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Hi Message Board Readers,
I'm not ready to hire a professional carper cleaning company yet. I have a few dirty spots that I can't stand. I have rented carpet cleaners before and used the soap that is sold for them. My Question: To prevent soap build up, that I've never noticed before from my use of them, does anyone recommend using Windex mixed with water or window cleaners in the machine rather than the soap. I have patterned beige carpet with olefin, at least I think that it has olefin. Can't think of the carpet type to same me. It was recommended at the time for allergy sufferers. It has held up very well to wear and tear. If anyone has any information or experience I would love to hear your advice. Thank you.

I would not put anything in a rental machine that they don't recommend putting in it. You could end up paying for the machine damage. Some cleaners can be responsible for burning up the pumps in those things. I remember seeing homeowners post message board warnings about using Oxyclean in their personal machines, and it did burn up the pumps.

That said, in my own machine, I use a scant amount of the recommended detergent made for the make of machine and 1/3 cup of NON-sudsing (important!) ammonia to boost the performance of the detergent. I am not recommending that you do that in the rental, although I think it wouldn't hurt it.

Alternatively, use their detergent but follow it with a clear water/white vinegar rinse to remove the detergent residue. That's your safest bet.

What nettiejay said.

Less detergent.
Rinse...I always used just water no added vinegar.

Then turn the fans on to speed the drying time.

I used my own mixture in Rug Doctor carpet cleaners and then with the Hoover steam cleaner, for years with no adverse affects. My recipe was HOT HOT water, Lemon scented ammonia (1/4 cup) and a small amount of non sudsing detergent for hard floors. (I still have a box at home, Kitchen Klatter or something akin to that?)

I always prewet the carpet with just HOT water, so the detergent mixture was not being vacuumed out as fast as it went on/in. And after several cleaning passes, always did a clear water rinse (with or without some white vinegar). Then LOTS of vacuum passes with the machine no longer spraying the cleaner or water, to get it the driest possible.

I now use a small amount of a gallon jug of concentrate from Sam's Club for hot water extraction cleaners. It lasts for decades in a gallon, and is much more concentrated and cheaper than the Rug Doctor detergent.

The whole key to the carpet cleaning is actually the temperature of the water. HOT! That is why the pro companies use the truck mounted units to both heat the water and suction it out. They actually use very little detergent/cleaner.
The hotter the water you use in the rental, the better results, even if you use boiling water from a kettle.

This is the recipe that I had always used in a carpet cleaner.

1 gallon water
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sudsy ammonia

You all are the greatest! Good Advice. I will be doing this tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for my back. Thanks again.

I don't put any soap at all in my carpet cleaner, even though it says to. I use plain hot water, and that cleans just great, and no left over soap residue.

cocok's cleanerless carpet cleaning does work quite well. A friend who is very sensitive to cleaners always cleans/rinses hers with just hot water in a Rug Doctor. VERY HOT WATER and many, many passes with the cleaner.

The more passes you make in an area, the more soil and diluted soil, you will pick up and remove. You can tell by the rinse water's extraction and what color the soiled water is when you dump it. Often many more passes are needed than one would think (depending on the soil in the carpet)

The detergent is helpful for any greasy soil, that water does not readily dissolve. Like driveway or garage soil that may come in on shoes.

Conrad,
I've seen you recommend multiple passes many times. The machine recommends no more than two "wet" passes and two "pickup" passes at a time... 4 total. When you go over and over the same spot, aren't you risking overwetting the carpet? I've done up to 6 passes, which increased the drying time a little; so I'm reluctant to do more and risk wetting the pad.

You actually don't have to spray each pass. The agitation of the brushes will help to release the soil when cleaning mixture is still damp in the carpet. As long as the suction on the machine is working well, additional spray passes have not been a problem with over-wetting for me. And of course that important vacuuming process when one just goes over and over it till very little is visible coming out of the carpet (clear hose or window over the brush area in some cleaners). The dirtiest areas tend to be traffic paths and in front of seating, so I always concentrate on those.

Judge how many passes you may need by the color of the discharge water too. If your carpet is not that soiled, the discharge water will show little discoloration, so you are done sooner.

Oops... I misspoke. I meant to say the instructions recommend no more than 4 "wet" passes... 2 forward and 2 backward.

And then, I misunderstood you, too. I thought you were saying to wet it down multiple times. I always give it as many pickup passes as it takes until I don't see any more water being drawn up through the intake.

Thanks for the clarification!

Hey nettiejay Who reads instructions anyway? they are just suggestions for those without imagination. (just kidding) We just clean till it is clean enough.

I actually sprang for having our carpets professionally cleaned by a local company last month. (This company is connected with a carpet/flooring store and is SO much better than any of the chain companies here)
The guy was very surprised (after 8 years of just spot cleaning myself and having two Golden Retrievers) the carpet was as clean and hair free as it was when he emptied the filters.

I said I owed it all to the Dyson Ball and my DH who vacuums every weekend.

Hi guys,

I sprang for a professional carpet company today. I'm glad that I did. My back was spared for other cleaning jobs that I worked on today.
You give good advice Conrad. The company told me that their water temp is 140 to 150 degrees. They gave other details but I didn't hear all of them. They use a bit of a cleaner but it is not a soap they said. I also got some tiles cleaned. They were bragging on my berber carpet and the condition it was in. It holds up well. The man with the company also told me that Dyson's were a good machine. In my case I recently got one in the past year so it is not the reason that my carpet held up so well. I have done multiple passes when I've cleaned my carpet with the rug doctors before. Also for tile the employee told me that ammonia and clorox is harmful. It damamges it so that stains get into it. I bought some of their tile cleaner because it came in a deal with a small rug that I wanted. I have used windex on tile grout next to a back door in the basement. He said that they were having difficulty getting the stain out there. Evidently it is important to let the grout dry for 24 to 48 hours before you try to clean it again. He encourage me to put my fan in the basement with the tile to dry it. I think that these guys could have done a few more passes on the carpet in front of my sofa. I got them to do a few more. The leader was very nice. He told me to call them back on Monday if I wasn't happy with the tile. I may do it. I paid a fortune. I don't clean my carpet every year or even every other year. I don't have animals in the house either so that helps. Thank you all for all of your advice. OH yes, Conrad, I'll bet the private company that you hired was better than the chains. I think that these guys, as nice as they were, could have cleaned a bit more. I was particular about a few spots. Unfortunately I couldn't watch them all the time. They stayed late. For a chain they were nice. Best Wishes all.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Leafly,

I would like to congratulate you..for your deeds..May I know about some carpet cleaning techniques?