocks work well, too.
Why rent? You can buy a super Bissell at Wally World for $150.
I'm innocent I tell ya'!
Don’t put carpet down in the first place! My husband is a custom home builder and dirt trails behind him like the Peanuts character. Hardwood floors solve it and we use a wood burning stove at a house we have on the Chesapeake Bay and I know about the ash stuff.
Quickest way to ruin carpet is over wetting and left in cleaning solution that melds to the fibers to attract soil permanently ...in the long run these cost you far more.....and that my friend is what you will get from a rug doctor or portable gopher.
bump
Pull up the carpeting and install hard-surface flooring. You can do it yourself. You can never really get carpeting clean.
I was watching RedEye when I made the Post, so I went with the worst of the two. It's Bill Schultz's fault. I really didn't think anyone would get it, so thanks...
It saddens me that we have a whole new generation that never heard (or felt) shag carpet. Maybe some business person should reintroduce it......just saying.
Donald Trump has the best rug doctor ever, I never see any ash coating.
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