Wet and dry vacuums - any good for cleaning carpets?

OM2 · 3 Apr 2020

We need to clean our carpets.

I was thinking of using the wet and dry vacuums the builders use. They cost about £60.

Are they any good for cleaning carpets?

The next option would be to buy a vax cleaner for about £120 say (just making that figure up). We've tried in the past and all I remember was that it was pathetic!

Or... Should I consider renting a rug doctor vacuum from tesco? Would that be significantly better? (Assuming the service is still available at this moment in time)

Looking for a DIY solution.
The way I see it: you need to wet a carpet and apply shampoo. Then suck up the water. Then add more water and suck up again - to get rid of the soap... Then do this many times. Same as handwashing clothes I guess. Not rocket science.

Any advice or guidance would be great.

Thanks.

Tigercubrider · 3 Apr 2020

I'd hire a proper carpet doctor

Some of the guys who advertise by word of mouth or on Facebook can be really good but I'd go for a recommendation.
A lady at work had "a marvellous polish guy" who was inexpensive and went beyond what was needed.

OM2 · 3 Apr 2020

For stairs, 5 bedrooms + very small passage way... Can you give me a guesstimate of cost?

Not desperate to get cleaned right now. If we did get someone... We'd do after the world is over its current problems.

Would still like to hear about the wet and dry vacuums. For cleaning carpets are they really poor?

IT Minion · 3 Apr 2020

OM2 said:
For stairs, 5 bedrooms + very small passage way... Can you give me a guesstimate of cost?

Not desperate to get cleaned right now. If we did get someone... We'd do after the world is over its current problems.

Would still like to hear about the wet and dry vacuums. For cleaning carpets are they really poor?

There's a difference between a wet/dry vacuum cleaner and one that washes your carpet. The washer ones also spray cleaning fluid over the carpet. Without that you'd have to use some sort of spray bottle or watering can. Too much like hard work imo.

We've got a George (like a Henry but does washing too). It does get dirt up but I suspect a professional one like a rug doctor would get more. We had a very dirty, ground in, section of carpet and I did it several times to try to refresh it, it helped a lot but never got it all the way back.

The last carpet fitter I spoke to thought they were a terrible idea as apparently the cleaning fluid can damage the carpet glue, but I haven't seen that confirmed.

ironsidebod · 3 Apr 2020

As others have said a wet vac isn't really suitable for carpet cleaning but they are very useful for spills.

Don't buy a Vax they're useless, the rotating brushes are weak and snap off on even the lightest pile carpet. If you want to buy one, spend 250-300 on a Bissell. Ours has had some serious hammer (dogs and white carpet, yes I know but Scotchguard helps

) and it's still going strong.

Otherwise for a one off clean I'd pay someone or hire a RugDocter.

ajohn · 3 Apr 2020

We used a Vax carpet cleaner for a while. They do have a bit of a problem. To make things look cleaner they oxidise a little which lightens colours. The fix if they can be found is the shampoo used on car upholstery - cloth etc type obviously.

They do get a lot of dust and muck out. We bought our place including carpets and used one a couple of times.

This VAX was from many years ago.

JohnD · 3 Apr 2020

rent a rug doctor. When you look in the "dirty" bin you will be astounded.

Do the whole house during one rental if you can.

If you decide to do it more often than once on five years or so, it may be worth buying something.

Some domestic machines are very poor.

Tigercubrider · 3 Apr 2020

Probably 30 years ago a mate hired a carpet cleaning machine when they moved house. The water going back into the tank was black

Tigercubrider · 3 Apr 2020

https://www.wowcarpetcleaning.co.uk/services/carpet-cleaning-prices/

Random search on the net

Bodd · 3 Apr 2020

Screenshot_20200403_195734_com.android.gallery3d.jpg

Brilliant machine... Works very well.

ReganAndCarter · 3 Apr 2020

When our cousin died we needed to get the carpets cleaned in her one bed cottage because she was a heavy smoker. They stank and were nicotine stained but otherwise in good shape. They were so bad you could see clean patches where rugs and mats had covered certain areas of the carpets. A real contrast.

We asked at the local carpet shop if they did cleaning, but didn't so recommended someone. He charged £100 for whole house. He had loads of gear and used acid and various chemicals because the carpets were worse than normal. After a lot of hard work, he transformed the look and smell of the carpets. Took several hours. Best money we spent on doing the place up and saved loads on new carpets. Rental machines from Asda (Rug Doctor), etc may be ok for lightly soiled carpets, but if they're bad a pro is money well spent.

Wet and dry vacuums - any good for cleaning carpets?

Bodd

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