call the doctor?!

When we bought the house, we had a professional come in to try and salvage the carpet.  Our carpet is a beigeish tan and let me just say that I am not a carpet fan.  However, hardwood (or laminate floors) aren't quite an option just yet. So they cleaned it... and all was fine.

And then home renovations started... and walls were torn down, floors were replaced, dirt and ick and gross were tracked in (not to mention a few spills from either clutzy nerdy nester, or an overzealous party, or a vindictive kitten or two) and we took a look at our carpet.  It was gross.  Worse than before.

That kinda gross.  Uck. Embarrassing!!

We wanted to move the furniture back into the great room as soon as we finished painting everything, but that was put on hold until the carpet could be addressed.  I was trying to be all frugal and DIY-tastic.  So I rented a Rug Doctor.  I had high hopes.

It was clunky.  It was almost $60 (with cleaner and all).  But I had hope.

It didn't really fit in my little car all too well, but I got it home.  After work one night, the Man and I attacked the floors with our Doctor in tow.  It foamed and scrubbed.  The first pass didn't show much difference-- shame on you infomercial!  The Man was vigilant... he hit the worst spots a few times, and we did see change.

All in all, we did the best we could with the Doctor.  I cussed, and cried a little.  The carpet really wasn't much better... but at least we knew it was clean.

So we let things dry, and sprayed a hefty dose of Scotchguard over the floor.  And waited. 

The next day, things were still damp.  In my head, I'm thinking of all the terrible things that could be festering in our carpets-- mildew!  Mold!! I began to visualize a miniature ocean beginning to breed under our carpets, filled with all the creepy sea creatures that live in the deep...

I think Nemo and Dory would agree... not a good thing to have hiding in the carpet.

...and then the Man told me to chill.  The carpet would dry, and things would be fine. 

And eventually, the carpet was dry.

But it felt ooky.  Almost sticky. Not wet, but very "oh gross I can feel the residue of something on my bare feet, am i breaking out? am i allergic to the gross residual stuff this Rug Chiropracter left? what is this? eew... i don't like it i don't like it IDONTLIKEIT!"

Yes, it was a full blown temper tantrum.  The Man blamed the residue on the Scotchguard.  Based on the bottle, Scotchguard needs to be reapplied after a deep cleaning or Xtimes vacuuming.  The Rug Doctor had been returned to his home at Lowe's-- but I had a steamer that might do the trick. 

I pulled out my Shark Steamer (which is awesome, BTW) and steamed the carpet. The white microfiber pad from the steamer was brown and black-- which to me means that our carpet was even worse than we thought.  Keep in mind, this was dirt after a "deep cleaning" with the Doctor.  What?!  So I flipped the steamer over to a new microfiber cover, and steamed again.  And then I did it again. My routine for the next two days was a manic one of steam, vacuum, test with bare feet, freak out a little, and repeat. 

It's been a while since that happened.  I'm still mad at the dude on the Rug Doctor website.  I've vowed to never try to apply scotchguard by myself again, and our carpet finally feels like normal.

This was a long rant, but it felt like an Odeyssian journey trying to get that dang carpet clean. It did cement my love for my little Shark steamer though.  That thing's a powerhouse and I highly recommend it.  I heart it, to say the least.

Have you ever called on the "Doctor?"  Was my utter failure with this a fluke?