hm rug cleaner? steam machine?

[miss_thrifty]

I was just wondering if anyone uses their own hm rug cleaning solution that would not only be cheaper but less chemicals on the rug? And still make sure its cleans really good. This rug here she never cleaned it for at least 5 years i believe. Its commercial grade and lasted but still its dusty and dirty.
Im cleaning it in a couple of weeks .

[miss_thrifty]

I guess no one has any hm remedies to go into the machine. The bottles here go for at least $15 or more for smaller ones for heavy duty cleaning which i need.

[Jaded]

I don't buy the carpet shampoo or chemicals that they sell with the machine. I use colorfast bleach, with a small squirt of Dawn. My ex used to work for a carpet cleaning company, and he said that the steam does most of the work, and all you really need is something to sit on the carpet and release the stains. He says colorfast bleach is the same chemical that pros use. I pretreat for stains, then I usually use the Vivid colorfast bleach (it's cheaper than Clorox 2)

[Brat]

I have used the non sud amonia in my steam cleaner too...

[miss_thrifty]

Brat this carpet id really dark(a burnt umber color) the old 70's color ughh so just incase i wont use amonia thanks anyway dear.
Jaded that sounds good but does the colorfast bleach work enough that wont fade this rug?Just a little nervous with it not mine and its older. lol
thanks

[Ceashels]

Water is the universal solvent. Have you tried just using water? You could add a few drops of essential oil to it as well. But it would remove the bulk of the dust and dirt without adding chemicals. You could always spot clean then with something a little stronger.

[Jaded]

Brat this carpet id really dark(a burnt umber color) the old 70's color ughh so just incase i wont use amonia thanks anyway dear.
Jaded that sounds good but does the colorfast bleach work enough that wont fade this rug?Just a little nervous with it not mine and its older. lol
thanks

It doesn't fade the rug, just like it doesn't fade your clothes. It does brighten it quite a bit, so it will appear to be slightly lighter, but no, it doesn't change it.

[Jaded]

Can't edit, so I'll add that for the commercial steamer, I use 1 cup colorfast bleach and a very small squirt of dawn and fill the rest with water. Like I said, the steam (or not water) is actually what does most of the work.

[pkellyc]

I use laundry detergent mixed with amonia in my steam cleaner. About 1/4 cup of each.

[pkellyc]

Oh I forgot to add that I pretreat with windex. That is because I am lazy, amonia mixed with water in a spray bottle will do the same.

[miss_thrifty]

thanks everyone i really appreciate it

[JENROY]

I use Simple Green in my cleaner. It works really well and smells fresh when I'm finished.

[anna021]

when I rent the steam machine from the store I fill the tank with very hot water and a scoop of oxy clean, works great for me.

[SewCrafty]

Charlene, any of the above treatments will work. With cats, I pretreat with the oxyclean (any brand works) and use liquid laundry soap in the machine.

[powerfm1]

We use to use half of the rug cleaning solution and half Tide. Nothing else ever worked so good for us. Don't understand why the Tide works so well, but it does.