I have been a devotee of Stanley Steemer in the past. I like a clean floor (it's kind of an obsession of mine, I'll admit). Anyway, with 3 kids, 2 cats, and a husband my beige carpets take a beating. So, I used to pay several hundred dollars a year for a professional cleaning service to come out and clean the carpets. They would charge extra for everything (they wanted $200 to clean my couch, which I could never justify doing) and $50 for each additional rug. I would pay the bare minimum for the floors only and try to live with dirty rugs and couch.

So, I decided that I would try the rug doctor once. I rented a machine from my local Safeway for $25 and $3 for
the upholstery tool. The cleaning solution ran $25 and was enough for my 2000 square feet of carpet. I decided that even if it was a failure, it would be a cheap failure compared to the professional cleaning.

Anyway, the machine is truly amazing. You put super hot water and cleaning solution into the bottom tank. You then use either the tool or pull the whole machine across your carpet and the dirt comes off. That's it. Works just as it says it does. You empty the dirty water and start over again.

I did find that the Anti-foam product was necessary when using the upholstery tool/solution. Also, you must completely vacuum the surface prior to cleaning, it does not do a good job with excess debris (see my review on the Bissell Healthy Home vacuum - these two are a great combo!).

I spent the afternoon cleaning my huge sectional sofa (and wow, was it disgusting), 3 cars, my entire carpeted surface (to include stairs). I almost steam cleaned the kids, too!

I would love to buy this product, but I don't know if it makes a lot of sense. You can purchase it for $699 at Kohl's with no shipping when they are having a sale (online the same price but with shipping). A previous reviewer states he saw it at Kohl's for less, but my ad showed it at $699 recently. To rent the product, you only pay (at most) $30 per time. If you rented it 2 times per year (a reasonable amount of time between carpet cleanings), you would have to own it for more than 12 years to make it worthwhile. Plus, you would have to have a place to store the product (it is quite large). If it breaks, you would be out the money after the warranty (which is not likely to be 12 years, but don't quote me on it). The advantage to owning is that you would not have to have the hassle of going to Safeway to rent it. So, if convenience is a factor and you think you'll use it more than twice a year it might make sense to buy. If you are more frugal, renting is definitely the way to go. Plus - what if they come out with a better model in 2 years? You won't want to be stuck with an old model for 10 years.

Anyway - I'll never pay a professional again. I cleaned my whole house and 3 cars in 1/2 a day for hundreds less. Thanks, Rug Doctor!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 30