Many people want to save a money and clean their own carpet. Many supermarkets have rental machines that you can rent for as low as $30.00 bucks. You will also need the cleaning supplies shampoo and spot treater so ad on another $10.00 to $20.00. There are some very important things to consider when using one of these devices.

You should also look at picking up a carpet rake to rake the carpet after cleaning, this will fluff the carpet and make it dry faster. A carpet rake can be found at janitorial supply stores. It looks very similar to a regular yard rake but only plastic and about half as wide. You use a rake to brush the carpet fibers and get them to stand up straight.

Use a good vacuum to fully pick up all of the loose dirt. In many cases a second vacuuming is recommended. Now that all the loose dirt is gone pre-treat and spots and high traffic areas of the carpet. Be sure and follow the directions on the chemicals you are using. In some cases you are better off testing the product first in a corner closet or some place out of the way. This is to ensure you will not be causing any carpet discoloration.

Once the carpet is pretreated, start up the machine and clean the carpet in a series of overlapping passes. The full directions on how to use carpet cleaner are on the side of the machine. It's very simple to use. Another simple tip is to go slow. Yes you will use more solution but often times going slow will help. Once you are done go back and pick up any excess water on the carpet with the machine with the vacuum only. Most likely you will have to go over the heavy traffic areas a few times but that is normal when cleaning carpets even with heavy duty cleaning products.

By following these simple no-brainer tips you should be able to get your carpets looking around 70 percent cleaner. Most do-it-yourselfer's would agree that cleaning your own carpets is a good way to go to save money. One thing to keep in mind is you should have your carpets cleaned regularly.

If you purchase your own carpet cleaner, you can save even more money in the long run, and can be more convenient for you to use.

If you want to clean carpets yourself, and purchase your own machine, for a little more money than an decent vacuum, you can own your own steam cleaner! This machine can save you THOUSANDS of dollars in cleaning costs as well as carpet replacement costs. Forget buying a steam cleaner at the store, those models are underpowered and will leave a huge amount of moisture in your carpet. Instead, consider the following model:

Carpet Express C4 Remanufactured Carpet Steam Cleaner Like Rug Doctor

Technical Details

* 100 PSI Demand Pump-Powerful Cleaning and rinsing
* 85" Lift Vacuum Motor-Carpet dries faster
* 3.5 Gallon Solution & Waste Tank-Less work
* Factory Remanufactured-Parts tested and machine like new again.
* Free Hand Tool / 11ft Hose

This Rug Doctor Style Carpet Cleaner is a 'steam' carpet extractor for cleaning carpet, upholstery, vehicle, RV & boat interiors, plus more. This machine does NOT have a heater. It uses HOT tap water. This machine is made in the USA by Carpet Express® whose principal owner co-founded the Rug Doctor® in 1973. The 33 years of industry experience is evident in the design, quality & dependability that you will notice with this machine. Our Experience with the Carpet Express C4 Low Moisture Machine! When we put this machine out in our rental stores, our customers preferred this low moisture machine over the other brands of carpet cleaners we offered. Some of our stores even requested that we pick the others up! User Serviceable Components The user serviceable components (Pump, Vacuum, Brush Motor), should you need to repair anything after the warranty, are easily accessible from your local vacuum supply store. If not, we are always willing to provide you with reasonably priced replacement items. Should you take a look "under the hood", the first thing you will notice is all the major components are in one convenient location. This puts the vacuum and solution pump, very close to the working area. Powerful Components in better location than the other guys... The main difference in this Carpet Express C4 a Rug Doctor Style Machine, is the vacuum motor location. It is in the bottom of the unit, close to the suction pick-up opening in the front. In some others, it is in the top, a lot further from the suction opening, reducing the power of the vacuum motor. Therefore, more solution is recovered resulting in a drier fabric with less residue left in the carpet (which encourages faster re-soiling). Low Moisture System just works better! Because the low moisture system dispenses less solution to begin with & the vacuum extracts more of that solution ----- you benefit from a carpet that dries sooner & contains less detergent residue, so it stays cleaner, longer.

Carpet Express C4 Remanufactured Carpet Steam Cleaner Like Rug Doctor