Cleaning carpets in new house - Rug Doctor? Steam?

[DoloresLandingham]

We are in the fortunate position of moving from rented into our new house, and in the overlap between completing on our purchase and ending our tenancy I want to clean the carpets in our new house.

The house will be empty of furniture so the rooms will be totally clear. There are carpets in the sitting room, study, hallway, stairs, landing, and three bedrooms. The previous owners had a dog and a cat and my BIL is seriously allergic to both, so it's imperative that the clean is really thorough.

What's the most effective option in this situation? Is it worth hiring an extra-wide Rug Doctor, given that there's no furniture to move? What about a steam machine - would that be a better option? I'm not sure what the carpets are made of.

We used a rug doctor and it was good but a lot of work. If you can afford it, I'd pay for professionals to come in.

Congratulations!

I agree with toots. A rugdoctor gives great results IMO at an excellent price, but it is heavy work and very noisy. If budget stretches to getting professionals in, that is a much easier option.

I don't have experience of commercial steamers but the rugdoctor really gets hot water and detergent into and out of the carpet fibres. I can't imagine a steamer being so good at actually removing grime but that is just my guess.

A steam cleaner will only re fresh the carpet not clean it. I use a rug doctor but I only have two carpets in my house, the rest are wooden floors. It will take for ever and a day to clean that many carpets yourself and you will be fed up after two rooms. Look around for someone to come and do them, there are usuallys deals on.

Thanks everyone (especially for the congratulations!)

In a nice bit of serendipity, we came home yesterday to a special offer leaflet from a local carpet cleaning company which had been pushed through the door. I've booked someone to do the job for £85; considering that the rug doctor and detergent would have been around £35 I'm quite happy to use my time for one of the other million jobs as we move!