Archive for 'Household Cleaners'

Works well, natural and smells ok, better for septic
Smell is very strong but I think that is a good thing, this is meant to clean toilet bowls so I would expect that. From what I read it is much, much better for the environment and even more important it is better for your septic system. I know about septics and I can tell everyone that a lot of the cleaners we use are damaging our septic systems. A septic requires certain bacteria for it to function properly and last long. The harsh cleaners kill this bacteria, which will shorten the life of the system and cause problems. Using natural cleaners like this help a lot. Also if your home does have a septic put in a septic treatment. Amazon sells a great one that comes in a blue box and single bags you can throw right in the toilet and flush. It is great since there is no contact with the stuff. The bag dissolves in the tank, unlike others that you have to open with scissors and dump in. Its made by P.E.C. and its called Bio-R.

works great!
Thick and sticks to the rim got all those thick crusty deposit off the toilet rim that I couldnt get off even with other cleaners(had tried dollar store calcium lime rust remover, bleach and comet) I'm sold.

Smells Great, Cleans well.
Not as thick as a traditional toilet cleaner but it certainly does the job and I like the mission behind the Meyer's Brand so it works great for me!

Smell is very strong so if you don't like that in a cleaner, I would stay away!

Best Smelling Toilet Cleaner Around!
Clean your toilet with this product and your bathroom won't smell like disinfectant, pine trees, or any of the other overly strong perfumes used in other cleaners. Does a satisfactory job of cleaning and helps save the environment.

It cleans, friendly to environment and it smells good
When can you actually tell yourself that your toilet cleaner actually smell nice! First and foremost, it does the job, it cleans and keeps the toilet bowl looking clean for quiet a few days. It makes cleaning fun (is that possible) and leaves you bathroom smelling nice, which is the first for any toilet cleaner that I have ever used. Even Seventh generation replicates the 'traditional' smell. What a change in thought and I love it. Dont be deceived by the smell - a small amount goes a long way!

Very Impressive
A few days ago, my son spilled red punch on our light beige carpet. I worked for a long time to get it out! I even used a different carpet spot remover. A few days later I noticed a light pink tint on my carpet. I called a friend and she let me borrow this product! WOW!!! It WORKED! It dried quickly, too!! When I saw the spray coming out I thought there was no way this could work, but it did! AMAZING! So happy to find something out there. We don't need spot cleaning very often but this will come in handy when I need it!

Unbelievable!!!
This stuff is unbelievable! We had some major stains in our carpet - in fact, so major I was embarrassed to invite people over because the stains were so bad. When I purchased my vacuum back in 2006, I received a bottle of dysolv and a package of zorb, which sat in the box until yesterday (2/4/2010). I finally broke out the dysolv and, quite impossibly, it really removed the stains.

My husband decided to fill some cracks in our cement with tar. During the summer, our dog stuck his paw in the soft tar and tracked in tar all over our oatmeal colored carpet. I tried gumsolv but that just spread the stain out further. I thought we would just have to replace the carpet. Let me tell you, it's GONE! It dissolved the tar and now my carpet looks great!!!

Yes, the pump on the spray bottle could work better, but I'm buying more of this stuff!!!

Way Overpriced
I bought this Dyzolv spot remover based on the reviews which made it out to seem like the answer to tough spots. Upon using it, it works okay. It certainly isn't a miracle solution like the reviews here on Amazon made it out to be. Also, 13 bucks is a lot to pay for such a small can (think Glade air freshner small). I'll be looking for less expensive spot removers in larger quantities. I also noticed the spray nozzle is cheap and frustrating. BAD BUY for the price!! Look elsewhere and don't be fooled by the 11 5-star ratings this product has gotten on Amazon. They are not deserved.

Gets out just about anything!
I absolutely love this product. I have a big lab and 3 cats, and it cleans up every muddy, poopy, pukey hairbally mess they leave. Just about the only thing it won't lift is paint in the carpet (don't ask!). I highly recommend Dyzolv to everyone!

