Rug Doctor Review

My son and his girlfriend have just moved house.  We helped them on Sunday with the big clean up to make everything look spick and span, and part of this job was to clean the beige coloured carpets.  Professional carpet cleaning can cost a lot of money, and for young couples the last thing they want to do is fork out cash unnecessarily.  It made sense to hire a Rug Doctor to deep clean their carpets for a fraction of the price.

Wherever you live in the UK, you are probably within a 10 minute car drive from a rental outlet.  Many supermarkets, cleaners and DIY stores are outlets from which you can hire a Rug Doctor.

A 24 hour rental complete with a bottle of cleaning detergent costs just over £30.  This will clean approximately 38 sq m of carpet (about two rooms).

The machine fitted easily into my son's car on the rear seat.  It was in a good and clean condition and ready to use straight away.

The instructions to get the machine ready for use were easy to follow and within minutes the cleaner was filled with warm water and cleaning detergent in the tanks.  

The Rug Doctor injects cleaning solution into the pile of the carpet and sucks it back up picking up all the dirt, grime and nasties lurking deep down.  A vibrating brush agitates the carpet loosening tough dirt and fluffing up the pile.  80% of the cleaning solution is extracted by the machine leaving carpets dry in just a couple of hours.

Using the Rug Doctor is much like using a very heavy vacuum cleaner that you pull backwards.  Unfortunately, the instructions on the machine were a bit vague and consequently he didn't manage to use the attachments, but we did get it all working.  My daughter, who was helping her brother, found it quite hard to use as she struggled to pull the machine backwards due to its weight and ended up with a painful wrist.  However, my son didn't have a problem using it.  The amount of solution going onto the carpet seemed a bit inconsistent leaving some patches much damper than others, but that could have been user error.  Overall though, the Rug Doctor worked efficiently and the carpet was cleaned quickly.  

I was impressed with the end result.  Although it was not 100% perfect, the carpet was much cleaner and the water in the tank was filthy, so we know that a lot of dirt and grime was lifted from the pile.  It definitely provided a new lease of life to the carpet.  As you can see from the Before and After photos below, most of the stains were considerably lightened or removed by the solution.  It is shocking to see just how much dirt is trapped inside the fibres of a carpet. 

For more information go to www.rugdoctor.co.uk

*We were sent a voucher for  24 hr hire.*

Spring Cleaning the Natural & Clean Way

Natural & Clean are cleaning specialists who offer a wide range of innovative and environmentally friendly travel, pet and household cleaning products, to make our homes fresh, clean and odour free.

With Spring Cleaning season fast approaching, and with us about to put our house on the market, I was very pleased to be sent a selection of these products to test out.  The company ethos is to create, distribute and sell the finest quality cleaning products that respect the Earth.  The products do not contain any animal based products and are not tested on animals.  Made without harsh chemicals, they are also kind to those of us who live in the house being cleaned, which is really important when you have children.

The Natural & Clean range includes carpet and upholstery cleaning products.  I was particularly pleased to receive these as our beige stairway and hall carpet is looking slightly worse for wear and would benefit from a good clean.

The Dry Carpet Cleaner is a really innovative product.  Millions of tiny sponge like granules absorb dirt when agitated into the carpet.  The pack comes with a brush to work it into the pile.  The granules absorb dirt from the carpet fibres and change colour.  They can then be simply vacuumed away.  It is very easy to use and leaves the carpet smelling fresh and looking cleaner.  Knowing there is nothing unnatural in the product is very reassuring with a toddler in the house.  The cleaner looks a lot like damp sand, which goes to work straight away.  After about 10 minutes you can hoover it up.  The carpet definitely looks better for the treatment and looks less aged.  It currently costs £5.19 for a 500g pouch.

The Spot Remover Spray targets tough spots and spills directly.  Made with high quality natural ingredients means it is free from solvents, bleach or phosphates.  To use, you spray onto an absorbent cloth and rub over the spill.  It is even suitable on wool.  The  discolouration is lifted from the carpet.  It is an effective and safe way to tackle stains.  I tried it on a muddy print on my stair carpet and it lifted a lot of the discolouration very quickly and easily.  I'll be targeting more of my carpet with this later, and hopefully make it look much cleaner for any prospective buyers!  There are also Spot Remover Wipes for extra convenience. They are effective on coffee, tea, food grease, pet accidents, soft drinks etc and can be used on most fabrics. With messy kids, these are a must have!  The wipes foam up when you use them, but quickly dry to a powder meaning there is no sticky residue.  Each wipe goes a long way so one would tackle a spill effectively.  Both the spray and 25 pack of wipes each cost £3.43.

The Bin Deodoriser is a powerful formulation which attacks the cause of unwanted odours, neutralising and removing them.  You simply spray it onto offending areas such as the kitchen bin, wheelie bins, cat litter trays, nappy bins or waste disposal units.  You can also spray the internal surfaces of bins after each bag change to keep them smelling fresh.  Powerful active microbes neutralise the pong instantly.  I was really impressed by this product.  It didn't mask the stink with an artificial fragrance, it made the smell disappear.  It is safe for pets and people so you don't have to worry about harsh chemicals in your home.  It is just £3.39 for a 300ml trigger spray bottle.  It is perfect for freshening up every bin in the house.  I wish I'd had this when Fred was still in nappies because they made the bin reek! 

All the products have performed really effectively.  The packaging has good information and clear instructions for each product's use.  I love that they are environmentally friendly, not tested on animals and safe.  I was impressed to find a brand that does not compromise on its company ethos or the quality of its products!  I'd recommend taking a look online for the full range of pet, baby, travel and household cleaning products.

You can purchase directly from the Natural and Clean website and orders over £50 are free.

*I received samples to test but no compensation was received.*