Renting Vs. Buying – We Ended Up Buying

Back in December, I was debating whether we should purchase a steam cleaner or rent one. I was leaning towards buying a model that was around $150 but I still didn’t want to spend that much. I also didn’t want to rent one. So I put off the decision for a while

Not too long ago I came across a “budget” carpet extractor that was getting some great reviews. It had a smaller profile than a vacuum cleaner, it was lightweight, it did a good job and it left carpets fairly dry. It was on sale at our local store so I took a deep breath and bought it. It cost $79 and came with some free cleaner.

It didn’t take long before I put it to work. Today I completed the third room, and all I can say that the darn thing is AMAZING. It’s a Bissell QuickSteamer. Now, it doesn’t actually steam the carpet – you just put hot water in it. It has brushes on it, but they do not rotate like the brushes on more expensive models. So it is a budget machine. But that thing worked like a charm.

For really bad spots, they recommend pre-treating. I had to do that in my son’s room because of some marker stains. Everything came up except for a red marker stain that has probably been there for a long time (it was hidden). I got it to turn a light pink color but that’s it. The rest of the floor looks wonderful. I couldn’t believe how black the dirty water was. All that gunk was in our carpet – yuk!

There is still one room left and I’ll probably tackle it early next week. Going forward, that thing is so easy to use that I am marking the calendar to do it every three months (at least) on the high traffic areas to keep our carpet looking great. It is also going to be a wonderful “accident” cleaner-upper for us since we have a child and pets. You just put some solution and hot water in the clean water bottle and you are ready to go!

Posted by Tricia on October 21, 2008 at 9:28 PM in Spending Money | 11 Comments »
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

Newer Posts Older Posts

frugalchick responded:
Posted: October 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Oh, you reminded me that we have to shampoo/steam our carpet before our I give birth. $79 for something that really works is a pretty good deal. I love lightweight equipments as it makes cleaning less arduous.
Eddie responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 8:36 am
…plus you can rent-out you -AND- your unit to friends and family.

Don’t just lend out the unit – figure a nice little fee to charge for your time & effort if a friend wants a carpet touch-up.
Aya @ Thrive responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
I feel like there’s always a paradox; you somehow end up spending more money when you rent, for silly reasons like you forget to return it, and only after the item is purchased you realize how rarely it is used.
But, it looks like you beat the paradox and found yourself a good deal all around that is working out! Congrats
danielle responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I agree with Eddie.
MadeMistakes responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Thanks for the review, now I want one too!
MadeMistakes responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Oops, sorry I did NOT mean to rhyme!
Shala responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Ooh I have been desperatley wanting/needing one of these. Thanks for the review

BTW-Check out CNN.com Life section today on Tiny houses. I know you’ll like it.
Person responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I do not think you got it on sale but more on everyone reduced their price on the product.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5774678

I consider a sale, a price cheaper than elsewhere.

http://www.google.com/products?q=Bissell+QuickSteamer&btnG=Search+Products&hl=en
MrsMoney responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I am so weird about carpets because I feel they are dirty all the time! lol. We are putting hardwood floors in now because we have two dogs. I bought a Bissell carpet cleaner too, and I love it!
Shani responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
FYI: If you coats the marker stain with aerosole hairspray and then run the steamcleaner over it, it should come out.

Good luck!
Tricia responded:
Posted: October 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Eddie – interesting idea! But I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing other’s carpets in case something went wrong.

Person – unfortunately, when you live in a rural area, you have to live with the sales you can get sometimes. I almost purchased from Amazon, but the convenience of being able to take back the machine easily if it was a dud led me to get it during the sale.

Shani – thanks for the tip!