Shampoo or steam clean carpets?

[HairyMaclary]

With DS1 dropped off at university DD2 wants to move into the bigger room but the carpet needs a thorough clean. I was going to hire a rug doctor from Homebase but then read that stem cleaning is better. Is it? Is there a difference? If so where can I hire a steam cleaner from, a google hasn’t bought up any options. Is it possible?

Are there any other options for carpet cleaning I may have missed? Deep cleaning is not my forte!

Hot water is better, but you can probably use hot water in the cleaner you hire from Homebase. I looked at this recently, but I can't recall the maximum water temperature. It won't be steam but will be adequate I expect.

I'd shampoo if you want them clean, as it uses detergent and water and then the machine extracts the dirty water. Steam cleaners often just shoot steam at things with no way of lifting the dirt off (unless you wipe it away) which isn't great on carpets. It will sanitise, but not clean.

Rug Doctor is good for getting years of accumulated grime out. Steam cleaner will kill more germs.
we hire a rug doctor every few years for deep cleaning and use our own steam cleaner for if someone is sick or walks dog poo in or something like that.

shampoo Cleans it.
steam kills the bacteria. You won’t get dirt out with steam. You just, steam it.
you need to suck the dirty stuff away and steaming won’t do that

We’ve got a Vax Platinum Carpet Cleaner and it’s fantastic. About the same size as a Dyson and really easy to use and manoeuvre.

We cleaned the carpets in a room our dogs have never been in (and after the professional exit clean has been done) and it brought loads of dog pee and general dirt out. It was gross yet also fascinating.

How could you tell it was dog pee? Did it still smell? 😮

Agree there is something very satisfying about the colour of the water that comes out.

I presume it was dog pee rather than human pee (ewwww) as the previous occupants had dogs. The water was distinctly yellow tinged and smelt awful when the dirty water container was emptied.

This carpet cleaner is amazing, great value for money and easy to use.

The hot water extraction method is the best, and doesn't leave your carpets that wet.

I've used this company several times in different houses https://www.allgleamingclean.com/

I’ve got one and used it once. It soaked the carpet and huge tufts came out if it. It didn’t make much difference to the look of the carpet either. I used it on a third of the carpet and then gave up. I never used it again.

Thanks all, I think I need to shampoo then, I’ll
hire a rug doctor. I was just out off by the reviews of a ‘residue’ left behind that gets sticky quickly.

I have never had a sticky residue.

Have a good look at the Rug Doctor before you accept it. Some places are disinclined to make sure they’re clean and ready to use. They’re ok but if there’s somewhere near you that rents Bissel Big Green carpet cleaners, they are the ones to go for.

I rented one from a normal hire company for £20. It was a karcher professional one with all the accessories. They talked me through how to use it and it was all clean ready to use

How do you find someone who does steam cleaning? I can’t find anyone or find a machine that does it either .