Carpet Problems...
By twoey68
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
November 26, 2007 8:04am CST
Although I love carpeting, the carpeting in our apartment makes me nuts. It is close to the color in the photo but if you so much as sneeze on it, it gets a stain. We've lived here a year and it looks terrible. There are little dust and smudge stains all over it. I thought of renting a carpet cleaner but was informed by the office manager that it is a no-no. If you want the carpet cleaned you have to schedule it with their carpet cleaning company, empty the rooms and pay $185. per room to have them cleaned!! I don't see that happening.
I thought about getting a carpet cleaner (the kind that looks like a vaccumm) and just doing it myself (the old what they don't know can't hurt me idea) and that is what I'm leaning towards. It just bothers me to no end that the carpet looks so rough. I've also thought that after I clean it I might invest in numerous rugs to put down to cut down on the problem.
Do you have carpeting? Does it get stained easily? How do you clean it? What do you think of my remedy?
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
6 people like this
25 responses
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I have very light colored carpeting. Go to a carpet store, they have this stuff in a bucket...don't remember what it is called. But is like damp sawdust with cleaning stuff in it. You buy a stiff broom with it...and scrub it in. Let it dry and vacuum. No muss, is very quiet and easy on the knees. Does a nice job too.
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I'm a firm believer in if it stains easy then remove it or cover it. I saw a great idea on HGTV the other day for a 'cheap' fix. Canvas drop cloths for painting! I priced them and for under $10 you can get 6 foot by 9 foot. It's plain but a little fabric paint and you can do what ever you want.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I should add, I prefer no carpet - hardwood or tile when I mop it I know it's clean, too easy for 'junk' to hide in carpet.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
6 Jan 08
when i lived in apartments,i always took pics of how they left the carpet on move in,then put my own over it.most were those generic crappy tan cheap carpets,that as you said,stain at the drop of a hat.
that way unless it goes thru you're not responsible for further damage.
1 person likes this
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
7 Jan 08
There is a product sold at Walmart called Folex. It is packaged in a white plastic bottle with purple writing. It will take out almost any stain you can make even on clothes. It is awesome!! In the Super Walmart, you can find it in the cleaning dept. of the food section. I hate Walmart but I will go there just to get this one product because I cannot find it anywhere else. Good luck!
1 person likes this
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
7 Jan 08
There is a product that is sold at Walmart that is called "Folex." It comes in a white plastic bottle with Purple writing and it is awesome. I hate Walmart but I love this product so I have to go there just for this because I cannot find it anywhere else.
It takes stains out of everything almost instantly, even clothes. Try it. I the Super Walmarts it is in the cleaning dept. of the food section. Good luck!
1 person likes this
@Cajunhellcat (2073)
• United States
27 Nov 07
We have a dark blue carpet in our house it shows the lint a lot we have no spots on it if something gets spilled we try and clean it up as soon as it happens but i do keep a can of the carpe tcleaner around just in case
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
27 Nov 07
Man that sucks!! Why do they not want you to do it yourself?? Frick I'd do it then dock it from my rent! Okay so really I wouldn't...but...
Spot cleaning is the only thing I can think of and that would take forever.
I hate carpet...esp my carpet in our house. All but one room is a really light beige carpet - berber which I hate too. It's stained all up. The living room looks awful. But it was like that when we bought the place and just haven't been able to replace it yet. We've cleaned it but it doesn't do any good.
In our den we have berber too but it's a speckeled colorings of green, burgundy, different shades of browns - ugly in other words LOL. Nah I like it better than the light beige but we want to replace it too.
1 person likes this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
1 Dec 07
I used to have carpet but I found that it was so hard on us with allergies. When we purchased this new home about 10 1/2 years ago, we made sure that it did nto have carpet. We have solid oak floors and I love them. I can always put down rugs in the areas that I want soft. The rugs are washable and does not bother our allergies.
How did you get the music on your homepage?
