Hand clean or rent carpet cleaner ?

Sus32360530
by Sus32360530

Old stained,grounded in deep dirt in beige "apt" carpet. I'm not willing to use a carpet cleaning machine and hours of elbow grease on 3 rooms ! Is there a magic diy ?


  7 answers
  • Janice Janice on Feb 22, 2018

    Since it is ground-in dirt you'd likely be ahead to rent a carpet cleaning machine. They do a pretty good job and you'll be amazed at how dirty the water is that you vacuum up as you're using it, even on carpet you don't think is that dirty. Use very hot water.....I usually use the hottest tap water I can and include a tea kettle of VERY hot water in the unit as well. You may need to clean the very dirty area more than once to get the dirt removed.

  • Janice Janice on Feb 22, 2018

    Definitely rent a carpet cleaning machine! If it is ground-in dirt you'll need to have the maximum "vacuum" carpet cleaner you can find. Also, use VERY hot water. When I clean mine, I get the teakettle going as well as a large cup in the microwave and add that the the container with the cleaning soluiton and the HOTTEST tap water possible. You will be amazed at how dirty the water the machine vacuums up is, even in areas you don't think are particularly dirty. You may need to clean the very dirty areas two or even three times while you're doing the entire place. I sometimes put vinegar in the machine to use as my final clean so the carpet is somewhat disinfected as well. Then you'll have a fresh smelling clean carpet.

  • Cindy Cindy on Feb 22, 2018

    I recommend using a steam cleaner. The rental place should have the shampoo too. Resolve makes a great product for stains. It comes with a brush on top of the cap. My husband used to work for a school district and that is the product they used for stains. Just spray the foam on and use the brush to scrub the stain right off.

  • Dia12360815 Dia12360815 on Feb 22, 2018

    a couple hours of elbow grease with a carpet cleaner will be so worth the effort. Be sure to vacuum the carpet very well beforehand. Then pretreat the bad stains with shout or an equivalent. When using the carpet cleaner, be sure to keep going over the area until the water is clear. If you're adamant about not using a carpet scrubber, you might try something like capture. This is a moist powder you sprinkle on the carpet and rub in with a brush. when dry you vacuum. However with really ground in dirt I don't know if the results would be the same/





  • Cynthia Whitney Cynthia Whitney on Feb 22, 2018

    Oh, definitely rent the carpet cleaner. You have no idea how long that grunge has been there! And rent it for long enough to clean 2 or 3 times! Once isn't going to do it!

  • Sharon Sharon on Feb 22, 2018

    If you are a landlord, then you know the price of renting a carpet cleaner is a business expense. And if the carpet is over 10 years old, it is fully depreciated and replaceable at this time.

  • 2dogal 2dogal on Feb 25, 2018

    rent a carpet cleaner........No need to do it on your hands and knees.