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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / July 2006steam cleaner recommendations?
I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks Oscar had left on the carpet due to her antibiotic upset. Sooo ... any recommendations? Things it should definitely do vs. not so important? Costco has this one, apparently; any opinions? Bissell ProHeat 2x Turbo Carpet Deep Cleaner http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101172&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1  Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave > in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully Just depends on your personal preferences and what you intend to use it for. If you're going to completely shampoo your carpet on a regular basis, I'd buy something similar to the Bissell pictured. If you have your carpets professionally done, and just need to tidy up in between cleanings and spot-clean, I'd get a smaller one that's easier to store, and lighter weight to use. Bissell has both a small upright and a small hand-held. Right now I've got the small, lightweight upright, and used to have a Little Green Machine. I think I liked the Little Green Machine better because of the hand-held wand. I didn't want a heavy machine that's a drudge to drag out and use, because I only use it for spot-cleaning. Sherry > Costco has this one, apparently; any opinions? > > Bissell ProHeat 2x Turbo Carpet Deep Cleaner It looks very similar to the one we have, ours doesn't have the scotchguard thinguie though. It's very good! Ours is in the shop because it stopped working. The folks there said the heater was cloged with cat hair... ;-) $18.50 for labor with tax. So, make sure you do a good vacuuming before using the carpet cleaner. Victor I have this model... It's great!...You do have to keep on top of fur getting bound up in the beater pulley belt but it does a great job...Most vac places around here(my area of Dallas) won't work on Bissells so, I've learned to replace the belts, unclog the feeds myself... :-) Liz... PS.... If you have lots of fuzzy "kids" (I Do!!!) I've found that broom sweeping your carpet (with the big ouside push brooms)really grabs the fur, making shampoing a lot better...Sidebar to Victor...try this... you'll find it really cuts down the clogging and brush matting ... > I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave > in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101172&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1 > I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave > in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101172&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1 It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks with this, then rinse with clean water, keep dabbing and rinsing until your cloth is clean. It worked for me when I had very old dogs that sometimes had accidents. Tweed > It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological > washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks > with this, then rinse with clean water, keep dabbing and rinsing > until your cloth is clean. It worked for me when I had very old > dogs that sometimes had accidents. We do this, and I suppose it does eventually get clean, but I never actually "feel" like it's clean. This will just give me a measure of confidence and also be a lot less effort, I think, than that process. Actually, I take it back -- we use liquid soap for washing dishes by hand, and it's very foamy, so the carpet ends up stiff and I can never really tell if it looks clean or not. What do you mean by biological washing powder? I still think the steam cleaner will make me feel better. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >> It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological >> washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > really tell if it looks clean or not. What do you mean by biological > washing powder? The stuff I used to wash my clothes in the washing machine. It's a powder that comes in a box and gets quite bad stains out. I'm not talking about the liquid soapy stuff that you use to wash dishes with. This is useless for carpets but you can use it to get grease stains out of your clothes. > I still think the steam cleaner will make me feel better. It's up to you. Tweed > The stuff I used to wash my clothes in the washing machine. It's a > powder that comes in a box and gets quite bad stains out. I'm not > talking about the liquid soapy stuff that you use to wash dishes > with. This is useless for carpets but you can use it to get grease > stains out of your clothes. Hrm. I wonder if we have something of similar quality here. I know that my mom considers US laundry detergents vastly inferior to the German ones. >> I still think the steam cleaner will make me feel better. > > It's up to you. Probably a little bit of both. I want a steam cleaner, but your suggestion is surely much better than what we've been doing. I had been using the dish soap for no apparent reason (it was handy, I suppose), but the idea of using laundry detergent makes sense. I wonder if we could use our liquid detergent -- it's already low-sudsing because it's made for the High Efficiency type washer. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Hrm. I wonder if we have something of similar quality here. I know > that my mom considers US laundry detergents vastly inferior to the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > could use our liquid detergent -- it's already low-sudsing because it's > made for the High Efficiency type washer. A poster once recommend a carpet cleaner for me to use on Rusty's 'accidents'. I forgot the name of it only that it starts with a 'R'. She lives in U.S. and so it should be available to you. Winnie > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully > > pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological >>> washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Tweed Are you talking about OxiClean? A lot of people seem to like it. Here is a link to it, but it's also available at WalMart: http://tinyurl.com/ephan MaryL >>>> It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological >>>> washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > MaryL Well, I'd never heard of it, but, yes, that one would work. I rather meant the ordinary biological washing powder that I always use in my washing machine more than a specialist stain remover. Don't you have this in the USA? What do you use in your washing machines then? Tweed > Well, I'd never heard of it, but, yes, that one would work. I rather meant > the ordinary biological washing powder that I always use in my washing > machine more than a specialist stain remover. > Don't you have this in the USA? What do you use in your washing machines > then? I think it's the 'biological' is confusing people. I'd simply say 'laundry detergent', and I don't think there's anything biological about the kind I buy. From Google, it appears that in the UK, 'biological' means there's enzymes added. I can buy detergents with enzymes in them, but they're not called 'biological'. So a biological washing powder sounds very exotic and not like something I'd have lying around the house. SignatureCheryl >> Well, I'd never heard of it, but, yes, that one would work. I rather >> meant [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > enzymes added. I can buy detergents with enzymes in them, but they're not > called 'biological'. Ah. Well in that case it's a laundry detergent with enzymes in. >So a biological washing powder sounds very exotic and > not like something I'd have lying around the house. <g> Tweed > >>>> It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological > >>>> washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >> > >> Tweed Most of the shelf space at the store anymore is dominated by *liquid* laundry detergent, not powder. It is so much nicer to use & IMO more effective. It is low-sudsing, not at all like dish detergent. At any rate, I think it's better to use a detergent made for carpets, it leaves less residue in the carpet. The term "biological" isn't used as a laundry detergent descriptive. Sherry Sherry >>>>> It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological >>>>> washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Tweed I have a washing machine that is rated as energy efficient and requires uses water than most, so I simply use Tide HE (the HE is needed for my machine because of the reduction in water). Previously, I just used any laundry detergent, but I wasn't sure what you meant by "biological." We do have some enzymatic cleaners, so that may be close to your description. MaryL > > It may not be necessary to buy a cleaner. Put some biological > > washing powder in a bowl with hot water and attack the skid marks [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully I think you're right; I would too. The steam cleaner (kind of a misnomer with mine, it only uses hot tap water & doesn't make steam)....it sucks practically all the water back out. That's got to mean a cleaner carpet, and less chance the pad is going to get too wet and mildew under there. Sherry > I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave > in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101172&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1 I'm looking to Monique. My brief search has turned up a preference for Hoover over Bissell. >> Costco has this one, apparently; any opinions? >> >> Bissell ProHeat 2x Turbo Carpet Deep Cleaner > > I'm looking to Monique. My brief search has turned up a preference > for Hoover over Bissell. Well, DH bought the Bissell I mentioned today ... just need to assemble it and use it, now. Both too tired to do so today. Oscar seems to be doing as well as can be expected. I put the packing paper from the Sherpa bag on the floor, and she happily meatloafed on it. I should have thought of this before; if she's dirty this will help clean it up without damaging anything. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Well, DH bought the Bissell I mentioned today ... just need to > assemble it and use it, now. Both too tired to do so today. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > it. I should have thought of this before; if she's dirty this will > help clean it up without damaging anything. When Rusty had long periods of diarrhea, I put newspaper on the floor of his room. It looked terrible, but sure made the cleanup a lot easier. Winnie > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully > > pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > When Rusty had long periods of diarrhea, I put newspaper on the > floor of his room. It looked terrible, but sure made the cleanup a > lot easier. She's actually going in the litterbox. The problem is that then she either tracks some onto the carpet (small spot, not a big deal) or (this was the problem that prompted the steam cleaner) scoots her butt on the carpet. The fact that it cleans her butt seems to be coincidental; she does it even when she's clean. I guess it's irritated from all the diarrhea, poor girl. Paper would work for the small spots, but I think she would burrow under the paper to get at the carpet to rub against. Also, it's noisy! I gave her some paper to lie on earlier, but I had to put it away when we went to bed. