To Rent or Buy a Carpet Cleaner?

Buy it.

Those grocery store ones are gross.... other people's dirt.

We have a Bissell Pro Heat and LOVE it. I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond for less than $300. I use the Hoover shampoo solution for pets from Home Depot.

We also had a Hoover Steam cleaner and it was a good one. We wear them out... I like the Bissell over the Hoover because the water stays hot with the onboard water heater.

You can get them at Target as well.

4 moms found this helpful

buy one, just figure out your price point and check online for reviews. It's so nice, then those stains don't get there cause you can pull one out and in about the time it would take to pull out your vacuum, you can clean up the spot and be done.

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We are happy with our Bissel Pro Heat and it's handy to have whenever we need it. It's been loaned to friends and family for their homes and apartments and gotten out stains they didn't think would ever come up. So depending on your needs, I think buying is a good idea and the Bissel is a decent machine.

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We used to rent every now and then, and although we only have area rugs, we finally bought one. At $40 a time to rent, we had it paid for in just a few times. Now I find myself shampooing the areas rugs more frequently. The ones you rent are more industrial; however the ones you buy work well too. Def. buy!! :) We just bought a basic one from Target.

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I live in an apartment also, I know how you feel about stains and trying to save money using other ways to get them up. I didn't buy one myself but my mother in law has loaned me hers because she never uses it. I think it would benefit you in the long run to just go ahead and purchase one now. Especially if you plan on using it quite a bit. My neighbor looked into renting one and with as many times as she carpet cleans it was in her best interest and to save money to just buy one. Good luck!

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When we had wall to wall carpet I LOVED my steam cleaner. Best money ever spent. I cleaned my carpets once a month. SO fantastic. We have hardwood now, but man oh man, did I love that carpet cleaner when we had carpet!

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Buy one. It's not easy to rent one at 11 p.m. when you child gets sick and pukes all over the carpet. And the quicker you get the stain out, the better!

If I were to purchase a new one today (ours is 6+ years old and works great--Hoover) I would get one that heats its own water. You'll also still want to keep carpet stain remover on hand too--Folex works really well.

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I loooove my steam cleaner. Couldn't live without it. My first one was a baby shower present from my husband! We bought a second more updated version of that one a year ago (Bissell Proheat) and it's even better than the first (which was pretty darn good). Growing up in a big family with lots of little ones, dh knew we were going to need it! LOL.

We have light carpeting throughout the house, and it's amazing how often that steamer comes in handy. In the Spring and Fall, it never fails our dog will leave muddy paw prints everywhere. Every family holiday party we've hosted, someone always spills wine or food.

I was really happy recently that we have our steamer when at 2 in the morning, my toddler woke up with the stomach flu and left a trail of vomit from his bed all the way to the main hallway. That would have been a brutal nightmare if we didn't have the steamer.

It was a pain having to shampoo the carpet in the middle of the night, but we got it up right away, and by the next day, no bad smells, stains, or permanent damage...thanks to having our VERY OWN steamer ready to go.

If we had to leave that just mopped up and unshampooed until the stores opened 6 hours later to rent a steamer, we would have been buying a new carpet and a new bed for our son. (You can clean furniture and stairs with it the attachments)

Get a steamer. As I mentioned, I highly recommend the Bissell Proheat. You can buy it at Target, Sears and Home Depot. It's well worth the money. By the way, there are several formulas of shampoo you can use in the machines...the newest one on the shelves labled "Professional Strength" is amazing. On tougher stains, sometimes we have to do two rounds of shampooing after using the recommended pretreat spray. This stuff is so good, one time is all it takes...with no pretreat spray.

See: http://www.bissell.com/proheat-deep-cleaner/

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Until just NOW I never thought people DIDN'T have one in their house but then again when you have as many pets as we have had over the years it's as important as a washing machine.

I just did my carpets this weekend and I feel all brand new and clean again.

The Pro Heat cleaner that Bissell makes ROCKS. My husband bought it at Kohl's and it even came with a rebate that ACTUALLY showed up. Worth every penny. After the discounts and rebates I think we got it down to just over $100. LOVE that thing and can't imagine NOT having one.

1 mom found this helpful

Another vote for buying a Bissell Pro Heat. I think we got ours at Costco. I LOVE that cleaner. It works so well. With a toddler and two dogs, it has saved our carpet.

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Since we have two babies, and they do spend an incredible amount of time on the floor! we bought ours! It was an impulse purchase at Home Depot. VERY happy we did! and our secrest is boiling water - not just hot from the tap, but boiled on the stove, with the proper detergent.

1 mom found this helpful

Bissell Pro Heat - Love it :) Just seconding what a bunch of other people have said! Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I'll sell you my carpet cleaner. I've only used it 2x so it's practically new. It was well reviewed by users which is why I picked it. I'm just not using it. I spot clean instead. I think I paid around $160 or so without taxes. I'll sell it to you for $100. It's a Hoover SteamVac Model ###-###-####. You can contact me at ____@____.com