Cleaning very dirty Carpet
A housecall from the Rug Doctor improves even the dirtiest carpets.
Between the daily wear and tear from shoes, pets and settling dust, and the inevitable spills and accidents, your carpets take a real beating. A Rug Doctor carpet cleaner can't perform miracles, but it can make a significant difference in the appearance of even the dirtiest carpet. You can buy a Rug Doctor machine, or rent one at many supermarkets and home improvement centers.
Carpet Material
You can safely clean most carpet materials, including nylon and polyester, with a Rug Doctor. But the manufacturer recommends against using their machine on certain natural fibers. It’s not advisable to use a water-extraction machine like the Rug Doctor on Oriental rugs made with silk or wool, hand-loomed or braided wool rugs, sisal or jute. It's safe to use a Rug Doctor on wool Berber carpet, but because the closely looped weave retains moisture, plan on extra time vacuuming up the water.
Preparation
Thorough preparation is critical to achieving the best results when cleaning any carpet, but even more so if your floors are very dirty. Pick a warm, clear day without excessive humidity to shampoo your carpets. Move all small furniture off your carpets, and remove small area rugs that don’t need cleaning. Empty the bag or canister of your vacuum cleaner and vacuum carpeted floors thoroughly. Vacuum each room twice, once moving vertically, the next time working horizontally to remove as much loose dirt and debris as possible.
Treating Stains
Though some stains are almost impossible to remove completely, pretreating helps to improve even the dirtiest carpet. Rug Doctor recommends using their products to pretreat stains. For sticky, oily stains like motor oil, food grease or lipstick, use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment. Stains from food, ink, dirt and unidentified substances respond well to Spot & Stain Remover. Treat pet accidents and other bodily fluid stains with Urine Eliminator. Spray the appropriate treatment onto your carpet's dirty spots, and let the formula soak in for several minutes while you ready the Rug Doctor machine for cleaning.
