We moved into our dilapidated 1930s house 5 years ago and replaced the upstairs carpets, but downstairs we have an assortment of grubby and cracked floorboards, a very old rug, and a brown carpet in the dining room. It’s pretty hideous but it’s functional. We’re saving up for wooden or high-quality laminate flooring to go throughout, but until then the brown carpet is staying. It has a couple of stains on it thanks to my daughter’s art-loving ways. For your reading pleasure, I have gone through The Rug Doctor hire process to tell you about how it works and the results. I have also been testing out the Rug Doctor portable spot cleaner which you can whip out for those stubborn stains. (Update – we have now completed our extension and have bamboo flooring – bliss!)
About Rug Doctor
You can hire a rug doctor carpet cleaning machine for around £35 plus delivery, or collect from your local participating store, like B & Q or Tesco. You can choose from 24 or 48hrs and you need to buy the detergent to use with it. The machine is quite large but not too heavy. You move it around with the handle and wheels like a trolley. I found it easy to manoeuvre and I’m not the strongest person. Anyone could use it. The rug doctor offers professional carpet cleaning quality that you can do yourself at home. It’s great for when you move home or just want a deep clean.
Using the Rug Doctor carpet cleaner hire machine
As I said the rug doctor cleaner is easy to move around and not heavy. Before you start you should do a normal vacuum on the floor you want to clean. Our dining room is fairly empty at the moment as we’re decorating, so it’s the perfect time to use it. When you fill up the machine you should read the instructions carefully, when I took the white plastic tank out I tried to put the detergent in there before I noticed the massive sign saying ‘Do not put detergent in here!’ The white box is to collect the dirty water, the detergent gets measured out and put into the bottom red compartment that has the filter in it. Then you fill it up with hot tap water, to halfway up the filter at the top. Don’t do what I did and traipse through two rooms with a small jug of water and the tap running, bring the machine to where the tap is! It’s more water than you think. Once that’s done you’re good to go, it made a big difference to the room and the carpet, just look at the state of the water when I finished!
I also used it on the Afghan rug that we’ve had for 12 years, it has brightened it up and made me almost want to keep it (me and my OH have a running argument about it – I want something more modern but he likes it).
The rug doctor makes a loud noise when you use it, and it vibrates a lot, so be prepared for that. When you turn it on it goes to vacuum, then you press the handle to add spray and drag it back to suck up and clean. You can also go over it without the spray to suck up extra water and grime. You can’t go forwards easily, but you can turn it easily by tipping it on its wheels. It was very satisfying to use.
The Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner
This handy little machine is for tackling deep stains in your home, upholstery, fabrics, or car. It’s really compact and easy to use. You simply lift out the tank and add hot tap water to one line and a small amount of detergent to the next line and you’re ready. The other tank collects the wastewater. Then you plug it in, unwind the hose, and clean. Similar to the large machine you pull the trigger ahead of the stain, then the powerful suction vacuums it up and the brush gets to work on the stain. I tried it on some stubborn ink stains and it has helped reduce them a lot. Other stubborn stains have completely gone. Again it’s hugely satisfying watching the water get sucked up and seeing the dirty water in the waste tank. It’s designed to fit neatly on the stairs and the wheels are made to glide over the carpet. The portable spot cleaner retails at around £154.99 and you can order direct from The Rug Doctor website or from Amazon.
Disclosure: I was given the hire of the Rug Doctor professional carpet cleaner and the portable spot cleaner free of charge for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own.
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