If there is one thing I am good at it is making a mess. Whether I track in mud, dirt, sticks, into the house it seems always to be dirt. I am very glad to have a quality carpet steam cleaner. For one thing, a house will always get dirty. Your kitchen, family room, living room, all will need heavy cleaning at one time or another. No matter how hard you try, accidents do happen.
Using a carpet steam cleaner is very easy. Just follow the instructions on the machine, but you should not even have to do that. Just plug it in and fill with water and the cleaning solution and go from there. Be sure not to over soak the carpet, but that is very hard to do. There are many quality steam cleaners, including Bissell, Eureka, amongst others. The brand is not that important if you decide on just renting a cleaner for a few times. I would recommend buying one though, since it will pay for itself many times over. Kids and pets make a big mess in your house, so you need to have one of these ready if you have either of them.
Most carpets will last 10 -15 years if taken care of, but some carpet will not make it that long if you allow stains and debris to set into it.
Hopefully this will motivate you to go clean your carpets. I know it is not the most enjoyable thing to do on a weekend but it truly can add value to your home, and it will make prospective buyers much more apt to purchase your home.
Many times I wonder why do people insist on paying for services they can do themselves? One idea I am thinking about now is going to rent a carpet steam cleaner tomorrow. The dog has really made a mess of the carpets with all the running and playing and tracking dirt into the house. Some people are scared or afraid to try to do things like this on their own. That is their loss though, since they will pay much more for the cleaning service than I will.
Renting a steam cleaner for your carpet starts about 20 per day, but could be more if you go for a more powerful cleaning machine. You can check out prices online and compare if you want to just flat out buy one. If you use it for a handful of years, purchasing may be your best option. Also, you must get the solution that comes with it. Often times you can buy it some where else cheaper in bulk, since you should rent one at least once a year. That way, you carpet will last longer since it is constantly being taken care of. Neglect can shorten its life since the dirt, stains, debris just soil into the carpet and pad and ruin it.
The machine is not hard to use. There are few attachments to hook up and most do not require much strength to push around. There are many more places where people can save money by doing things themselves, especially around the home. Carpets, floors, tiles, counter tops, all may seem like professional items, but there ares aspects of each that can be done by anyone. Just try to think about it next time you pay someone to do something. Can I do this myself? Will it look okay? If you answer yes then give it a try.