Carpet Cleaners in Plainfield, IL

I don't have a suggestion for a vacuum but a few things to be aware of from a flooring sales person: 1) Make sure you know what kind of fibre your carpet is. Different carpets require different cleaners, settings etc. 2) If you have a newer carpet or a carpet under warranty, you have to have the carpet PROFESSIONALLY cleaned every 12-18 months in order to keep your warranty valid. You need to keep your receipts and everything. 3) Many of the household carpet cleaners don't heat the water to the temperatures that the truck mount units do. So you may save money but you won't get as deep of a cleaning.

We have a Hoover which has actually lasted about ten years, but it has survived mainly because we converted most of our carpet to laminate flooring. I strongly suggest you look into this for your main living areas. Our kids' bedrooms are still carpet, so the Hoover gets a little bit of action, but with puppies and babies, hard surfaces are the way to go. We did have a leaking problem with the Hoover at one point which we were able to fix by replacing some sort of gasket. It seems like cheap plastic, and was less than $200 I believe, but I can't knock it since it has served us well.

http://www.therma-kleen.com/vapor_steam_cleaners/ts_75.html You are not gonna want to pay for it though.

Buy a used Kirby for 200 dollars. Good vac too, and a good price.

I would actually go into your nearest rental place (hardware store, etc) especially if you've got a smaller one with good service, and ask them to sell you one. The rental units are typically incredibly hardy, I know ours are, and I think ours were about $400 bucks a piece. Most likely they can get you a new one, or at the minimum a lot of places are looking to sell their older ones.

I don't own one and have never used one, but Cosco has the Rug Doctor machines for sale: http://www.costco.com/Rug-Doctor-Mighty-Pro-X3-Carpet-Cleaner.product.11671960.html I have owned 3 Hoover "Dual Vl" series steam cleaners. That alone implies that they are not BIFL. (Eventually gunk builds up - especially if you have pets.)

[I bought the BISSELL Big Green Deep Cleaning Machine Professional Grade Carpet Cleaner and love it](http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-Cleaning-Machine-Professional-86T3/dp/B00450U6CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402449495&sr=8-1&keywords=bissell+big+green). If you do get this cleaner don't use the bissell carpet cleaning liquid because it is expensive and doesn't clean well. I use ZEP high traffic carpet cleaner and the house smells a lot better. We have a Husky, Papillon , Long-haired Chihuahua, and nephews that come over quite a bit. We have tried several other cleaners (Hoovers, BISSELL's, a Rug Doctor ) that were cheaper or rentals, but they never worked as well. In about a year or so they all started leaking, they never pulled that much water out of the rug (which is bad for the rug). The Rug Doctor worked the best out of those brands but would only pull water when you pull it. The big green also has a longer cord than the cheap brands. Before I bought my big green i have visited several floor cleaning forums for professionals and they don't recommend this type cleaner. They recommend a canister and wand cleaner because it does last longer (less moving parts), can clean under tables easier, and doesn't need adjustment for different types of carpet (the brush could pull on some rugs). That being said just like you I didn't want to pay 800+ for a extractor so i got this one and it works prefectly for my uses.

You might check with your local janitorial supply. Not Brady or any of the national chains but a good local supply house. There is one near my work that usually has one or two refurbished commercial cleaners at reasonable prices. If you live near a reasonably large city there should even be a few commercial carpet cleaning supply houses. The nice thing about buying a commercial unit is that you can buy replacement parts or even have it serviced if needed. Plus most of these places have better chemicals than anything that you can get from a grocery store rentals.

I have often toyed with buying a Rug Doctor, and I've gotten close enough that I can confidently recommend that approach to you while I keep scanning for a deal. It is a quality machine that has brass connections and other signs of durable construction, and I can attest to them doing a pretty good job, too. My one complaint is that the short handle kills me. If it's yours to own though, then at least you can break up the task so that you don't torture your back with the thing over an 8 hour steam cleaning marathon. I bought a Bissell steam cleaner for $265 a couple of years ago. Junk. "Steam" means sort of warm water. Not even hot. No vibrating agitator head either, just a standard dirt wheel. And then the wand crapped out on me. The Rug Doctor I had to rent in its place was a night and day difference. Lots of power, lots of cleaner getting applied, and lots and lots of crap getting sucked up. I decided to clean the unit before using it because I didn't want some hoarder's germs spread all through my house...another reason to buy it rather than rent it. One advantage of all those rentals is that you know there is an aftermarket for parts and repairs. Nothing stays perfect, and having a line on getting your machine maintained and in top condition is an important consideration.

I never had an issue with renting a unit from my local supermarket.

The problem with steam cleaning is there is already a lot of dirt in the carpet. Add water to that and you get mud. No cleaner has the ability to pull mud of the backing of your carpet. So when it does finally dry you will have a layer of crusty dirt at the base of your carpet that will cause wear when you walk on it (this is what causes traffic wear patterns). The second problem is that they use a lot of water. That water soaks into the padding and won't dry for days. That dampness, mixed with the dirt that is down there creates a great environment for mold and mildew. I would suggest buying a Kirby vacuum used from Craigslist or ebay. All the models have basically been then same for the last 20 years or more, just different colors. Do not buy one new or pay more than $100 for it. (Get a G5 model or higher) you can often find newer ones in pawn shops very cheap because someone with poor credit was talked into buying one of the 2500$ ones at 0$ down, and pawned it for 50$ when money gets right, an don't care to take the hit on their already bad credit. It will still last you a lifetime. And the dry foam shampooer it comes with won't soak your carpet. The Scott fetzer corporation that owns the Kirby company holds thousands of patents on vacuum technology going back 100 years, and that's why most vacuums are garbage. (Source: I sold vacuums for 10 years)

$800! How big is your house? I'm all about hot water extraction. I think the Hoovers and Bissels are pretty much junk. The Rug Doctor and the Big Green Machine are not far behind. I have a Clarke Image Alto with which you can use attachments like large wands and upholstery cleaners. It cleans with 100psi and a single 3 stage Amekek Lamb vacuum motor. It works great except for the fact that it doesn't have an inline heater. I'm working on adding one. I purchased it used for $100 and disassembled, cleaned, and fixed a couple of small issues with it. It works incredibly well. I especially like how much moisture it is able to remove. The carpets dry very quickly compared to homeowner machines. I also bought a Cobra 300H that I'm currently doing a renovation on. It does come with an inline heater and two 2 stage vacuum motors attached in series. It will be a great machine when I have it up and running. The only problem with such a machine is that it requires two separate outlets/receptacles that are on two different circuits. 15amp circuits will work, but 20amp ones will be be much safer and less likely to trip. I highly suggest a heated unit. You can get away with using only water. It definitely helps if there may be any chemical sensitivities. Look for commercial units such as Mytee, Power Flite, Tennant, Nobles, Sanitaire, etc. Used ones are readily available. If you are somewhat handy, they are very easy to clean and sanitize from prior use. You can ALMOST hose the whole unit down with hot water and bleach relatively safely. It's very easy to flush the solution and waste tanks along with all hoses/tubes. If you have a lot of carpeted area to cover, a self contained unit makes quick work of cleaning. They can be a bit cumbersome though especially if stairs are involved. The self contained ones will generally have a motorized brush to agitate the carpets. I like that feature, but am completely fine with using a wand with a hot water unit. I have a German Shepherd who has a lot of medical issues. My commercial cleaner makes all the difference. I also feel that it increases the life of the carpet. HTH

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