Rug Doctor opinions?

My carpets are in rough shape...which is awful considering we have only lived here for about a year and a half and they were new when we moved in. 9 cats later....there are kitty stains everywhere. Between Jake, our oldest cat/former stray, who eats like a PIGGY until he throws up (not all the time, but often), the cats getting upset with strays that come in, two sick cats over the past year, Billy having accidents...we have used a lot of cleaners, and I clean the carpets with our machine weekly but it just isn't working anymore. We need something stronger/better. We have used Natures Miracle....Simple Green, so many others.
Tonight we are renting a Rug Doctor, and I am off tomorrow so I am spending my day cleaning carpets and couches. I have read a ton of good reviews for the Rug Doctor, so I am trying to find out if it really is the "miracle cure" that the reviews tell me it is. I plan to buy rug doctor cleaning solution for the machine, and the rug doctor urine eliminator and would like to hear if anyone has used those and if they work...
Please, share your wisdom with a skeptic! I typically read about 30 reviews of something, and try to find good and bad, before I try new things...I need some more, from a more trusted source then the rug doctor website, and other sites promoting it.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Just a quick question, when was your home built and have you ever peeked under the carpet (in a closet)?

Right before we moved in we rented one. Some genius put cream colored carpet in the den... which has a fireplace. The floor honestly didn't look that bad but the rug doctor pulled up a lot of ash and dirt - there were several gallons of black water. It pulled a lot up in the other rooms as well.

... then I learned that we had oak under the carpet. I wish I had known that from the start, I would have ripped all the carpet up before moving in.

I haven't used the urine eliminator. There was no need to. I think the machine itself and the regular cleaner does a fair job, though.

The shelter where I adopted my cats recommended the Rug Doctor, to use with cold water only. I did that (my prior owner put down white carpeting). I have to admit I was amazed at how much dirt, etc., the Rug Doctor pulled up, and it was easy to use (and I'm not mechanically inclined, or a fervent housewife, either).


I do believe the Rug Doctor is better than most home model cleaners - I wish I could just buy one outright, but the budget is tight this year.

Good luck

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Just a quick question, when was your home built and have you ever peeked under the carpet (in a closet)?

Right before we moved in we rented one. Some genius put cream colored carpet in the den... which has a fireplace.

The floor honestly didn't look that bad but the rug doctor pulled up a lot of ash and dirt - there were several gallons of black water. It pulled a lot up in the other rooms as well.

... then I learned that we had oak under the carpet. I wish I had known that from the start, I would have ripped all the carpet up before moving in.

I haven't used the urine eliminator. There was no need to. I think the machine itself and the regular cleaner does a fair job, though.

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We actually viewed the house while there were hardwood floors only visible...they didnt put carpet down until we had decided to move in. (renting). I was so mad...but the landlord didn't want to spend the time/money refinishing the hardwood floors. All they needed was sanded/stained...and from the time we signed, he has a month and promised to only put carpet down in one room and upstairs. We even told him that one of the things I LOVED was hardwood floors. Instead, I have medium/light brown carpet, in the entire house minus the kitchen. (We want to move SO bad but we pay a great price in rent and can't find a comparable house at such a good price that allows pets, and is outside city limits so we can keep our chickens)..

Hm, I hope the finish on the hardwood isn't in too bad of shape, then. If the carpet pad isn't able to block the water every pee spot and subsequent shampooing is a chance to ruin the wood. Too bad you're only renting.

I will vouch for the Rug Doctor, I rented one after we bought our house but before we moved in. We're lucky to have hardwood floors in most of the house except the 2 bedrooms. Lovely pink carpet. And it felt gross when I walked on it with bare feet. I printed out a $5 off coupon from the rug doctor website I think, so I got one from Lowe's for $20. Very easy to use. But I didn't buy their cleaner, I just used the stuff I had for my Bissell Little Green, which is Bissell Pet Stain & Odor formula. There were no spot stains really on the carpet, so I don't know how it works for spots, but lots of dirty, black water came out of the carpets. Ick.

By the way, after you do a full shampoo, you might want to invest in a spot cleaner like the Little Green or Spot Bot, I used it all the time in our carpeted apartment to clean up cat puke. (Our carpet was gross cheap apartment carpet, and dirty after 3+ years, so we had all these really clean spots on it from the spot cleaning. )

About how long does it take to dry after using a rug doctor?

Originally Posted by Whisky'sDad

About how long does it take to dry after using a rug doctor?

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Depends on relative humidity and time of year. Right now, if it hasn't been raining in your area, 1-2 days.

I have my own carpet cleaner but also use the bissell pet stain and odor cleaner. The only thing I remember with the rug doctor is that the carpeting was really wet after using it.
With mine (I shampooed the hallway carpet this morning) I shampoo then go over with just water as I read somewhere that if too much shampoo is used when it dries it actually attracts more soil.