Before we had our carpets the floors in our flat were a mess. The person who had converted the house had made some very interesting choices and bodges along his development journey and we were left with uneven floors, skirting boards that started half way up the wall and nothing the same from one room to the next. I never really wanted carpets if I’m honest but with awful floor boards and the mess above them it was the only option.

I chose fairly pricey but lovely beige carpets and we had them fitted throughout the flat fixing the skirting boards along the way and making everywhere run perfectly from room to room making it all look seamless. I loved them and became just a little bit fanatical about keeping them clean. No one was allowed to wear their shoes in the house and Florence, just a 6 month old baby at the time, was only allowed to eat in her high chair placed on an oil cloth. We didn’t drink red wine in the living room and all sorts of other preventative methods for keeping them pristine but of course as time goes on you become a bit less fussy and accidents happen!

We have had quite a few stains including one very big hallway incident when one of us was poorly… That stain is still visible although thankfully not in a very prominent position. I do still try to keep the spillage and stainage possibilities at a minimum but with two small children it’s not always that easy and after nearly four years they were definitely in need of a proper deep clean.

I was asked if I’d like to try Rug Doctor, an alternative and a much cheaper one at that, to having your carpets cleaned with a professional cleaner! For a little over £30 you can rent this machine for a 24 hour period and the machine will wash the carpet down to the base and fibers. Vacuuming obviously cannot clean this deeply and will only remove loose pieces of dust, dirt and other bits, with the Rug Doctor you can thoroughly clean, get rid of bacteria and make the carpets clean and fresh again. A must with little ones who play on the carpet all the time!

The Rug Doctor machine is big but you hire it so when you’re finished it goes back!

I worried it would be hard and when I saw the size of the machine thought I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own but actually it was very easy, much like normal vacuuming but going a bit slower. The handle is adjustable and you push it slowly over the areas you need. I was provided with enough solution to clean two good sized rooms and managed to get my extremely large living room and the whole of my stairs and hallways done with still some solution to spare. The instructions are simple and easy to see on the machine, so easy in fact I didn’t think that could be it and I must be missing a big manual but no, it really is just follow simple instructions then let the machine work as you push around the carpet!

It’s easy to see what is happening as you can see the spray coming faintly out of the machine and as it cleans and powerfully sucks away the dirt. You have to line it up and do the carpet in strips, slightly overlapping each one so it does take time but you can literally SEE the results as they happen. When the dirty water tank fills up it is really easy to remove, pour the dirty water away, refill and start again. The dirt in the recovery tank is quite depressing because obviously that was all in the carpet but at the same time it’s good to see it all gone!

I was a bit disgusted at the colour of the water after cleaning!

I was a bit disappointed with the hose and tool which I just couldn’t work out how to use? There were instructions but I still couldn’t work out how to connect the hoses which was a shame as the main instructions were so easy. I left that and as a result didn’t do RIGHT into the edges but I don’t think they needed it anyway.

I was however, impressed with the fact that the carpets dried very quickly. Probably not 2 hours but by that time they were well on their way and over night was more than sufficient. A good tip is to leave the windows open to assist with drying time.

The results are fantastic and I am so pleased we have done it! Not only does it clean but it brings the pile up making them look new! The best bit is that the large machine can be driven straight back to where it is hired from and you don’t have to store it in the house until the next time you want to clean your carpets which let’s face it, isn’t often!

I’m pleased with the ease of use, the amazing results and the price which seems very cheap considering the service it has provided! I thought it would be a massive faff but it wasn’t. At all! I will be recommending to everyone, especially as they can be hired from stores like Homebase, Tesco and other leading home retailers and supermarkets. Pick it up, use it and send it back until next time! Brilliant!

I was sent a free hire of the Rug Doctor machine to use and review honestly.

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