Rug Doctor???

C

CleanGSR

New member
Our living room carpet is in need of some serious cleaning. We have a hoover carpet shampooer and while it does clean up the carpets some, it doesn't get it fully clean and the spots seem to come back after awhile.



I was wondering if anybody on here has ever used a Rug Doctor (the ones from Lowes, etc...) I'm debating on whether to rent one or to just hire a pro to clean the carpet. (Also considering ripping up the carpet and putting wood laminate to match the kitchen dining area as a last resort).



Anybody have experiences with the Rug Doctor? How well do they clean?....even close to an autopian's standards??
 
We rented a Rug Doctor once, and weren't impressed. We then went and bought a Bissel Pro Heat (I think that's what it's called), and it works better than the Rug Doctor. I would either spend the money on a nice Bissel, or hire a pro.
 
I rented one from walmart for 30 dollars and it seemed to do pretty well...it leaves a pretty humid atmosphere due to the moisture, the carpets are still pretty wet after using the rug doctor..my vote would be to hire out though..thats what i will do next time
 
Thanks for posting your experiences. I had a feeling it was an all hype product. I think there is a pro (with good reputation) that will shampoo them for around $75 (or so I've been told). I think I'll just go that route and if they still don't look good, then just do the laminate to match the rest of the flooring in our house (minus bedrooms).
 
I rent one all the time. I had my carpet cleaned twice by professionals and wasn't super impressed. The last time, about a day afterwards, the dog gets sick. I get out the Folex and clean it up - and it leaves a cleaner spot than what the pro did!



So, now I use Folex in the carpet machine and it's definitely superior to what the pros did for me (both steam cleaned and that Chem-Dry process). $19 rental, half a gallon of Folex, an hour of my time and it's done.
 
Before I bought my Mytee HP60..I used a Hoover to clean my rugs in the house..and it did a real nice job....the trick is to get all the soap out after....I use a water vinegar rinse after I wash them....gets all the soap out to stop re spotting from residual shampoo....plus I use the ZEP rug shampoo for extractors and the heavy duty traffic cleaner....the store bought stuff is no comparison to the ZEP stuff as far as cleaning goes...



I use the Zep stuff in my extractor now and it cleans great...



AL
 
Where can I buy this zep? I'm thinking of trying either zep (if I can buy it locally) or use folex in my current shampooer. Maybe my problem is crappy shampoo solution rather than the machine. The machine seems to do a good enough job, but I"ve just been using the resolve carpet shampoo solution.



Where do you buy folex? Is it available at walmart? Also what mixture?......the same as recommended by the machine (5-6 ounces per fill up).
 
Or see if you can find a dedicated janitorial supply place. They should have all the carpet cleaning supplies you need and at a better price than at a hardware store. Zep has some good stuff last i checked.



The pro carpet stuff is a big step up from the woolite and most APC. Anti soiling and optical brighteners do work.
 
salty said:
Or see if you can find a dedicated janitorial supply place. They should have all the carpet cleaning supplies you need and at a better price than at a hardware store. Zep has some good stuff last i checked.



The pro carpet stuff is a big step up from the woolite and most APC. Anti soiling and optical brighteners do work.
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Thanks for that suggestion, becuase you made me realize that we have a dedicated vaccuum type store that rents cleaners and stuff. I'll check there and see if they have zep.
 
If there is not a scrubber with the steam machine you may also have to rent a scrubber also. Oxie clean added to the steam solution may also help, but make sure the oxie clean is completly desolved.
 
CleanGSR said:
Sweet. If I can't find the Zep anywhere then I'll grab some folex and run that in my carpet shampooer.
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YMMV, but I tried Zep before Folex. No comparison-the Folex was so much more effective. I normally take a spray bottle and pretreat any bad areas and then run the Folex in the machine as well. Not sure how much, I just put a splash in with the water.

And honestly, that's the worst thing about the RugDoctor - trying to get water in the awkwardly placed tank.





I'd ship you my half used bottle of Zep, but I think the shipping would be more than a new bottle.
 
kompressornsc said:
YMMV, but I tried Zep before Folex. No comparison-the Folex was so much more effective. I normally take a spray bottle and pretreat any bad areas and then run the Folex in the machine as well. Not sure how much, I just put a splash in with the water.

And honestly, that's the worst thing about the RugDoctor - trying to get water in the awkwardly placed tank.





I'd ship you my half used bottle of Zep, but I think the shipping would be more than a new bottle.
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Thanks. Based on your reply, I'm gonna give the folex a try first (especailly since it should be easier to find in my small area.) I appreciate the offer for your bottle of zep, but I plan to do this tomorrow anyway so need something fairly quickly.
 
The Zep Commercial products are way better than the home stuff...using the Traffic lane cleaner from zep sure made rugs clean...I use folex also..but for stain spotting...you can dilute Folex 1 to 4 ratio...so a quart to a gallon of water is the most ....



the extractor shampoo is what I used in the Hoover...



but it looks like you have no Home Depot near you...thats the only big box store that has it...



Al
 
Well, I picked up a bottle of Folex and a small thing of Oxy Clean. I'm going to try with just folex and if that doesn't do the trick then I might try folex water solution with a scoop of oxyclean.
 
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