keeping carpets clean

[esperanza]

We have beige carpet in our main living area. We try not to eat in here and not wear shoes, but life with a toddler means that our carpet is dirty. We rented a steam cleaner last summer, which worked pretty well, but it took forever and a day to dry. It is really inconvenient because it is our main living area. We could rent more industrial fans, but that adds to the cost.

Wondering what other people do to keep carpets clean on a more regular basis. I do have a couple spot cleaners, but that is tedious. We have a good vacuum, but not a wet/vac.

[Aerynne]

We got a carpet that is variegated brown and beige. It really makes it so you can't see much. We have cleaned from time to time but it doesn't look dirty so that helps a lot!

[esperanza]

Ha! Well, yes, that would be a great idea. Not sure that's in the budget plan anytime soon. No idea how much new carpet would cost. It isn't that much space but still not how I wanted to spend money.

[Aerynne]

I get that- I actually want new carpet, too, because unfortunately ours turned out to be low quality. I don't know when we will ever be able to get new carpet- maybe someday.

What about a rug or a large remnant? My living room rug was $15 used and we got a remnant for the family room for free (brand new) from a carpet guy who was going to throw it away.

[Little Forest]

How often do you vacuum?
Posted via Mobile Device

[joy]

When my DS was little, I used cheap and small rag rugs and a vinyl splat mat in out most frequented areas. I'm like you - can't keep a rug clean to save my life - but at least a small area rug can go in the washer and a splat mat can be wiped down.

Keeping decent mats at the home entry points, both inside and outside, seem to help too.

[esperanza]

I vacuum every couple days. The worst area seems to be where the kitchen and living room join. High traffic are but very odd place to put a rug. We are in a traditional 60s ranch if that helps picture the set up.

[BriansLovie]

We bought a rug doctor and I use it 2 - 3 times a year. I understand because when it's time to clean them again, they are very dirty! Three boys . My carpet is dry within a few hours with the rug doctor.

[Little Forest]

Is it a good vacuum cleaner that you have? I think that the vacuum's performance can make a big difference.

When you have used the carpet shampooer, did you use the solution that goes with it? I know that if you use regular detergent it will attract dust and dirt to it afterward.

Otherwise, from my experience, I started off with filthy bedroom carpets and our own carpet shampooer kept pulling up dirty water after several goes. So I got a professional over with a truck mounted steam carpet cleaner and that made a big difference. It does cost a bit but that is a much more effective carpet cleaner

[houseforjoy]

it should only take a few hours to dry. one of the most important things with cleaning the carpet is to go over it with the spray once, but several times just sucking up the water. and go s.l.o.w

[esperanza]

We have a Shark vacuum, new at Christmas time. It gets a lot of dirt/dust every time I use it. It's much better than the old one we had, and I think it's doing a good job.

When we rented the carpet cleaner we used a vinegar/water mixture, not the commercial cleaner. I read the same thing (maybe here) about those cleaners not being a good idea. I'm sure it's just normal wear and use from a toddler who isn't very good about keeping spillable items in the kitchen. It's a high traffic area and where we spend most of our time.

I'll have to ask dh about the drying time, but I feel like it took overnight at least. I do have a vague memory of him going over it quite a bit to get the water out. He uses a commercial vac at work so he has experience with it. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I am remembering. Maybe I should look into just getting our own steam cleaner. The thing that was annoying with renting (besides the cost) was figuring out how many hours and being sure to return it by a certain time. Probably pays for itself at some point. Or maybe I can find one for sale on craigslist.

Brianslovie, anything I should know about buying one?

[mamahammer]

Drying times will vary greatly by the humidity in the area in which you live.

[esperanza]

True. It was summer. Maybe we picked a humid weekend.

[BriansLovie]

Originally Posted by esperanza

We have a Shark vacuum, new at Christmas time. It gets a lot of dirt/dust every time I use it. It's much better than the old one we had, and I think it's doing a good job.

When we rented the carpet cleaner we used a vinegar/water mixture, not the commercial cleaner. I read the same thing (maybe here) about those cleaners not being a good idea. I'm sure it's just normal wear and use from a toddler who isn't very good about keeping spillable items in the kitchen. It's a high traffic area and where we spend most of our time.

I'll have to ask dh about the drying time, but I feel like it took overnight at least. I do have a vague memory of him going over it quite a bit to get the water out. He uses a commercial vac at work so he has experience with it. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I am remembering. Maybe I should look into just getting our own steam cleaner. The thing that was annoying with renting (besides the cost) was figuring out how many hours and being sure to return it by a certain time. Probably pays for itself at some point. Or maybe I can find one for sale on craigslist.

Brianslovie, anything I should know about buying one?

We didn't do any specific research for the rug doctor. Amazon had it on sale and we just grabbed it. It is bulky but I found that the Hoover upright wet vac we had years ago didn't do half as good as the rug doctor.

[houseforjoy]

random... but the home shopping network and the like tv channels put the rug doctor on good sales also sometime. that is where my parents go theres from, and rug doctors really are great machines