rental steam cleaners

[raingirl]

Are they any good? I see them in the front of the gorcery stores and was thinking of renting one.

If I ever needed a steam cleaner before, I would borrow my moms, but now I can't because she is allergic to dogs and can't get all the dog dander in her machine.

Last night Odin scooted and his anal glands expressed on my living room carpet, and it's REALLY grossing me out...so I want to clean it. It's an old area rug, oriental style, do you think it's ok to steam clean?

[Puppyluv]

They work really well! My brother had an ~ahem~ "get together" at my parents house, and some people were ~ahem~ "under the weather" and the rental steam cleaner left my parents unaware of any events that may have happened while they were away.

[jjgeonerd]

I too have used them after "get togethers" They work really well!

[SnowDancer]

Yes, they work well. We no longer have carpets - just on basement stairs, which Eskie has managed to just about send to its just reward. Will be replacing with something not of a fabric nature. If your house is fully carpeted, definitely I would rent the machine and do the whole hourse - if careful - and after doing spot check, you can clean your upholstery with it as well. But if you have say only one carpet, you might want to buy one of the Bissell Little Green Machines. We have one that we have had for years that has just enough life left to expire with the carpet.

[Prin]

Good to know... We have to do our yellow sofa... We haven't even paid for it yet and it already looks not-so-new...

[raingirl]

I heard the little green bissell sucks. I have been tempted to get one though.

We only have carpets (wall to wall) in the two bedrooms. It's an apartment so can't change that (nor would I want to). We have a ton of throw carpets around the rest of the apartment. I HATE cold wood or other flooring. When I grew up we had no carpets, and I always was SOOOO jealous of all of my friends with lots of wall to wall carpeting!

We borrowed my moms steam cleaner when we moved in to wash the carpets that the apartment came with. I don't think the one in the master needs one yet, as the dog isn't allowed in there, but the others could use it.

Do you think it would be worth it for one bedroom (wall to wall), one large oriental style carpet, one medium size one (under the dinning room table), and a long one in the front hall?

[Puppyluv]

Originally Posted by raingirl

I heard the little green bissell sucks. I have been tempted to get one though.

I've heard they suck too, apparantly they leave your rug really wet, the filter clogs easily, and they are really loud.

[raingirl]

Yeah. My mom's bissel is great, but it runs out of cleaner REALLY quickly, and the water got dirty so quick (then again, it was an apartment, and they probably never cleaned the carpets before...at least there was only one tenant since the building opened, and she was 80!). Maybe I should save money and just get one of those.

THis is what she has (Bissell Pro Heat):

[JaydeDoggie]

The rental steamers have always worked well in my home.
I would suggest that you seriously consider just buying a cleaner, as it seems that you are in love with wall to wall carpeting, wthi animals, the carpet will have to be cleaned multiple times, and... by cost, buying it outright will save you mnoey in the long run.
As when you are renting the celanrer, you have to buy the shampoo and what not that goes with it, so it can be around $60 each time you need to rent it. Depending on the price for rental (here is is $45 for two days)

[Daniac]

Originally Posted by Puppyluv

I've heard they suck too, apparantly they leave your rug really wet, the filter clogs easily, and they are really loud.

I have a little green clean machine and in addition to the above it also stopped squirting out the spray after about a year.

But I still depend on it for quick clean ups. It is really handy to have when you have a puppy that's being housebroken. or you have a vomit or diahrea mess to clean up.

It's very easy to use and easy to clean. I have a much larger bissel carpet cleaner that is a PITA that I never use anymore. If I was doing a "real" cleaning of my carpets i'd either rent one from a store or hire a company to come in and do it.

[dogmelissa]

I'd agree with whoever it was (sorry) that said just to buy one. My mom bought a Bissell Power Steamer Deluxe (pic below) in 1992 and it's still going strong. We originally had a bungalow, ~ 800 sq ft, mostly carpet, then moved to a bungalow with a total of over 3000 sq ft (mostly carpet) and now my parents are in another bungalow with about 1800 sq ft, about half carpetted. I used this cleaner in my apartment (full carpet) and it's been used in 3 other houses by 3 other people. My mom "rents" it for the cost of the shampoo (you buy your own). This little machine works really well. Maybe not the easiest for stairs, but if you have assistance it's ok. It gets stains out and sucks out the water very well. Generally you have to stay off the carpet for about 24 hours to make sure it's dry, then vaccum to get any leftover soap out and then you're done. It's quick and easy, and cheaper than the cost to rent one of these machines every year. You can buy a pet-specific soap for this machine, though I prefer the orange stuff.
Hope that helps... I know that I will likely be buying one of these (or similar) myself within a year, so that I don't have to borrow my parent's, with them being a 3 hour drive away.

This is, however, NOT a machine you'd want to use for spot-cleaning, though it can be used for upholstery. (See user guide for more info: http://www.bissell.com/images/UserGuides/16311.pdf)
Good luck and happy carpet cleaning!!
Melissa