I've only used a rental machine once or twice, so no real experience to share on which one is best. I bought a Hoover Steam vac. and am happy with how it works on my carpets. To me, the key is to use really hot water when filling it.

You are right, the carpet that is exposed will look different than where the furniture covers it anyway, so wouldn't worry about moving the heavy pieces. Just move what you can to make it easier to maneuver since the cleaners are rather bulky.

You can control how wet you get it, the vacuum part does a pretty good job of sucking up the water. Mine usually dry within just a few hours. Just go slowly, and let the machine do the work. I always do small sections at a time, then run the machine back over that area one more time to suck up any additional moisture.

Good luck with your project.

Luvs

Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

I have used the Rug Doctor brand many times and it works very well but again as I have mentioned in other posts...use Zep carpet cleaner in it (from Home Depot) and you will get a nice clean carpet.

I read somewhere that true steam cleaning is the only thing carpets should be cleaned with. It was some kind of consumer site so it seemed like reliable information.

They did say that the Rug Doctor is very hard on your carpet because of the brush.

I think some companies make steam cleaning machines for the home. And some of the cleaning machines come close to replicating professional machines. Bissell (sp?)? Not sure which ones. But they really heat the water. Don't know if they have a brush.