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3957088 a little cheaper >> When Rusty had long periods of diarrhea, I put newspaper on the >> floor of his room. It looked terrible, but sure made the cleanup a [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > noisy! I gave her some paper to lie on earlier, but I had to put it > away when we went to bed. > http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3957088 a > little cheaper A little is right! Seven dollars! But then, it's *much* cheaper if you don't have a Costco membership or don't have a Costco nearby. Anyway, we already bought ours, although both of us were too bushed last night to do anything about it. We will need to assemble it. DH wants to wait until Oscar is better before bothering. Speaking of Oscar getting better, I think she is! She is more alert (ie, more interested in trying to get out of the bedroom), and this morning her poop actually had form. Not much, but better than before. Yay! Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3957088 a > > little cheaper [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > -- > monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully All this talk about soap, and I thought about something to tell you (you probably already know this)....Bissell makes a carpet detergent that is specifically for pet owners. It works very well and has a nice clean smell. If you want a stronger fragrance, the one in the purple jug is called "Lavender" and it *really* smells nice, if you like lavender. Sherry > All this talk about soap, and I thought about something to tell you > (you probably already know this)....Bissell makes a carpet detergent > that is specifically for pet owners. It works very well and has a > nice clean smell. If you want a stronger fragrance, the one in the > purple jug is called "Lavender" and it *really* smells nice, if you > like lavender. I did not know this. Thanks for the tip. A co-worker who used to work in the carpet cleaning business tells me Cascade (the machine dish washer detergent) is what they used to use -- cheaper and worked great. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >> All this talk about soap, and I thought about something to tell you >> (you probably already know this)....Bissell makes a carpet detergent [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Cascade (the machine dish washer detergent) is what they used to use > -- cheaper and worked great. Just be *very* careful if you go that route as dishwasher detergent has *bleach* in it! I've gotten some on my clothes before, and it did leave a mark like I had spilled bleach on it! I am more careful with the dishwasher detergent now :D I have a Bissell, an older one, and found that what works best for us is *very* hot water (the heating element heats the *soap* not the water), and *no soap* as all soaps leave a residue, which attracts more dirt, which causes you to clean your carpets more...... etc., etc. We also have a Spot Bot for oopsies, and also use no soap in it, just *very* hot water. The hot water cuts the grease as well as any soap. I put 1/4 Fabulosa cleaner(comes in 3 scents) to 3/4 hot water(slowly added to discourage bubbles)...works great as the cleaner... ALOT cheaper than the speciality shampoe cleaner... :-) Liz >> All this talk about soap, and I thought about something to tell you >> (you probably already know this)....Bissell makes a carpet detergent [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Cascade (the machine dish washer detergent) is what they used to use > -- cheaper and worked great. I'm sitting here getting happier and happier with my new tile and laminate floors. (OK only a little happy with the laminate) Still have ancient carpet in the bedrooms and living room as Charlie and I can't agree on what to put down. I would be thrilled to be able to give my carpet steamer to my daughter. Ok, and if anyone is involved is disaster cleanup, dishwasher soap is really great for cleaning showers and bathtubs and anything else that can be washed that has been flooded out. Jo >I put 1/4 Fabulosa cleaner(comes in 3 scents) to 3/4 hot water(slowly added >to discourage bubbles)...works great as the cleaner... ALOT cheaper than [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> Cascade (the machine dish washer detergent) is what they used to use >> -- cheaper and worked great. > I'm sitting here getting happier and happier with my new tile and laminate > floors. (OK only a little happy with the laminate) [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Jo I know what you mean. I have hardwood floor. Rusty's room has tiles. I have a cheap rug in the living room which Rusty 'dirtied'. I can toss that rug out with no regret. But the floor finish is getting worn out from age and needs to be refinished. That means lots of toona and dust. Winnie The couple times I've cleaned carpets, I mixed the Rinse N Vac stuff in a garden sprinkler http://www.wiscasset.k12.me.us/wms/Graphics/F00014D3D/watering%20can%203.gif and then scrubbed it good with a push broom http://www.starnursery.com/images/items/719925.jpg And sucked all the mud and dirt otu with a carpet extractor (can't find a picture on the web). Think Rinse N Vac from the grocery store. Kinda like laundry. Fill. Adjectate. Rinse. Second rinse. As long as it's coming up dirt, I keep scrubbing and extracting. SignatureChristopher A. Young You can't shout down a troll. You have to starve them. . I've wanted a steam carpet cleaner for a while now. DH finally gave in when, at 5:30 this morning, he discovered about 2 feet of skidmarks Oscar had left on the carpet due to her antibiotic upset. Sooo ... any recommendations? Things it should definitely do vs. not so important? Costco has this one, apparently; any opinions? Bissell ProHeat 2x Turbo Carpet Deep Cleaner http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101172&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1 Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
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