A fantastic machine that I wouldn't be without (Rug Doctor Mighty Pro)

Member Name: ceanothus

Product:	Rug Doctor Mighty Pro
Date:	22/09/09 (374 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does everything you would expect of a professional carpet cleaner

Disadvantages: Bulky to store, expensive to buy, hassle to rent

What can I say about this machine, other than WOW! After having tried most other carpet cleaning methods over the years (Vax, Kirby, Dry Shampoo and everything in between!), the Rug Doctor is the one. So good that I bought one of my very own.

OK, so I bought it after a sleepless night watching the dreaded 'infomercial' ... but I'm not a gullible consumer, and one year on I don't regret it one bit. So, after a year's experience with the Mighty Pro, what can I tell you about it?

To start with, it's really sturdy. Well built, well designed, with quality components. The main body of the machine is pretty heavy, especially when you've filled the lower chamber with water and cleaning fluid. It's not a problem though, it's on decent sized wheels, moves about fairly easily and the handle is adjustable to suit you. Water and cleaner is delivered by a powerful pump system; unlike some other machines it doesn't rely on vacuum suction or feeble little pumps to get a dribble of water through.

The real bonus is the excellent hand nozzle. It has a trigger spray and fair kicks clean water out under pump pressure. Unlike any Vax I've ever used, it delivers plenty of cleaner to the nozzle, at any angle you need, onto any surface you like. I use the hand nozzle to clean tiles on the kitchen floor every so often, it's a really deep clean and leaves the floor virtually dry. Change two pipes to quickly swap between cleaning with the main brushes and the hand nozzle, don't forget to flick the switch from carpet cleaning to hand tool use and you're away.

It does a fantastic job of cleaning carpets, upholstery, car interiors and rugs. I loathe housework in general, but I do have a thing for clean floors. We have a large, very hairy dog (who I simply love to bits but he really is a messy beast!) plus 4 cats, so keeping clean floors is no picnic. With the Rug Doctor, I find the results so pleasing that I don't mind spending a couple of hours cleaning a carpet. Whether you're thinking of renting or buying a machine, here are my top tips:

Vacuum really well first, especially if you have pets. The amount of pet hair and grit that will come up with the dirty water is just disgraceful, even if your carpet looks clean and hair free before you start!

If you're doing a whole room, zip all around the edges first with the hand tool. Clean a nice wide border around all the edges before starting with the main cleaning. While you're at it, use the hand tool to pre spray solution onto any difficult patches you spot, so they have a little extra time to loosen up.

If you have rugs, use the hand tool around the edge of the rugs, leaving the middle of the rug for cleaning with the main machine. The machine isn't great at dealing with the edges of rugs and will either chew them or leak a load of water when running over the edges, so I clean about an 8" border with the hand nozzle first.

Once you've done all the fiddly bits, whip the hand tool off and swap back to main carpet cleaning. You walk this machine backwards, not quickly but there's no need to go at snail's pace either. The machine does a fairly broad sweep. If the carpet is really dirty it does need a large overlap on each sweep as I find the machine doesn't clean perfectly edge to edge, but at least you will see exactly where you've already been. If you start to see foam coming out at the edges, you're probably going too slowly.

Word of warning - this machine will use gallons of water and cleaner! About half the workload is emptying dirty water and refilling the tank, so make sure you have plenty of hot water available. The dirty water tank will be disgusting (even if you're like Hyacinth Bucket but a bit more houseproud!!). I'm still appalled at the amount of grit, pet hair and general nastiness that comes out of our carpets even with regular cleaning, but imagine leaving all that at the bottom of the carpet pile - uck!

I've truly not had a moment's trouble with this machine since I bought it. While it wasn't cheap to buy I think it was good value for money. I reckon I would spend at least a quarter of the cost annually on renting machines or paying to have the upholstery and the cars valeted, so it only has to run for 4 years and we're quits. Actually I suspect it will outlast me and my carpets :-)

Summary: It's only a carpet cleaner, But it's the best carpet cleaner I've ever bought.

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