Has anyone ever compared their DIY/rug doctor carpet cleaning efforts to hiring a pro to case their house clean their carpet?  

Did the pros really do a better job?  Worth it for the cost?  

Yes, It'll probably get replaced with wood eventually even though I hate wood floors.  I hate carpet about equally though.

stanley steamer blows.    I use a small amount of bleach mixed with the soap and freakin HOT water in a rented rug doctor.  works well.  no I haven't bleached out the carpet.  learned it from you tube

Truck mount steam cleaning is no comparison to rug doctor rental type equipment. Do the rental carpet cleaners work? Sure, but only the surface is cleaned because there is not a combination of enough pressure, vacuum and cleaning solution. I used to own a carpet cleaning business many years ago and speak from experience and training. Seriously, there is no comparison to the truck mount cleaning methods and do-it-yourself rental carpet cleaning equipment IMO.

Guilty,

 
How often do you recommend cleaning your carpets?

My Dad also had a carpet cleaning business, and i was his off n on helper. You really can't beat the pro's with the trucks but he was not a fan of steam cleaning.

Go with the pro.

oh....   that carpet..

Nevermind.

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I'm curious to know this as well.  We try to do DIY cleaning at least once a year but it's getting to the point where the before and after isn't quite as impressive.  I'd like to think we take above average care of our carpet but there's no escaping the fact that it is 1.  very lightly colored and 2.  it's 4 years old.

Sounds like it's time to give a pro a shot.

2x per year will extend your carpet life. I would suggest a minimum of 1x per year, and maybe 2x for the heavy traffic areas depending on use, wear and age of carpet.

I rented a Rug Doctor once.  It made my carpet look better for a few weeks.  Then it looked like crap again.  I use an awesome pro company now.  I only have to have them come in every 9-12 months.
They move the furniture, they clean, they put the furniture up on little foam blocks while the carpet dries, and they even comb the carpet to fluff up the nap or whatever you call it.  The carpet looks almost new when they're done.



They even cleaned up a spot where my wife dropped and broke an entire bottle of red wine.  It looks like nothing ever happened there.



Once they're done, I turn on all the ceiling fans, crank the AC down several degrees, and run my basement dehumidifier in the middle of the living room.  The carpets are dry in less than 4 hours.

Yup,  if there's one thing carpets love it's moisture

Use the Rug Doctor and add some chemicals to raise the PH level and it works f'n great. Just make sure you extract as much moisture as possible as quickly as you can.

 
Such as?