Best Carpet Cleaner on the Market!!!
When I purchased my Dyson vaccuum, I received a bottle of this cleaner. For getting spots out, there's nothing better! It leaves no ring on the carpet, uses very little to remove stains, and is quick drying. Just ordered 2 more bottles to keep on hand. Well worth the price.

Great machine
I have owned this Rug Doctor Mighty Pro for about 2 weeks and have cleaned most of the house with it. After going through 3 or 4 Bissel Pro Heat machines that kept breaking after a couple months I finally decided to get something that would last. I can't comment on durability yet for this machine being I've only had it 2 weeks, but from other reviews all over the web I can say I'm pretty sure this machine will last a while.
Like professional the professional carpet cleaners and any other deep cleaning machine, the Rug Doctor puts down a lot of soap and water... the difference between this machine and the other machines(and even some "professional cleaners") is thanks to it's 1.9 horsepower motor it actually brings 80% of the soap and water out of the carpet and into the recovery tank. Most other carpet cleaning machines (and even some professionals, namely one's that aren't IICRC certified (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification) don't bring up all the soap and water they put down. This leaves your carpet full of soap and water, extending the drying time of your carpets to 8 hrs or more. The Rug Doctor has the CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) Gold Seal of Approval. So if you clean your carpets according to the instructions ( only make one pass over each strip of carpet (two at the absolute max) until the carpet is dry, your carpet should dry in about 2 to 3.5 hrs after you finish cleaning (right within timeframe the IICRC says carpet should take to dry). It should NEVER take more than 3 to 4 hrs max for carpets to dry if they've been cleaned correctly with a good machine. Another problem with the carpet cleaning machines that don't pull up all the soap and water is that even after the carpet dries, dirt will be attracted to your carpet because of the soap and water left behind. Because the Rug Doctor pulls up 80% of what it puts down, as long as you follow the Rug Doctor's recommended cleaning instructions you won't have this problem.
Now, as for the cleaning results after using this machine... it got out stains I didn't think would ever come out. The only one it hasn't managed to get completely out is a very large ball point pen stain that has been in my dining room for years. But, it has managed to get enough of the stain out so it is less noticeable.
This machine may be more expensive than the others, but I have to say I think the saying "you get what you pay for" fits very well here... if I had bought one of these in the first place I probably wouldn't have had to go through 4 different carpet cleaners that DIDN'T EVEN GET MY CARPETS CLEAN!!!
Now for the pros and cons:
PROS:
Powerful, does a great job cleaning your carpets when you follow the recommended cleaning instructions

Easy to use

Cost about the same price as having a IICRC Certified Cleaning Professional come do your carpets

Machine seems to be mostly well made and durable except handle (see cons)

CONS:
No onboard heater... if you really want your carpets to get clean you should use hot water. I've found boiling a pot of water to use works best... but be careful not to scald yourself!!

No spout on the bottom tank so you can empty it easily. A spout would be really nice instead of having to dump it over the tub to empty the unused water/soap. But hey, at least the recovery tank is easy to empty.

While the machine seems mostly durable, I feel that the handle could be better made. It isn't flimsy but I don't feel that it's that strong either.
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Besides the minor flaws this is a great machine and I highly recommend considering it if you do a lot of carpet cleaning in your house.

The link for more information on the CRI Seal of Approval is listed below as well as a link to a list of CRI Certified Machines (including the Rug Doctor) (HOPEFULLY THE LINKS WILL SHOW UP, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF AMAZON ALLOWS LINKS IN REVIEWS)

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NOTE: From what I've read on the CRI Website the Rug Doctor is still not meant to replace using a professional carpet cleaning service once or twice a year. But from the results I've gotten from it, and the fact that it got has a gold Seal of Approval from the CRI, I think as long as you clean your carpets every 6 to 12 months you really don't need to hire professionals.

