Best carpet cleaner recommendations

[LimitIsUp]

I don't have a lot of carpet (only upstairs) but what I do have is looking decidedly grubby. Do I need one of those vax platinum cleaners as per the tv advert (with the tv dad whipping it over the carpet whilst smiling over at his kids). My carpets need a bit more than a vacuum - a proper freshen up is well overdue

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MNHQ

I know its boring, but I could really do with some recommendations

I'd get someone in rather than buying an a carpet cleaner if you've only got carpets upstairs.

It's still a lot of carpet to clean though so I think a carpet cleaner would be well used, plus we have rugs on hard flooring downstairs

I realise that sounds contradictory from my first post - what I mean is there is sufficient carpet to warrant it

Fair enough. I used the vax one on a rug recently, it did the trick and was cleanish by the end of it but it felt like a lot of faffing around and it took ages to dry. Might be better on actual carpets.

Thanks - faffing about doesn't sound appealing

I would highly recommend local expert cleaning for carpet cleaning, they cleaned my carpet about a month ago and my carpet looks like new, also steam cleaned my carpet and I am very happy with their service
www.localexpertcleaning.co.uk/carpet-cleaning-birmingham/

I bought one recently. Had a look about and ended up with a bissel after reading lots of reviews. this one I was replacing an elderly vax and didn't want another one.
It's good if slightly heavy. I did the carpet in the front room 3 times before the water was cleanish.. It was grim. It didn't take long to dry out I just kept sucking more water out of it until it couldn't get any more, then put the heat on and opened the French doors.

I've only used it in one room so far but I like it.

I have a Vax and it's great, easy to use and does a good job if the colour of the water's anything to go by. We chipped in as a family to buy one so it's a shared resource, which works out well for everyone because it didn't cost much each. We each keep our own bottle of carpet shampoo and pass it round when we need it.

We hire a Rug Doctor perhaps every year or so, or after we've decorated. We use a bog standard carpet shampoo with it, you don't need the one that they try and sell you when you hire the machne- we use one from Home Bargains that's about £2.50. An amazing (and quite horrifying!) amount of dirt usually comes out, but I find occasionally giving them a good once over with a hired machine is enough and I wouldn't feel the need to buy one.