Cleaning your own carpets is a lot of work. Some people rent carpet cleaning machines or buy their own.

If carpets get too wet, they will take a long time to dry, possible mildew/mold will develop.

You will need to put a piece of plastic or other under legs of tables/chairs to keep the metal from rusting onto the carpet. No walking on carpets until they are dry.

Carpet cleaner left in the carpet will attract dirt and carpets will look/be dirty before very long.

If you use ammonia in the cleaning solution, it will rot carpet backing, I did that long time ago.

I plan on using a commercial carpet cleaning company that uses a truck mounted cleaning machine using water only to clean carpets. This will clean deep and suck excess water back out of the carpet, plus no cleaner residue left in carpet.

Good luck on which ever method you choose.

I guess i will also seek help from local carpet cleaning company, i can not take risk to damage my furniture.

The (mostly) annual cleaning of carpeted floors shares rank with removing wallpaper on my hire-someone-else-to-do-it list.

I've always cleaned my own carpets. The biggest part is getting everything vacuumed and everything ready to just run the cleaner over the carpet. Something you would want to do before actually paying someone to come in and clean.

I've never had a problem with mildew etc in the 30+ years I've been cleaning them. Since I have always owned my own machines I also don't do the whole house. It's usually a room or two at a time. Also, I do them as they become dirty, so they are done a lot more often than once a year. The cleaner is nice to have around when someone throws up, spills food, or the dog has an accident. You can clean up the mess (and smell) before the stain sets.

Right now I have a Hoover brand that's an upright. Prefer those to the canister models. Actually don't know if they even make a canister model any more.

As far as cleaning solutions I normally go to a janitorial supply store. Purchase a odor product and carpet cleaning product. However, the last time they were moving and didn't have any carpet cleaning product. So I ended up with Rug Doctor with Oxy. Actually cleaned as well as what I've been buying. I don't care for the Hoover and Bissel brand cleaners. They seem to leave something on the carpet that attracts dirt.

And just so you know I have white carpets that have withstood boys, dogs, and people wearing shoes. Right now I'm on my third machine.

I spot-treat pet stains before the professional carpet cleaner comes. You can use whatever works-Oxyclean in water, Spot Shot spray, or my "homemade" solution: One part water, one part hydrogen peroxide and a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent. Use a brush to scrub any stains. When the pro comes, the entire area will be cleaned and you won't have tell-tale rings. About twice a year, I have Chem Dry clean my carpets.

Years ago I tried cleaning my own carpets but never again. I found a carpet cleaner that uses only softened water and has a new heating system in his truck. The machine he uses has a rotating 3 arm head that rubs the carpet fibers while it sprays the cleaning solution into them followed by rinse water. The vacuum he uses creates the highest suction in the business. Talk to the local carpet cleaners if you use one. You need one that is willing to take his time to get the soil out. I have not liked the results for the usual spray heads as well, nor the Chem-dry process.

I have worked in the Home Health Care industry for 26 years now. I have seen humans and animals make some awful stains in carpets; I have used the Pari-wash that is commonly used for washing butts between showers. It is a lot more Foamy then most cleaners, so just a dab in water works great. used it in home carpet-cleaners, just a dab, and it worked miracles.

I saw a woman use it full strength to clean-up after a Saint Barnard. it worked.

personally, I helped a friend use her home machine to clean her kitchen carpet, then decided to rent a bigger machine to clean the whole house. She went over a tough stain in the Kit. with the rented machine. not only did the "tough stain" come out easily, that area looked cleaner then the rest of the kitchen.

My fussy older brother and wife hosts about 25-30 people every Thursday for Bible study and then food. He owns a cleaner and thinks it does great. They've had the same carpet for about 18 years and it looks nice when I visit. I think it is personal preference. Good luck.

It's hard to wash carpet at home. Especially if the carpets are expensive, it's not worth taking risk. Try any reputed carpet cleaning company near your place.

This post was edited by Divyah on Tue, Aug 13, 13 at 14:23

Cleaning a carpet is very heavy as well as risky task. When I had cleaned my carpet they I hired carpet cleaning company as they are professional in their work and know all the tactics to clean in an efficient manner.

Consumer Reports recently recommended renting a machine and DIY. For around $50 you get a pretty good cleaning. Over the weekend, I rented a Rug Doctor, used it on my 2 nastiest rooms (daughter's bedroom and family room) , cleaned the machine (easy-just rinse with water), then refilled with a gallon of clear vinegar and went over them. The vinegar smell soon disappeared, they were completely dry about 30 hours later. I did use a fan to help dry them. Of course, it is easier to hire a company to clean your carpets. I think that's what I'll do next time. I like to clean my carpets before Thanksgiving.

I used to do our rental and our home years ago, but not anymore. I have more money than time left so why not use it. That's not to say I am rich, I just do things like more freely than I used to. I also have my floors cleaned and rugs shaken once a month now.

I use vacuum cleaner for cleaning carpet. Vacuum cleaner provides the first line of defense against dirt and grit that damages carpet fibers. Sometimes I hire a carpet cleaning company as they are professional in their work and know all the tactics to clean in an efficient manner.

This post was edited by Ram1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 2:53

There are many ways by which you can use for cleaning carpet like clean your carpet with steam cleaner with hot water, you also use a bucket of soap water and a scrub brush to clean the water, you can also use vacuum like canister and rainbow to clean the carpet and take out dirt from the carpet.

When we were renting, we had light colored carpet throughout most of the house. With 3 cats and 2 dogs that all took turns throwing up, we used Capture weekly on stains. At the end of our two year lease, we had the carpets cleaned professionally, and they were looking good...better than when we moved in actually. Capture is good stuff.