ask carpet-cleaning LJ

[hammercock]

Ongoing toddler messes have made us wonder whether we should obtain a home carpet spot-cleaning machine. There are a couple of relatively inexpensive models, like this one and this one and this one. Anyone have any experience with these or other models that they'd like to share? Or maybe a used one to sell for cheap? larksdream has graciously agreed to lend

Comments

[rmd]

I've also got a rug cleaner if you need to borrow it.

[hammercock]

Thank you...I'll remember that.

[donnad]

I have this one. I have had it for maybe 15 years now. Which means it's not a cheap unit that fails after a few uses. We use it several times a year to clean all the carpets in the hosue. It's bulky, but great. It does an excellent job of cleaning up after the cats on both carpets and on tile floors. Last week we steam cleaned the tile of the sunroom floor with it. I use whatever carpet cleaner I find in the local grocery store made for steam vacs, but I also use a special one for cleaning up after pets in it too.

Good Luck.

[hammercock]

I wish we had room for something like that in our tiny apartment...I ended up getting a used Bissell SpotBot today from someone via Craigslist.

[earthling177]

Maybe this is not what you are looking for, but I've been *very* happy with Capture (http://www.captureclean.com/Pages/Home.aspx) -- you can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's. I like that it's inexpensive, effective and easy to use, you just brush it on, wait until it dries (about 30 minutes), vacuum it up and the dirt/stains are gone. It's very nice for small localized messes and since it's mostly dry, it doesn't tend to spread the stains/dirt like wet systems. Also, you can continue to use the room until you vacuum

[hammercock]

Interesting, thanks! I will keep Capture in mind also, as that looks easy and kid-safe.

[geekchick]

I got a different version of the Spotlifter a few years back to try to keep up with a diabetic and hairball-prone cat. I was not terribly impressed by its performance and went back to just using the full-size carpet shampooer.

[hammercock]

Good to know, thank you...today I ended up buying a Bissell SpotBot for cheap from someone via Craigslist, so we'll see how that goes. If it's not great, at least I only spent $25.

[geekchick]

I kept meaning to try the SpotBot to see if it worked any better, would love to know your opinion of it after trying it out. The Amazon reviews on the Spotlifter you linked to seem to indicate that they've improved the suction on the newer version, which was a big part of my dissatisfaction with it.