Rug Doctor Works
I had rented Rug Doctor (the red one you see in supermarkets) for many years. When it (the blue one) finally became available to purchase I was thrilled. It is expensive, but well worth it. And good carpeting is MORE expensive. I bought mine at Costco. I've had experience with other brands. I had a Hoover before buying a Rug Doctor. The Hoover model was cheap plastic, it leaked, and had way too many little parts to break. It reminded of the game Mouse Trap from the 70's, a lot of plastic crap. It didn't last long.

The Rug Doctor has very little to it, which is good. There's a clean water tank, a dirty water tank and a lot of suction. I think what I noticed over the years when I rented one was the design of the Rug Doctor. All the water sits in the front of the machine and on top of the suction/brush area. I think this helps to weigh it down so it really sucks the water out of the carpet. The hand attachment has a lot of sucking power as well.

Is there anything I don't like about? Sure, nothing's perfect. It's VERY loud ( I wear earplugs while using it). It can be heavy to pull.. it's a good work out cleaning your carpets! The connectors to use the hand attachment can be tricky to put in the back of the machine...then again I'd say they're extremely secure connections.
I still give it 5 stars. It's the best carpet cleaner hands down.

Simply Incredible!!!
I and my dog recently moved to a new house. She was house-broken, so I was comfortable leaving her in the house by herself until I got home. However, she must have gotten into something one morning because when I arrived home from work one evening, there were 14 piles of diarrhea in almost every room!!! My house smelled terrible, and I thought my carpet was ruined. So I went to the local grocery store and rented the Rug Doctor along with several bottles of cleaning agent (save your money on the "anti-foaming agent" and use a couple teaspoons of salt instead). I went home and began cleaning the spots up. I could not believe my eyes, or my nose for that matter!!! It cleaned up each and every area of mess as if it were never there. Using the machine took a little getting used to at first, but you learn to let the machine do the work and keep a light touch on the controls when pulling it back toward you. I was sold on this machine and purchased my own. It beats any of the so-called "steam cleaners" out there, and I think does a better job than most professional companies. I'm not one to right a review on a product, so take this for what it's worth.

Disappointed
When I bought my carpet eight or ten years ago, it was the best carpet Home Depot had to offer. The carpet was in my bedroom and I live alone so it wasn't a high traffic area. I never cleaned it with anything more than a vacuum. When I finally rented a Rug Doctor, I guess it was too late. I made pass after pass going slower and slower each time but it simply would not come clean. So I certainly wasted my money on Rug Doctor. Maybe if I had used Rug Doctor after 1 or 2 years instead of 8 or 10 I would have gotten better results. I don't know. Anyway I am now ripping up the carpet.

Beats the professional companies hands down!
If you've ever had, or like to have your carpets "professionally cleaned" than this is the machine for you. If you've ever had your carpets done by a professional company, then I recommend you take a rug doctor right after they leave and run it with nothing but just hot water in it. You will not believe the amount of SOAP (and dirt) those professional companies leave behind. The soap itself is a dirt magnet. Clean your carpets yourself with this machine a few times and it will pay for itself AND your carpets will be much cleaner than how the professional companies leave it.

My husband and I have five indoor pets (a lab, a sheltie, 3 cats - who seem to constantly be puking hairballs on the carpet) and an 8 month old daughter, who also likes to puke pureed carrots on the carpet when we least expect it! Can I mention the occasional leaky poopy diaper?

This rug doctor gets all of the nasty cat vomit, baby BM's and rainbow baby food (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, blueberries) out of our lightly colored beige carpet. We have used this for dog vomit and dog diarrhea as well with no stains left behind.

