Vac or Steamer better for old cream carpets?

[Chocolateporridge]

We have a cream carpet in our living room which was here 7 years ago when we moved in. We had it cleaned and it looked ok which was a relief as we couldn't afford a new one.

Fast forward to today and I have a 2yo dd and am expecting dc2 in September. The carpet has big grey blotches on it that only show up in certain light (I think this comes from wearing black socks) and when I lift the rug up it looks like we still have a rug down because the carpet is a different colour underneath

I have a very very old vax which we use from time to time and seems to pick up loads of dirt but within a couple of days the marks are back in exactly the same place.

We can afford a new carpet now but with 2 small dc's my dh thinks its better to get a new carpet cleaner and buy a carpet when they're older (its a big room).

What would you recommend, a steam cleaner type, an upright vac or something else?

Sorry, replace "vac" with "vax"! Stupid predictatext...

I think you will find a carpet washer/shampooer very useful.

If you have a carpet that is going to get very dirty, a Polupropylene Heather Twist will withstand very severe cleaning, including bleach. With small children you can expect soiled carpets.

Which Best Buy shampooers (best first)

Bissell AromaPro Upright Deep Cleaner
£160 scored 73%

Vax Dual V V-124 upright carpet washer
£175 68%

Bissell ProHeat 2X Select Upright Deep Cleaner
£300 67%

Vax Rapide Ultra 2 W90-RU-P
£140 67%

Bissell Cleanview Deep Clean Carpet Cleaner
£280 66%

Thank you so much piglet, loads of information! That's really helpful. Do you have one of these yourself?

nope

I have a canister vac with shampoo spray accessory, but I see from the Which tests that sort is not much good, several are "don't buys"

A rug doctor that you can hire will shock you when you see the amount of filth, mud, grit, bogies and dead spiders it collects.

at bogies!

Thanks for all the info, now to check the bank balance!