We are looking for a carpet steam cleaner and so far have narrowed the choices to the Bissell Pro Heat (the one that keeps the water hot) and the Hoover Widepath Steamvac. They seem to be the top two choices on the web. This would be for a house that is all on one level, so weight of the machine is not the big deal it would be for someone doing carpeted stairs, however it may travel between our house and a friend's occasionally, so I'd like to be able to lift it into the truck, lol.

If anyone could post responses on what they use (other brands too) and why, along with best place to buy it would be greatly appreciated! I have rented Rug Doctors in the past, but having to get it all done in 24 hours is a pain, plus previous renters can leave a machine pretty messed up.

I looked for an "appliance" or "house cleaning" thread, but didn't find one, and this doesn't quite fit into "kitchen", or "laundry", although I almost put it into "tools" until I read the thread. So it is in Don't Know for now.

Thanks to all.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 21, 2001

Answers

GT~

I have a Bissell Pro Heat. I have used it in a couple of rooms and my sister borrowed it and did her whole trailer. She has an indoor cat and dog, so it was a pretty big mess. She was very pleased with the ease of use and cleaning ability and so was I. My husband bought mine for me at Sam's Wholesale Club, so I'm not sure on price, but it has been easy to use and works well so far.

-- Ivy in NW AR (balch84@cox-internet.com), November 21, 2001.

Before you buy, please research the indoor pollution caused by wall to wall carpet and the steam cleaning of such. Carpeting holds all kinds of molds, mites, glue residie and bacteria that are dormant for the most part, but are really activated & released by the heat/steam cleaning method. While we are lead to believe that our carpets will be extracted, clean and 'dry' after a short period of time-the truth is that the underlayers remain damp for weeks, breeding mold and bacteria that are released into the air everytime you walk across the carpet, everytime your child plays.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), November 21, 2001.

I have a bissel but not the one that heats the water. I just cleaned my rug which had some atrocious pet stains on it that I hadn't been able to get rid of with just spot cleaning. I used really hot water from the tap and it worked great. I was considering replacing the rug but now can get a couple more years out of it. The bissel is easy to use and was pretty quick. Mine has a power brush which I think helps a lot. It is much more convenient to have your own than to rent one. I got mine in 'walmart. They come on sale frequently so if you are not in a rush wait and you can get $20 or so off. Had a Regina before this one and liked that a lot also.

-- teresa (teresam@ascent.net), November 21, 2001.

I've got an old rug doctor machine that I've had for 20 years. I has an oscillating brush and built in heater. I also have a geni rug shampoo attachment for my wet vac that works good too, has a hose that connects to hot water tap and the wet vac sucks up the water. I use a rug shampooer from rental store to soap the rug then use the genie or the rug doctor with only water to rinse out the soap, then scotch guard the rug. usually do that every 6 mos. I use the genie attachment in the car too.

-- Ed (smikula@bellsouth.net), November 21, 2001.

I bought a Hoover Steamvac LS recently and it does a great job! I have cats and was starting to accumulate vomit stains on the carpet. The Hoover did a great job cleaning them up and it's easy to move when empty. I have borrowed a Bissell in the past from a friend. Don't remember which particular model but that did a nice job too. You'll probably be happy with either brand.

-- (dshogren@uswest.net), November 22, 2001.

I have the Bissell Proheat..works real well..not too pricey..much easier to manuever than the old "Green Machine" one we had..no hoses and cords to trip over..and it does keep the water hot so there isn't the rush to get the carpet finished in a hurry before the water cools down too fast.

-- Lynn(MO) (mscratch1@semo.net), November 22, 2001.

Kathy didn't even begin to cover all thats wrong with "steam cleaners". My pop sells commercial machines made by CFR and I have used them alot, for health reasons they are the best on the market. they are also pretty expensive. i will tell you flat out the best thing to do is get rid of the wall to wall put in a good floor and use area rugs. You can take the rugs out when you need to clean them. you will probably not be happy with the appearance from home systems. feel free to email me with your questions.

-- Pops (pops762@hotmail.com), November 23, 2001.

GT-I just went through this here at my house. I started out with the Bissell ProHeat about two weeks ago. It did a good job cleaning the carpet but there was very poor suction with the attachment hose. I mean it barley sucked anything at all. Maybe I had a defective machine or something. I cleaned everthing on the machine thinking it was plug up. It could hardly pickup a piece of wet lint. I returned it to the store and puchased a Hoover SteamVac LS model. It cleans the carpet as well but the suction on the attacthment hose is about 50 times stronger. It doesn't heat the water like the Bissell but I thinks its made of better construction. I also like the collection tanks much more than the Bissell. If I were you, plug both of them in at the store and check out the suction. Again, maybe I had a defective Bissell in the first place. Good Luck

-- Bill (sticky@2sides.tape), November 23, 2001.

Thanks to everyone for their responses so far. I was not unhappy with the rug doctor's performance, just the inconvenience of having to rent one, which is why we're looking for a good cleaner to buy.

The attachment hose is not a really big deal for us since with futons you just throw the covers in the washer, but I will check them out for doing those corners! Thanks Bill.

Kathy and Pops, thanks for the other side of the story. Removing the carpet is not an option at this time (another member of the household wouldn't like it) and putting in another floor would be somewhat expensive, since the carpet is in decent shape other than it needs cleaning. Maybe in future when the carpet is closer to being on its last legs, we will look at flooring instead, particularly in areas like the dining area (I would never have put carpet there in the first place) and hallway.A lot of people seem to think that everyone covered nice wood floors with carpeting, but that is not always the case.

Also, under Health from Reuters there was an article saying that sanding wood floors could present a lead hazard, although there was equipment available to clean up the dust. So, it's like, pick your hazard.

Also, while I know new synthetic carpet has problems with outgassing, I am one of those people who think that we get too wrapped around the axle with cleanliness to an extreme where we are no longer immune to the more or less normal germs in society, or even slowly evolving germs. I mean, if you looked at your food under a microscope and saw the dirt, bug droppings, not to mention pieces of dead bugs, etc. (I apologize profusely if one is reading this while eating) you wouldn't eat. So, I trust in the wonderful miracle of the human body that it takes care of itself quite well. I do know that there are those sensitive to molds and such, but we seem to be doing all right.

Again thanks, and please add more comments if you think of any.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 23, 2001.

I have a friend who has been in the carpet business for years, and I recently asked him about carpet cleaners. He said that most of them put too much water into the carpet. The secret to cleaning carpets is to vacuum VERY well to pull the dirt up out of the deep of the rug, and then clean the very top of the fiber. If you try to deep clean the carpet, you will create mud from dirt that just wouldn't suck up into the vacuum, and you weaken the fibers. Also, you create a mold/mildew problem in the carpet. This man vacuums very well, and slowly, first, then lightly sprays the carpet with a cleaner, and then cleans with a large rag-covered machine. When he's done, the carpet is almost dry. If your carpet feels wet when you're done, you've put too much water into it. Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), November 24, 2001.