Carpet Cleaner Recommendations ....???

[kazzy220]

I hate doggy smells ... really really really hate doggy smells.

In my house I had cats and dogs, but wooden floors all the way through so guess what .. no pet odours. I move to USA and the last house we replaced all the downstairs carpeting with hardwood floors and so the odors kinda left. They were mainly on the furniture but my two current couches have removeable covers so every couple of weeks I just washed them and put them back on.

Fast forward to this new house. A wonderful old farmhouse built in 1852 and all wooden floors except the family room. So the room that has the tv in and that we spend most of our relaxing time in now has a deep pile carpet. So the dogs want to be there too.

It's also fairly new, so I'm guessing the sellers put it in to try and sell the house.

If it was up to me I would tear it out, sand and finish the flooring underneath and say goodbye to the carpet forever. However, the hubby is almost cooing over the fact that we once again have a carpet so looks like it's staying for a while.

The family room (like the rest of the house) is paint in a disgusting colour. This one is what I like to call muddy brown .. why, because the previous owner liked colours that didn't show up the dirt ... so despite my husband (aka the interior designer specialist) deciding this is a really nice colour, it's not staying. I'm going to be decorating it very soon and until then the carpet is just going to continue to collect bulldog slobber. After that I'm going to get it professionally cleaned with every specialist deoderizing treatment they can offer.

After THAT I'm on my own!!!

SO .......... does anybody have the stinky carpet problem that I have??? If so, what carpet cleaner did you buy and that you could recommed?? Also, how often do you clean your carpets??

 

[anatess]

I got rid of all the carpet too except for the kids' bedrooms - they were really young when we laid out the wood floors and I wasn't comfortable having them jump off their beds and smack their skulls on the bare floor.

I don't have any recommendations on steam cleaners. Not a single one that we bought were any good.

But, if you just want a really good vacuum cleaner, I recommend the Dyson DC25. Sprinkle carpet freshener and vacuum after 20 minutes to get rid of odors. If you want your own "fragrance", combine a small box of baking soda with a few drops of your favored potpourri oil and sprinkle over the carpet. Leave for 20 minutes then vacuum.

Baking soda is your friend with pet accidents/slobber/vomit as well. Clean out as much of the solid stuff as you can, then sprinkle baking soda on the area. Vacuum when it gets dry.

DC25 is really awesome. But, it is a bit expensive. There are other cheaper Dysons, but I've never tried them, so I don't know if it is as good as the DC25.

Hope this helps!

 

[kazzy220]

[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] Already have the dyson... it is the "GOD" of all vacuum cleaners in england so I insisted we got one as soon as we moved over here.

Just wish they made carpet cleaners!!!

 

[sheshistory]

I have a Dyson vacuum and it is a nice machine - I love it - but I also use a steam cleaner for our carpet to really remove the stains, dirt, odor, and hair.

I have had a Bissel and a Hoover. I liked the way the Bissel cleaned but it broke after two years. I currently have a Hoover Max Extract and it works well but I don't think it cleans quite as deeply as the Bissel. I use the Pet/Allergen formula cleaner and it has a nice fresh scent but isn't obvious or perfumy.

I also use the Hoover Spin Scrub on my tile and laminate and that works pretty good on hard flooring and I prefer it to a mop and bucket.

Oooh, I love clean floors!

 

[cali~jenn]

I have the hoover something (haha) but have never had another so cannot compare. I do like mine a lot but do wish the dirty water fill was bigger. Somehow I think they are all similar in this area tho. Could always rent the store ones, they clean very well too but if you are planning on doing it often I would buy. I also have a recipe for the soap which is awesome. In fact I still have detergent left in my cupboard and dont use it. I did post that on the tastetestedrecipes.com forum if anyone wants it. Having the 2 girls at their ages I cant get to cleaning unless it is 3 in the morning so I found a local deal to clean 2 rooms for 25 bucks. THAT is my style. :D Have never had my carpets professionally cleaned so I am excited to use this deal.

 

[kim n the guys]

we have a dyson vaccuum also. They dyson Animal. We just put carpet in the living room, hall and stairs to the lower level (we live in a bi-level) last year, and now that I have the bullies, I would love to rip it out and just put in hardwood. My husband sez, "then why did we put in carpet?" Good question. At the time I didn't think it would be this difficult to get the puppies housebroken, Oliver is just being a bully and stubborn about wherett he wants to pee and poo. Now there are stains ALL over my living room, but mostly down the hall and my carpet STINKS!!!! I used to have a steam cleaner then moved into a house that had hardwoods throughout so got rid of the steam cleaner, had a chance to buy our house now and guess what carpet through out and no steam cleaner. Next summer we are tearing down the deck and building a new one that goes all around the above ground pool, so the hardwood floors may have to wait till the summer after that, so in the meantime I am stuck with trying to find something that will get the doggie smell out of the carpet, too. Will be watching this post like a hawk!

 

[izstigspunks]

I have the bissell one that costco sells. It's my first, so can't compare it with anything. But I'm impressed by how fast the carpet dries after a couple of washes. I thought it would take overnight but it dried after 4 hours tops.

Also heard that there was a deal on amazon for a hoover one, if I can recall. It was going for half price with good reviews. That was a month ago though.

 

[BruceP]

I have always heard good things about the Bissell brand. I had two work associates that had them and they raved about theirs; one had a German shepard and the other had no dog. We looked at them some time ago but what we really want is to remove the carpeting that is left and refinish the oak. Princess Gracie doesnt smell.... is that rare? lol

 

[Sherry]

We use a Bissel carpet shampooer once a month, keeps out those heavy odors that tend to get built up no matter how often we vacuum. It's not loud, it really gets the dirt out of the carpet, you can see it in that dirty, filthy, water, it doesn't wear down the carpet, And it drys relatively quickly. Love love love it. I get the gallon size of commercial shampoo at LOWE'S. Between shampoo's we use Arm & Hammer pet deodorizer powder to sprinkle before vacuuming, and this stuff really smells good. Oh yeah and The shampooing makes the air so clean and you can tell instantly that the dander is cut down. With five bulldogs, I better have a plan.

 

[izstigspunks]

[MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION] - Stigs doesn't generally smell either, except for when he spends the day at daycare. It's especially bad after a rainfall. He stanks so bad it's difficult to breathe driving home!

 

[Lucy-licious]

We have a bissell and I think it's pretty good...it's gotten all Lucy's puppy accidents up and my carpet remains stain and smell free.

 

[Lucy-licious]

Just an idea though [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION] for when your decorating. Can't you maybe, accidentally on purpose spill a tub of paint right in the middle of the carpet?

 

[MissPennyLue]

We've had a Hoover Upright Cleaner for about 5 years. We paid about $150 for & it's worth it's weight in gold. Someone mentioned above wishing that it had a bigger return water tank & I agree.

We let a friend borrow it & their dog chewed the attachment. Now it doesn't work. They didn't tell us this. We figured it out after they had borrowed it. I am going to look on Amazon to see if I can buy just a new attachment. If not, I will look to get a new cleaner. We're moving into a brand new house on Friday & I'm really nervous about the carpets & Penny

 

[kazzy220]

@Lucy-licious! Bad girl ... I like the way you think ...

@sheshistory @savemejeebus @Sherry ......... what model of Bissel cleaner do you have???

 

[GatorRay]

I had a bissel too and it broke after a year. My next purchase will be the big professional honker they sell at costco. I only have carpet in the basement and up in the bedrooms but with pets and kids YUCK! lol