This blog post is about saving you your hard-earned money. And in this case, it’s about cleaning your carpet using a carpet cleaning machine that you own versus renting one all the time.

Rug Doctor:  Just about everybody knows what a Rug Doctor is. I’ve rented and used the Rug Doctor several times over the last 15-years or so and have no complaints. It’s a good machine for cleaning your carpet and it does a good job.

I’ve rented apartments a few times and have rented the Rug Doctor to clean the carpet. And in all cases I passed the inspection. In one case the inspector told me the carpet looks better now than before I moved into the apartment. I’ve even used the Rug Doctor for the house I use to have in Belleville, IL.

There’s only one drawback with the Rug Doctor, you can’t keep it. You can only rent it out. You have to return it within 24-hours or automatically rent it out for another 24-hours. However, I’ve seen Rug Doctors sold, but are they look-a-like Rug Doctors or the real thing? Do they do a good job like the real Rug Doctor that you rent? I don’t know.

Bottom Line: If you only need to clean a carpet just once, rent the Rug Doctor. With its own Rug Doctor cleaning liquids, it does a great job. Currently at the time of this writing (June 2019), a Rug Doctor rents for:  approximately $24.99 for a 24-hour period.

  • Rug Doctor ($24.99 for a 24-hour period)
  • Oxy-Steamer Carpet Cleaner – 48 fluid ounces ($14.99)
  • Oxy-Steamer Carpet Cleaner – 96 fluid ounces ($21.99)
  • Ever Fresh Odor Remover – 16 fluid ounces ($05.99)

So renting the Rug Doctor with the bigger bottle of Oxy-Steamer Carpet Cleaner and a bottle of Ever Fresh Odor Remover comes to $52.99 and we haven’t added the tax.

But if you rent the Rug Doctor and purchase the cleaning fluids multiple times a year, you may want to consider purchasing your own carpet cleaning machine. And one option is the Bissell Pro Heat Essential.

Bissell Pro Heat Essential: I own my own Bissell Pro Heat Essential. Depending where you purchase it, it goes for around $150.00.

($150.00)

I think it’s great carpet cleaning machine. As of 03 July 2019 (Wednesday), I’ve used my Bissell Pro Heat Essential carpet cleaning machine about 11 times (see Renting Rug Doctor Accumulating Costs below) and am very pleased with it.

So far, I did not use any of the usual carpet cleaning products. When I filled-up the reservoir of regular cold tap water, I added a small squirt of blue Dawn dish soap. Why blue Dawn dish soap?

I don’t know why, but the blue Dawn dish soap is great on getting out stains. The lady at the laundromat told me if I had any stains in my clothes, rub a little blue Dawn dish soap, into the stain the night before you wash your clothes.

Well that’s what I did and it works. I actually tried the green Dawn dish soap for stains, but the blue kind works the best. See UPDATE below.

So instead of paying several dollars for the carpet cleaning detergents, I just use a small squirt of blue Dawn dish soap and it works real good. And a bottle of blue Dawn dish soap will last a long time and SAVE hundreds of dollars over purchasing those carpet cleaning detergents again and again. Now will the Bissell Pro Heat Essential carpet cleaning machine SAVE YOU MONEY over renting the Rug Doctor? Check out the chart below:

 

        Renting Rug Doctor                                                                   Accumulating Costs                                         (w/detergents – Summer 2019)

1st Rental——————————————————————————————————-$52.99

2nd Rental—————————————————————————————————–$105.96

3rd Rental—————————————————————————————————–$158.95

4th Rental—————————————————————————————————–$211.94

5th Rental—————————————————————————————————–$264.93

6th Rental—————————————————————————————————-$317.92

7th Rental—————————————————————————————————-$370.91

8th Rental—————————————————————————————————-$423.90

9th Rental—————————————————————————————————-$476.89

10th Rental—————————————————————————————————$529.88

11th Rental—————————————————————————————————$582.87

Note:  Taxes not included.

UPDATE: On 03 July 2019, I used a couple doses of 60-fluid ounce bottle of Resolve Pet Expert Steam Machine Formula. I gotta tell you, I was SURPRISED at the dirt it picked-up after I went over the same area with the Dawn soap formula. I’m sold on the Resolve product. The directions state 02.3 fluid ounces of Resolve per gallon of water.

And guess what? I used plain ol’ cold tap water. The directions talk about using hot water, but no hotter than 104-degrees Fahrenheit (40-degrees Celsius). I used cold water both times and got great results using Resolve Pet Expert Steam Machine Formula. The bottle also states the Resolve formula has ‘Odor Stop Technology.’ And whatever they put in the bottle to kill odor – it works. My business room smells a lot better with a flowery scent to it.

BOTTOM LINE: Using my Bissell Pro Heat Essential just 03-times paid for itself versus renting the Rug Doctor. You can see the costs of the Rug Doctor if I had rented it 11-times. So I’m SAVING MONEY by buying my own carpet cleaning machine – BAMMM!

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