To not know whether to get someone in to clean my carpets or to buy a carpet cleaner

[nigelslaterfan]

please advise me.

I've posted on Housekeeping to no avail!

I want to know what you super clean mumsnetters do.

[ghostyslovesheep]

hire a carpet cleaner

[nigelslaterfan]

Person or machine?

[WorraLiberty]

We hire the Rug Doctor machine

It's brilliant

[goinggrey1978]

hire one from tesco's its a rug doctor one, think it £20 for the day

[OttiliaVonBCup]

We hired a machine once.

Almost got divorced over it, the carpets were just as grubby, but more wet and stinky.

Of course, it might work for you...

[EarSlaps]

I bought a Vax 124 as we have cream carpets and small children (DS1 was a pukey baby too). Works as well as the rug doctor IMO and easier to use.

Owning one means you can use it whenever for just a small spill (or sickness bug!) and no more faffing around with collecting and dropping off etc.

If you have the space and money upfront I'd really recommend it. Moving to a place with wooden floors soon but I'm tempted to keep it for all the rugs.

[1Morewineplease]

Sorry to contradict Worraliberty but Rugdoctor did nothing to our carpets... Though I suppose it depends on how bad your carpets are.. The not -so-used areas looked fresher but high traffic areas stayed the same resulting in the dirtier areas standing out more!!!

[chickenfuckingpox]

we had a cleaning company in and they were brilliant they cost the same as renting a rug doctor as it was a special offer at the time there is always a company having a sale

[WorraLiberty]

Ooh did you pre-treat with the Traffic Lane cleaner first 1More?

When my friend's tenants were evicted, they left her deep pink carpet looking like it had patches of tar/oil/filth all over it.

She was actually going to throw it out until her Mum hired the Rug Doctor and brought it up sparkling.

No-one could believe it

[WanderWomble]

Hire someone for a deep clean, then rent/buy a machine to maintain.

[WhereYouLeftIt]

Depends how much carpet you have to clean, and how often you plan to clean. If it's a lot of carpet, but it's likely to be a one-off, I'd get someone in. Not a lot of carpet but still one-off, hire for a day. If you think you'll be cleaning every month/couple of months, buying your own cleaner will probably work out cheaper in the long run.

(I have a Bissell.)

[nigelslaterfan]

Thank you!

And are there carpet cleaning liquids which are less toxic than others? They sounds a bit nasty chemically.

[AnulTheMagnificent]

I have done both, had a company to do them, had to have all the furniture out of the way, had to keep out of their way, carpets looked good but left a friend to pay as I had to go out and ended up paying more than I was quoted.

The hired machine didn't seem to clean very well and left the carpets soggy the first time.

I used to have a Vax but seemed to be needing it serviced and parts replaced too often. So hired again, was a bit better.

However, I like to be able to clean the carpets when I want to, and not have to plan ahead to get the cleaner so bought George from Numatic and am very pleased with him, much better than the hired machines which can be a bit knackered and a quite heavy to move about.

[wowfudge]

As recommended on MN, I used Persil Small and Mighty last time I rented a Rug Doctor. It worked brilliantly on the carpets of the previous tenanted house - the living room one was like new, mind you it was a good quality carpet to start with.

[musicalendorphins2]

We bought a Bissell steam cleaner about 18-20 years ago.
It still works, and one of our kids has it now. It was the easiest, most economical and most practical way to go, with a household of children and pets, and at the time the entire house was carpeted. I found our own cleaning results just as good as hiring someone to come in. I liked being able to clean the couch and other upholstered furniture. (You need to be sure of whether your couches ect are ok with water.)

[IamtheDevilsAvocado]

Used rug doctor on our ridiculously white carpets that were laid in hallway as well as the other rooms in our rental place.
In some places the carpet had almost turned black-despute our efforts!

Was fab, absolutely fab! We did use the high traffic liquid with it.

Why not get a written quote and compare... Do beware there are scamsters out there.

[ClaudiaNaughton]

I've just been quoted £175 for stairs and 4 bedrooms and can't decide. Although beds on castors he won't move them or anything and just does walkways.

[LazyLouLou]

I have a Bissell, t is wonderful and really easy to use. Go for the one with the upholstery nozzle thing, then stairs, curtains and cushions become a doddle too.

If I didn't already own one, like wanderwomble I'd get someone in to do a good deep clean and then buy my own and use it regularly.

As for chemicals I do have a commercial bottle of stuff, it is pink I would make my own, this is the only type of commercial cleaner I buy, but there are all sorts of problems with putting soap onto carpets: too much foam (which is deadly); leaving residue that attracts more dirt, invalidating the warranty, etc. Apparently it is down to inadequate surfactants. So I just find a cleaner I like the smell of!

[maamalady]

Having your own machine is also v useful in emergencies. When our boiler broke down and we came home to the kitchen and hallway swimming in water it was brilliant to be able to use the vax to hoover up all the water!

[PickleSarnie]

Buy. Definitely. We have this onem.bisselldirect.co.uk/bissell-deluxe?gclid=Cj0KEQjw27etBRDA3-ux4p3c58EBEiQAkJzTAMjbX6tWWeZJAvN5GuVcjiFc6zh8Gut_2_BAfb9B4rsaAqwk8P8HAQ

Although we bought it from Argos when it was on special at that price (it's not £299 on argos)

Best £200 I've ever spent.

[Topseyt]

I bought a Vax Dual V carpet washer a few years ago and find it brilliant.

Whilst I don't have that much carpet at home, I do have four rental properties which have to be done properly if between tenants. It would have easily cost me a lot more to keep hiring machines, so I bought my own.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, when my MIL was terminally ill there was the odd disaster. The Vax dealt with it all easily where the vacuum cleaner and hand scrubbing would have struggled/failed.

I think it cost me about £200 at the time, and has definitely paid for itself now. I'd say it was money well spent.

[PickleSarnie]

Arse. Link fail. Not sure why I can't get them to work.

It's fab owning one because you can spot treat when needed. And it was actually less than I got quoted for someone to come in and do the house. And it does sofas too.

[ilovechristmas1]

ive a vax,cost £140 in a Argos sale

if you buy make sure you get the stair attachment

so easy to use and really good,one of the best things ive bought for the home

and you get a 2yr guarantee

[ilovechristmas1]

imo the vax has greatly improved to what it was 10-15yrs ago