My sister's dog stayed with us once and peed on the carpet in the master bathroom. We used the rug doctor to clean it up. If you don't get the smell out, once one animal pees in the house, they will all start doing it to mark territory! We cleaned the spot with the rug doctor until the water ran clear and I couldn't smell anything in the carpet. When we replaced the carpet with tile and pulled the old carpet up, I looked for the pee stain. You could see a very, very faint brown outline of an irregular shape where the rug doctor solution had spread the urine out while cleaning the carpet. Curiosity got the better of me and I wondered if you could smell the pee UNDER the carpet, so I gave it a whiff. I couldn't detect an odor (my nose is pretty sensitive).

We use this machine to clean the carpets in our home every six months. We vacuum (with a Dyson DC17) on a regular basis but still the water we pull out of the carpet is an opaque brown (I should probably clean my carpets more than every six months with five pets and a kid, but I don't make the time to do so).

Another user mentioned using a slower pace with the machine than what the manufacturer recommends. We also do this. It seems you have to go pretty slow for it to do a really thorough job. Yes, it takes time, but when your carpets are as clean as they will ever be without being brand new, it's worth it!

Some tips that have worked well for us:

-You don't need nearly as much soap as they recommend. We use 1/2 or 1/3 of the recommended amount mixed with hot water and it does a great job (will save money on soap too!)

-We usually go back over the carpets a second and sometimes third time with just plain hot water to get out any residual soap (yes, even with the reduced amount) until the water we pull out of the carpet is clear (or nearly so). THEN I feel like the carpets are really clean.

-When cleaning up pet urine (if this is an issue for you): Use a flourescent black light (you can purchase one from a party store). This will make urine (and some other stains) glow in the dark. This way, you know EXACTLY where it is. After cleaning, you can check with the black light to see if you got all of the urine up or if you need to go over it again a few more times. The room needs to be completely dark (do at night) for the stain to show under the black light.

The rug doctor makes your house smell nice and fresh.

We just use the plain solution. The rug doctor came with some "special" samples like pet stain remover, odor remover, etc... Which I will probably use if and when our first bottle of solution runs out. We have found that the original formula works just fine for all of our messes.

CONS:

Only one con that we are aware of: If you are spot cleaning and you mix up too much solution, you want to empty it out of the rug doctor so it doesn't sit in there for months (mildew?). This is a royal pain. You either have to use all of the solution in your carpet (until it's empty) or wrestle the rug doctor over a sink or bath tub and turn it upside down. This thing is heavy and somewhat cumbersome (especially if it's full of water!). Even after dumping it upside down, there will still be a little bit of solution in it. It takes both me and my husband to empty it. One of us holds it on the edge of the bathtub while the other person pushes the button on the rug doctor to blow out all of the remaining solution in the bathtub. The person not balancing the rug doctor on the edge of the tub has to watch to see if the rug doctor is indeed done spouting out the residual solution. Yes, it's a bit of a pain, but still very worth it.

We have not used the upholstery attachment, but if I ever do, I will come back and comment on it.

Cleans better than a professional service.
I live in an urban basement apartment with large windows facing the street. In addition there are four cats (hairballs). I used to have one of those shop vacuum types with the long hose that hooks to the tap and was a giant pain to use with very poor performance. This machine is phenomenal. It is very easy to use and clean. Storage is easy with a 19"x12" footprint. It pays for itself with one use and because of the dirt coming in from the street I have to use it once a month. It's been about a year and it works just like new. I highly recommend it and would buy it again in a second.

Breaks after 3 uses
I bought this product just a little over 1 year ago. The warranty is now void. I went to use it again before xmas and it would not spray. I took the whole thing apart and put it back together. No water comes out. I had my husband take at it and he said the pump was not working. Obviously I need to get it repaired. I only used it 3 times and so at 0 that cost me a cleaning. That was just for my living room floor. Now either I have to pay to get it repaired or just rent the professional cleaners. While it was working, it did a decent job. The only issue I had was getting all the excess pet hair out of the machine as it clogs everywhere. I even vacuumed first, so it picks up hair you don't remove with the vacuum. You would think since it says "PET" it would enable you to clean out the pet hair easier.I am so mad I will never buy another Bissell product. I think all the good reviews you read are those who have not used it several times! It doesn't last!!!!!

