If you’re just looking for a coupon, click here for $5 off your next Rug Doctor rental. Happy cleaning! Read on for my review of the product!
When I moved recently, I rented a Rug Doctor from Lowes for $40 (approximately $35 plus $5 for the cleaning concentrate), and it was a surprisingly satisfying & fun experience. Before moving, I received some amazing & expensive furniture from a friend that needed cleaning in a bad way – the furniture had been used everyday & there were small dogs & cats involved. I tackled the project and it took me nearly 8 hours of off-and-on work to complete the job.
Click the link below to read on and discover how much clean furniture I got out of a $5 bottle of cleaning concentrate, and how to best clean your own furniture with my tips & tricks!
Where can I rent a Rug Doctor?
You can rent a Rug Doctor at most home improvement stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. You can also rent them at some grocery stores such as Bi-Lo or Kroger, depending on what part of the country you live in.
How much does a Rug Doctor cost to rent?
Rug Doctor machines rent out by the hour, mine was approximately $35 an hour, and I found that there was no point in shopping around since the price was exactly the same at all of the locations around my town. Although it never hurts to do a quick call-around to check prices, you may be best off renting from the nearest location.
The upholstery extensions cost an extra $5 or so, and they are a must if you plan on cleaning any furniture, your car, or other areas that aren’t carpet on the floor or are hard to reach – such as a flight of carpeted stairs. Also, be sure to pick up a bucket while you’re at the hardware store so you’ll have a place to easily mix the concentrate & water, and also pick up earplugs or headphones. You’ll find out why later on in the article!
How much furniture will a Rug Doctor clean?
I didn’t use my Rug Doctor for the standard use – cleaning carpeted floors. Instead I cleaned my furniture. With one bottle of cleaning concentrate I managed to beautifully clean:
- 1 queen size mattress (top & sides),
- 1 full-size couch with chaise extension (cushions front/back/sides, armrests, & top back),
- 1 chair & a half (a.k.a. loveseat) + ottoman (cushions front & back, armrests, top back, entire ottoman),
- 1 pull-out futon in its entirety
Does a Rug Doctor clean furniture well?
Gallons upon gallons of brown, murky water later I had beautifully clean furniture. It takes a lot of arm power and patience, but if you keep up with it and work the same spots multiple times, you will see a marked difference in the color and smell of your furniture. Some of the areas I worked on had been severely damaged by cat & dog urine, and to the point where the next step was a trip to the dump. Today I am sitting on said furniture & there is no leftover odors or smells. Just keep cleaning the affected area until you can put your nose up to the spot without smelling the odor.
My steps on how to best clean furniture:
- Read the provided instructions for safety & proper use!
- Fill the machine with the concentrate & water mix as directed
- Attach the upholstery extension
- Turn the machine to the upholstery setting
- Wear headphones or earplugs, or you will be one grumpy camper by the end of the process because the machine is LOUD.
- Lay down towels underneath the furniture or cushion if you’re doing this inside. Make sure there is a border of towels around the cushion because the water will splash a little. Water WILL leak out of the extension no matter how good you are at working it.
- Do one cushion/area at a time – push the upholstery extension with some force up against the cushion in the top left corner or side and slowly push the water release button. Be sure the entire extension is pushed up hard against the fabric so the suction part of the extension will properly suck up the dirty water and carry it back to the machine. This means that the front & back of the extension should be pushed down against the upholstery so push down on it from above using your body weight.
- Pull the extension in a straight line downwards and stop pressing the water release button BEFORE you reach the end of the cushion. Water will continue to flow out even after you have released the button for a bit, so you will still get the area clean.
- With the water release button OFF, start again at the top of the cushion, slightly overlapping the last line (you will be able to easily see where you last cleaned because it will still be damp).
- You can then go over the areas with the water release button OFF in order to seep up excess water. Do this multiple times until you can see that no more water is being sucked up into the machine (the top of the extension is see-through so you’ll be able to tell).
- Repeat this process until your furniture is clean!
I had to do this many times for many hours until my furniture was clean enough to satisfy me, and even still I could have created more dirty water to toss out if I had kept going. I decided to stop when A. I was Completely Exhausted & B. my furniture smelled nice.
Will a Rug Doctor clean a car?
I have heard positive things about Rug Doctors cleaning car floors & seat upholstery well, but I haven’t tried it myself. I imagine it would work as well as it did on my furniture!
So now that you’re armed with my tips & ready to start cleaning, click here for $5 off your next Rug Doctor rental. Happy cleaning!
