Rug Doctor???

[KnuckleBuckett]

Bed Bath and Beyond usually carries Folex. So does Lowe's.

[rwisejr]

Walmart and Target carry the Folex

[CleanGSR]

Sweet. If I can't find the Zep anywhere then I'll grab some folex and run that in my carpet shampooer.

[lawrencea]

If there is not a scrubber with the steam machine you may also have to rent a scrubber also. Oxie clean added to the steam solution may also help, but make sure the oxie clean is completly desolved.

[kompressornsc]

Originally Posted by CleanGSR

Sweet. If I can't find the Zep anywhere then I'll grab some folex and run that in my carpet shampooer.

YMMV, but I tried Zep before Folex. No comparison-the Folex was so much more effective. I normally take a spray bottle and pretreat any bad areas and then run the Folex in the machine as well. Not sure how much, I just put a splash in with the water.
And honestly, that's the worst thing about the RugDoctor - trying to get water in the awkwardly placed tank.


I'd ship you my half used bottle of Zep, but I think the shipping would be more than a new bottle.

[CleanGSR]

Originally Posted by kompressornsc

YMMV, but I tried Zep before Folex. No comparison-the Folex was so much more effective. I normally take a spray bottle and pretreat any bad areas and then run the Folex in the machine as well. Not sure how much, I just put a splash in with the water.
And honestly, that's the worst thing about the RugDoctor - trying to get water in the awkwardly placed tank.


I'd ship you my half used bottle of Zep, but I think the shipping would be more than a new bottle.

Thanks. Based on your reply, I'm gonna give the folex a try first (especailly since it should be easier to find in my small area.) I appreciate the offer for your bottle of zep, but I plan to do this tomorrow anyway so need something fairly quickly.

[AL-53]

The Zep Commercial products are way better than the home stuff...using the Traffic lane cleaner from zep sure made rugs clean...I use folex also..but for stain spotting...you can dilute Folex 1 to 4 ratio...so a quart to a gallon of water is the most ....

the extractor shampoo is what I used in the Hoover...

but it looks like you have no Home Depot near you...thats the only big box store that has it...

Al

[CleanGSR]

Well, I picked up a bottle of Folex and a small thing of Oxy Clean. I'm going to try with just folex and if that doesn't do the trick then I might try folex water solution with a scoop of oxyclean.

[evo77]

Just when I made up my mind about renting the Rug Doctor...

I've heard a lot of positive testimonials on the web while also finding some not so positive.

From what I can see, you have to take into account that there are some people that probably didn't do it right or probably didn't follow the directions on the proper cleaning solution mixtures.

I've heard that pulling the machine SLOWLY is a big key factor in getting superior results. Pull it too fast and the machine can't work its magic.

I was going to hire a professional to clean the carpet in our home but I just don't know where to begin. I assume many use different machines and different techniques. Which is better? Which is more/less expensive? I've already read a few times that a truck mounted machine are the better cleaners but why?

[CleanGSR]

Well, I did the living room carpets with a folex + OxyClean mix and it turned out great. It looks probably 5-10 times better than the regular carpet cleaner solutions from walmart. The dilution I made was 8 oz of Folex + 1 scoop of OxyClean for every gallon of water.

Always before the shampooer would get the carpet pretty clean but you could still see some of the heavy traffic areas where the carpet was a different shade. After the Folex Oxy mix it is pretty much invisible. The entire carpet looks really clean and bright and you can't really even see the heavier traffic areas on the carpet. My mother-in-law came in about an hour after doing the carpet and said she thought they looked brand new.

Now the test will be to see if any of the stains or traffic areas come back but I'm hoping for the best. So far I'd highly recommend the folex oxy solution.

[kompressornsc]

Originally Posted by evo77

Just when I made up my mind about renting the Rug Doctor...

I've heard a lot of positive testimonials on the web while also finding some not so positive.

From what I can see, you have to take into account that there are some people that probably didn't do it right or probably didn't follow the directions on the proper cleaning solution mixtures.

I've heard that pulling the machine SLOWLY is a big key factor in getting superior results. Pull it too fast and the machine can't work its magic.

I was going to hire a professional to clean the carpet in our home but I just don't know where to begin. I assume many use different machines and different techniques. Which is better? Which is more/less expensive? I've already read a few times that a truck mounted machine are the better cleaners but why?

There are a couple of keys to the RugDoctor. One, as you said, go slow. The other is to tip it as you pull so all of the weight is on the suction part and not the wheels. It really helps get the water back out. I lift it up so it's almost not even riding on the wheels but just the suction part.

[evo77]

Originally Posted by CleanGSR

Well, I did the living room carpets with a folex + OxyClean mix and it turned out great. It looks probably 5-10 times better than the regular carpet cleaner solutions from walmart. The dilution I made was 8 oz of Folex + 1 scoop of OxyClean for every gallon of water.

Always before the shampooer would get the carpet pretty clean but you could still see some of the heavy traffic areas where the carpet was a different shade. After the Folex Oxy mix it is pretty much invisible. The entire carpet looks really clean and bright and you can't really even see the heavier traffic areas on the carpet. My mother-in-law came in about an hour after doing the carpet and said she thought they looked brand new.

Now the test will be to see if any of the stains or traffic areas come back but I'm hoping for the best. So far I'd highly recommend the folex oxy solution.

Well I rented the "Wide" Rug Doctor today. So far the results are "ok". The carpet appears to be cleaner but its not a HUGE difference. Our carpet was in decent shape to begin with, with some isolated stains here and there so this might be the reason. My main objective was to just clean up the high traffic areas.

I tried your Folex/Oxy Clean mixture and I didn't like the results. It was a bit foamy and the Oxy mixture particles seemed to clog up the pick up tube. I didn't see you mention anything about adding a de-foamer and I didn't mix up the water to dissolve the Oxy Clean for fear of more foaming.

We had some Bissell carpet cleaning solution in the house so I've been using that and its working much better.

I will say that this machine runs through the water REALLY quick. I can't make many passes without running out of water. I'm overlapping my passes by half now to extend the water supply after initially overlapping by 5-6 inches.

I think my next go around will be hiring a professional.