Carpet cleaning can help to remove dirt, hair, stains and other contaminants from your carpet. Having said that, there are some stains and other marks that simply can’t be removed so it’s best to set expectations ahead of time so you aren’t disappointed.
Another question is whether to do the work yourself or hire a professional.
Carpet cleaning can remove stains, dirt and odors when done properly but you will tend to get better results with high temperature professional steam cleaning rather than with a do-it-yourself rental machine that uses lower temperature water and a cleaning solution.
Below we’ll answer common questions along with my personal experiences with both rental steam cleaners I used myself and using a professional carpet cleaning service.
Which Carpet Stains Are Difficult To Remove?
Some carpet stains can be difficult if not impossible to remove. While it can depend on the stain, it can also depend on the carpet, too.
Difficult stains to remove from carpet include:
- Red wine
- Grape juice
- Grease
- Ink
- Blood
- Nail polish
- Chewing gum
- Blood
- Bleach
- Paint
- Makeup
Some stains can be difficult if not impossible to completely remove especially if they have had a chance to dry or set.
In some cases, even a professional carpet cleaner may not be able to remove them. Before contracting a carpet cleaner to remove a stain(s), let them know what you’re dealing with to get their thoughts on if they can actually help you remove it.
Can A Carpet Cleaner Do More Harm Than Good?
Many people opt for a rental carpet cleaner that you can pick up at a local hardware or grocery store and do the work themselves. There are several reasons why going this route might not be the best choice. You may do more harm than good.
Home carpet cleaning machines raise a few important questions:
How good are you at using it?
Modern rental carpet cleaners tend to be somewhat bulky one piece units. Using them involves pulling the unit backward manually while depressing the clutch to dispense cleaning fluid. Some units have a base unit and a long hose similar to the one at the top of the page.
You also must keep an eye on the return hose to ensure there is a constant flow of dirty water because when it goes dry it means the clean soap dispenser is empty and must be refilled. Otherwise you’re not actually cleaning the carpet and wasting your time.
Do you pay attention to instructions?
You need to not only use the machine properly but you also need to correctly mix the water tank with cleaning fluid and water in the proper proportion.
If you use too much cleaning fluid, it can be difficult to get out of the carpet and remain in the fibers.
If you use too little cleaning fluid, you may not get clean carpet.
You also need to ensure you don’t miss any spots on your carpet and watch that you don’t run over the same area too frequently as your carpet can get saturated and may take time to dry.
How strong is the suction of the machine?
Home rental carpet cleaning machines generally won’t have suction nearly as strong as the machines used by commercial carpet cleaners.
The quality of the suction of your chosen rental machine may also be affected by how old and well-maintained the machine is.
If it’s blocked with the debris from the carpets of previous customers or just isn’t a very good machine, you may be disappointed with the result.
How clean is the machine?
The previous customer that used the carpet cleaner is supposed to do basic cleaning before they return the machine: empty the water tank and the dirty water tanks. Dry the machine off. Clean hair (yuck) out of the brush on the bottom of the machine.
But even if they did that, you still don’t know how clean the machine actually is. When you empty the first bucket of dirty water when it’s full, the water is normally a murky grey color and you think that must be a good sign i.e. it’s cleaning your carpet.
But how much of that gross color is caused by the dirty machine and hoses of the carpet cleaner itself, if it’s not well-maintained?
And what if a previous customer(s) who used the machine used it to clean blood or other bodily fluids from their carpet? Or cleaned a carpet full of pet hair and you have allergies? You really don’t know.
These rental machines can easily get used up to 6 or 7 times per week by various customers. They get returned to the store and are immediately put back onto the floor to be rented again.
So in summary, are you actually cleaning your carpet or possibly making it worse and simply giving yourself a false sense of security?
When Should You Consider A Professional Carpet Cleaner?
If you have carpets that are particularly dirty, stained and have an odor, a professional carpet cleaning service may be your best bet.
A professional carpet cleaning service normally utilizes a truck-mounted machine that is more powerful than a machine you rent yourself. The water temperature used by a pro cleaner can reach 110°C so it’s also a steam cleaning service you receive.
By comparison, your home hot water tank is normally set no higher than 50°C for safety reasons. Since you have a lower water temperature, you are required to add a chemical cleaner to account for this.
As a result, pro carpet cleaners may not use chemicals – or use less of them – since they use a much higher water temperature and steam the carpet clean.
Professional carpet cleaning also tends to involve using machines with more power to allow for deeper cleaning, more powerful suction to extract more water and more thorough cleaning which often means fewer attempts to clean problem areas.
This can ultimately lead to more effective removal of dirt, stains and odors that have penetrated your carpet, contaminants that lower quality rental carpet cleaners can’t resolve.
This saves time and can help protect your carpet against wear and damage from excessive cleaning.
Summary
I’ve used rental carpet cleaners where I did the work myself and also utilized a professional carpet cleaning service.
When I used a rental carpet cleaner myself, I did notice that I was able to remove visible stains from the carpet and it appeared to have left the carpet cleaner than before in general terms.
The last time I utilized a paid carpet cleaning service was to remove two stains on a carpet that I couldn’t remove myself. In this instance, they couldn’t remove it either although the stain was a bit lighter after their work was completed.
Before agreeing to any carpet cleaning rental or service, understand the likelihood that you’ll be able to remove the stain(s) so you aren’t wasting your time and money and end up disappointed.
Some stains are a challenge to remove and some carpets are more difficult to clean, too.