DIY carpet cleaning - any good?

[Duncan Di Saudelli]

Hello

We're about to buy a house which has got stairs & landing carpet, bedroom carpets and bathroom carpets. They will all likely need a good clean so we hope to do it as soon as we take possession and prior to moving all the furniture in.

We have borrowed a Goblin wet & dry vacuum cleaner with a carpet cleaning attachment (15 year old model); I think it's the sort of thing where you put some kind of shampoo and water into a chamber and it gets sucked down, through and back up out of the carpet and ends up with a vacuum cleaner fullof (hopefully) dirty water. We haven't tried it yet but we could do it ourselves using it.

Or - we could hire a professional carpet cleaning company to do it using whatever specialist machines and chemicals they use these days (i.e. carbon tet's modern-day safe equivalent presumably?).

Has anyone gone down this particular road and could they recommend one approach over another? We aren't made out of money and we do have time on our sides, but that would be to no avail if the DIY approach is no good. But maybe it is good - we're seeking thoughts please!

TIA

DDS

[Chris Bartram]

Our Vax wet & dry cleaner does a good job.

[The Medway Handyman]

DIY machines in general aren't much use on healivly soiled carpets.

Most use soil extraction machines. They use hot water water & detergents rather than solvents. Avoid anyone using any other system, especially franchises.

A 'good' carpet cleaner will really deep clean your carpets and the results will last. So much more effective than attenpts at DIY.

I'm afraid there are many in the carpet cleaning game who should wear 10 gallon hats.

Look for either a member of the NCCA or someone who has been around for 20 years.

will give you more info.

Do not under any circumstances go for anyone offering cheapest prices.

[Usenet Nutter]

I did a couple of carpets years ago and hired a machine .It was a big machine using shampoo with two containers ,one for the clean water /shampoo mix and the other for the dirty water ...and when I say dirty I mean dirty .It was unreal what came out of those carpets and although it was hard work it did a brillaint job and the carpets were not really wet at all when finished .

[The Medway Handyman]

A perfect description of what a decent soil extraction machine can do.

[Duncan Di Saudelli]

- didn't think to check the FAQ; thanks!

Looks like hiring a professional machine is the best bet then, using a soil/spray extraction method. Thanks all for the guidance.

DDS

[Bill]

In message , Duncan Di Saudelli writes

I don't know if any DIY stores still do it but one local to me was offering a 10% off card for new home owners for the first 6 months after moving in, I used this, amongst other things, to hire a decent industrial cleaner. It was to say the least bl**dy marvellous, amazing how much dirt it managed to get out of even clean looking carpets.

[The Natural Philosopher]

The goblin is good at getting the water up, but its hopeless at deep penetration of it, or scrubbing, in the first place.

What follows, is a serious suggestion.

Empty the rooms completely, and pressure wash the carpets.

THEN use the goblin.

[Malcolm]

Look for a Hydromist from HSS. Make sure you get the correct 'Extraction Shampoo' to use with it. The school where I wor has one and it is very effective, I have also used it at home and wouldn't try anything else

Malcolm

[Pete Verdon]

Will this not depend on the type of floor underneath the carpets?

Pete

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Duncan Di Saudelli ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

I hired a "Rug Doctor" machine some years ago and it did a pretty good job even in my inexperienced hands, but I now have a mate who runs his own cleaning business and he did the job for me last time, with the same type of machine, with great results and at a discount :-)

I agree with the earlier poster who said just how much dirt comes out when you take a look at the 'spent' water.

[Andy Champ]

I'd vote for a Rug Doctor too. Rent from B&Q IIRC.

Andy

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Andy Champ ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

I rented mine from a local independent DIY store, but I'm sure they're available at lots of outlets.

[Jason]

I rented one from Morrisons a few weeks ago, on a weekend special deal.

They are great machines. They have a brush in the front that oscillates left and right, and it is that which makes all the difference, as the brush opens up the fibres to right right inside the carpet. A standard VAX does not have a brush.

It also delivers the water nice and hot straight to the carpet, assuming you start with hot water. I've tried a Vax in the past and that tends to cool the water down by the time it reaches the head.

The Rug Doctor is pumped too - the water is forcibly sprayed into the carpet.

There is something very satisfying about tipping the *black* water down the drain after using one of these machines.

-- Jason