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
27 Nov 07
I have carpet and i had it put in a year ago, and although it is cosy in the winter time.i am beginning to hate it, mine does not stain because of the color but it holds dust,and i really do not think it is healthy..When i do replace this , i am going for that wood flooring and i will just lay a rug or two..i have friends that got it and it is not cold like the old wood floors they use to have...I think Resolve is really good carpet cleaner, i have used it before ,i used it before i got my new carpet.There is no way i would pay $185.00, i would do it myself and not tell them.They should be glad to have someone who even cares, most people do not even care,if its not theirs they just abuse the situation.Clean it yourself and put down an area rug..Good idea
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
27 Nov 07
That is a rather onerous restriction. I'm glad our complex does not prohibit renting a carpet cleaner. $185 per room is ridiculous! Since we live in upstairs apartments, carpets are required, otherwise I would prefer a natural wood floor, or even a soft fake tile commercial grade floor. We put the latter in an office suite we own and it has held up beautifully for about 25 years, looks great, and cleaning is a cinch. Everyone thinks it is real tile until we tell them. I would love to have that in the living and dining areas instead of carpeting. I'd sneak something in for sure if they had a ridiculous rule like that, just don't get caught and fined. Good luck.
1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
27 Nov 07
Good Grief!...$185.00?...they should be so happy you're willing to clean it yourself and take care of it. I use to clean apartments after people left and the rugs were horrible because no one ever shampooed them.....ridiculous.
I was going to mention (but you already thought of it) getting some area rugs to put down, they have some beautiful one's, big or small, whatever you need. I think that's a great idea twoey!
Also, just want to mention quickly, the very best rug and spot cleaner I ever found is called "Resolve".....I couldn't believe it the first time I ever used it on a couple of spots that were very old and already set. Just a couple quick spurts and they were immediately gone..great stuff..............take care!
1 person likes this
@Polly1 (12645)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I have light color carpet, it takes a beating too. I have my own carpet cleaner. I use it when the carpet gets real bad. If you do get one, its important to extract the water real good. You can also try Capture for spot cleaning and traffic areas. You can actually clean the whole room with it, it would take alot and it is expensive. You buy it at Lowes and HomeDepot. Its a 2 step process, you spray a soil release on the stains, work it in with a broom or scrub brush. Then you sprinkle the capture powder on the stain, work that in with a broom or brush. Then you simply let dry and then vacuum up. This stuff really does work good, you might have to repeat the process for stubborn stains. I use the capture in between times cleaning the carpet.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
26 Nov 07
Did I read that right $185 per room and you move the furniture!?
I have carpet and a carpet cleaner but no one wants to run it lol.
We have a stain the keeps repeating itself so we do spot cleaning works out pretty good .
your way should work.
But also carpet cleaners ar sort of cosltly but at the price they want to charge might be a good investment for you.
I dont think I have ever heard of acaroet cleaning ploace charge that much is the management there getting a kick back?
I would call some places and find out what they charge also would find out what company they use and find out how much they really charge.
1 person likes this
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
26 Nov 07
Right now I have dark brown carpet which shows all the dirt that gets tracked in. It is a cheap carpet cause the landlady is cheap. I have had beige carpet in other places and that did show dirt too. I had my own upright cleaner which I used a couple of times a year. While it was not as good as a professional it did get rid of a lot of dirt and stains. Do you rent? That is a lot of money. But in looking a prices it is not out of line for houses. But I am a believer in preventing big problems by trying to keep ahead of the cleaning myself. Good luck.
@musicman6 (2407)
• United States
26 Nov 07
Yes, I believe that is what I would do, in your position! My sisters, and my daughters, have always believed in those, what they call throw rugs! They cover most of the traffic areas, and you can replace them a lot easier!
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I bought myself the bissell steam cleaner and I love it. I have a two year old granddaughter that spends alot of time here and once in a while has a boo boo with something she is eating. I buy the colorless drink boxes for her but you are right. It seems like once it gets dirty it attracts other stuff! LOL
1 person likes this
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
26 Nov 07
What?! Get out!! Your manager won't let you rent a carpet cleaner?! $185. a freaken room?! He/She is nuts to pay that amount and to think you will too!! I'd rent one any way for it couldn't do any harm. It's a cleaner for heaven's sake!! What harm could it do but CLEAN your apartment?! LOL Gosh, $185. You could buy your own shampooer at Walmart or Sears! I paid $200. or $250. for mine and I love it! In fact, I now how two of them! So go ahead and rent a cleaner. What can they do about it? The apartment is your place as long as you rent it, to do what you want.
1 person likes this
