Anyone ever used one of those “rug doctor” steam vacuums that you can rent at supermarkets? How are they? Easy to use? Do a good job?
I have used them. They do a pretty good job. Sometimes the previous user did not clean it well, though–I have gotten units that had wet grit in them.
They aren’t particularly easy to use but then, they aren’t particularly hard to use either. I got good results on the kind of carpet that is all one length, not so good results on a sculpted carpet (that I should have just replaced anyway because I hated it).
You have to empty the dirty water somewhere, and I found the water to be shockingly dirty. You have to fill the tank multiple times with clean (hot) water, and some rental unit tanks are kind of hard to maneuver into a given sink situation. (Okay, that sounds obscure, so I’ll just say it straight out: The water tank was too big to get under the faucet in the sink so I had to load it in the bathtub, which was not optimal.)
You may find yourself using a lot more of the detergent than you thought.
Also, the units I have rented claim to, but don’t come even close to leaving the carpet dry.
The best carpet cleaning option: Pay Stanley Steemer or some other outfit that doesn’t need to empty the dirty water into your bathtub. (The nice thing about paying someone is that you don’t even see the shockingly dirty water. But they do.) There is one called Chem-Dry locally that leaves it not only clean, but dry, AND they move the furniture.
Second best: rent the unit from the supermarket and do it yourself. This has always ended up costing me about 3/4 as much as paying someone to do it. Not worth it.
Third best: Buy an Oreck, or a Hoover, or some other one. I say this is third best because what I have (an Oreck) does a great job, but has only a 1-gallon tank which means I spend a lot of time changing water. (However, this one does fit under my sink faucet.) The path of the cleaning head is not that big so it takes forever. On the positive side, it is always here so I can spot-clean high traffic areas or clean up where I’ve spilled aquarium water, immediately. And the Oreck does suck most of the water back out of the carpet. It cost about as much as one and a half professional cleanings.
Years ago I bought one of those bissel big green clean machines… I don’t remember exactly what I paid for it, but it wasn’t much more than $100. I was quite pleased with it, and would do my carpets every six months or so.
I too was shocked by how gross the water was that you dump out. I’m not sure how it compares to a supermarket rental, but it was a great investment, as far as I’m concerned.
My Wife and I rent a ‘Rug Doctor’ twice a year. I think they are very easy to use and do a very good job. We set aside a weekend each time to do it. But we move ALL of our furniture and really go for it.
Unlike a regular vacuum that you push and pull. The way you use a rug doctor is to pull it backwards. Move it forward again on its wheels, and pull it back.
They are a bit heavy, but what can you do? They hold about 20 lbs of water.
They are powerful. And once you have it figured out (might take ten minutes), pretty easy to use.
I’ve rented the “Rug Doctor” several times. As the previous posters mentioned, it’s a lot of work. I always ended up sore from pulling the machine back to pick up the water, and I never pulled hard enough because my carpet would be wet for hours and hours. I would rent one when moving out of apts so they couldn’t ding me for a dirty carpet. Served that purpose quite well.
If you’ve got $$ I recommend the Chem-Dry services. They do a great job and the carpet is dry fairly quickly. As far as moving the furniture goes, you have to get the “package” that includes moving furniture. Close to $350 IIRC. Last time they were here we got the package that included “moving small furniture”. The guy didn’t move anything without the help of my husband.
They do, however, offer guarantees with their higher end packages. If I’d been thinking right I would have called them back within the six months and probably could have gotten a nice spot cleaning for free.
Note that some types of carpeting have backings that stretch when they get wet causing carpet wrinkling. Be aware that this might happen.
We love our Hoover rug cleaner. Indeed, the dirty water is amazing. I suggest dumping it into the toilet and not the bathtub.
2.30AM when you posted this…you’re watching infomercials, aren’t you?
:dubious: 
I’ve rented them several times. They aren’t hard to use. I’m a small woman (a little over 5’) and I’ve never been sore afterwards, even though I usually go over my carpets at least twice. I live in a house, so I just dumped the dirty water outside in my grass. I have lots of pets, so it was very dirty.
StG
My wife and I use them frequently… well, being the stronger, I use them frequently. 
I sometimes think that the soap is formulated to turn brown upon being mixed with oxygen or something, 'cause there’s no way our carpets are that dirty! :eek:
We finally broke down and bought one a couple of years ago. I think it’s a Bissell. It’s heavy to lug around from room to room, but it’s self-propelled, so once you start cleaning, it’s not bad.
We vacuum first, and it’s amazing how much pet hair is left behind to be sucked up by the Bissell. I love using it, and I love the dirty water – that means it’s working.
Not to hijack, but somebody did mention infomercials – has anyone tried the Eurobroom? It looks like a cross between a broom and a rake, and in the demo I saw, the thing picked up pet hair from carpet like crazy.
I have used the profession-grade machines at work, and I’ve rented the Doctor for home use. Here are the differences.
They use the same chemicals, so the big ones don’t really get your carpet cleaner than the rentals.
The professional models have stronger vac motors, so they leave less water in your carpet.
They draw a lot of power, though, and you may find yourself blowing breakers.
The pro models are sized to fit a man, so you’re not so likely to be sore at the end of the day. The rentals are sized to fit a woman’s height and also your car trunk. This also means the pro machine is ungainly, and it’s hard to get into corners and through doorways.
The pro models have bigger tanks, in and out, so you can go longer without changing water. The dump tube, though, is not always convenient for your drains; it may not be so convenient to drag the whole beast and its tentacles and wires outdoors to dump the crud.
The pro model’s nozzle will be wider, so there’s fewer strokes on the carpet. However, there will be places you can clean with the rental that you can’t reach with that big schnozz.
I bought myself a Bissel carpet cleaner. Cost about $115, but I think it’s worth it.
I didn’t want to rent one from the grocery because I have a bit of an “ick factor” when thinking about the item being used previously in filthy, germy houses without being properly cleaned afterward. I also don’t like the idea of having Stanley Steamer guys in my home-- I don’t know these people (or potential criminal backgrounds) and I don’t like having strangers in my house. (Yes, I know, I’m probably paranoid.)
I like my home steamer. It may not be as powerful, but I can just pull it out of the closet whenever I think the rugs need a going-over, or if one of the dogs pukes on the carpet. I usually put out a box fan in the room which I’ve just cleaned and it takes care of the damp carpet.
In my opinion, it’s more important to have a really good vaccuum cleaner. There really is a difference-- a big one. I had a Fantom, and if you would have asked me, I would have told you I had a really good sweeper. My mom brought over her Dyson (and I had swept three times before she came) and I was appalled by what came out of my carpets. She gave me one as a birthday present. It’s kind of neat, because I still use the Fantom upstairs, and every once in a while, I’ll bring up the Dyson to gross myself out at what my other vacccum leaves behind.
If I use the steamer upstairs after just using the Fantom, the water often looks like chocolate milk when I’m done. If I use the Dyson first, the water is still dirty, but it looks more like “mop water.”