Better than a Hiring a Professional
I am on my second Bissell Proheat 2X. The first one, I bought four years ago and used it constantly. I have twin tots and two dogs, I feel I got my money out of the first machine. The reason I bought a second machine is that the hand held attachment on the first broke and I got a GREAT deal on the newer model. The new one also came with a myriad of attachments the old one didn't have (the seller for me being the crevice tool). It also came with two big bottles of cleaner.
Yesterday, I used it on my stairs and the entire upstairs. We have a light colored shag carpeting. I was astounded at what the machine picked up yesterday--when I emptied the water from cleaning the stairs, it was near black. The rug hadn't even looked dirty. I did the entire upstairs and used the crevice tool to get under the wood trim on the floor. The upstairs looks and smells as fresh as when the carpets were new. I highly recommend this product. I took one star off because there is no automatic indictor as to when you need to add more water. It was pretty much by trial and error for me. Otherwise, this machine is excellent. It heats the water to a very hot point and has great suction to grab the dirty water back up. The cord is very long, I was able to do every room upstairs without moving the cord to different outlets.
I also recommend that people shop around--you can get this machine for 0 at some stores. It's better than hiring a professional and you know 'where it's been'--I always wonder about the professional companies! Did they clean up a crime scene with their machine? Yuck. I also hate having strangers in my home. It does a great job and for what you pay for someone (nd not deal with all of the haggling), you could own this great product to use for years. Don't be put off by the fact I broke my attachment--I can be very destructive with vacuums etc!!

Bissell Does not hold up in the long run
When I purchased this product 2 years ago, I thought "Wow" great deal. I found it easy to use, easy to clean, affordable and cleans well. The first day I cleaned three rooms put it away for 6 months....then cleaned one room and....another 6 months later began to shampoe carpet and 5 minutes it would not spray! I checked everything out...the belt, etc. My husband looked it over...nothing. I took the whole bottom apart and cleaned everything thoroughly. I was making sure nothing was wrong. Tried it again...nothing, just suction. Went to the Bissell website and the frequently asked question section about Spraying issues. I went over the section with my husband and could not problem solve. My husband was certain was electrical. I called Bissell, the nearest 5 Bissell Repair stores were 5 hours away and I would have to pay for repair. I talked to a customer Representative. She said there is nothing she can do. There is only a 1 year warranty on the product. So did I come out ahead? I cleaned 4 rooms for aprox 0.00. Since the Bissell didn't work this time I rented a commercial cleaner for .00 for 4 hours. I could have shampoed the 4 carpets for 0.00. That said, I wouldn't advise anyone to buy. The item would be a great product if it held up and if it had a better warranty, but as you can see I threw my money away. I will not buy another Bissell again if I can help it.

Well Worth The Money
First, let me say I owned a Hoover cleaner before this one. I'm saying that because it gets good reviews, but it leaked, the cheap plastic parts that hold the tank broke, but with effort, it did an "adequate" job.

The Bissell is a major step forward. With a separate tank for the cleaning solution, you can now adjust the amount of cleaner that flows into the water, or completely turn off the solution to rinse with clear water. The brushes are MUCH better than the Hoover's. Some commented that this model leaked - I didn't have that problem. The carpets have never looked better and I'm sure the heated water helped in this regard. They're not only clean, but plush once again. The attachments are also better with an included "Turbo Brush" for stairs and hard to reach areas with a motorized brush.

Some commented on all the clumps left behind. I have a dog and a cat so you can imagine the hair it pulled out - this after vacuuming thoroughly. I saw this as a plus, not a negative as it obviously got out the deep down hair the vacuum missed, but the cleaner picked up those clumps so not a worry.

All in all I have nothing to complain about. This machine is a little more money, but definitely worth it.

Suction was great... before it stopped working
Worked great, despite the air blowing out from the middle of the device. As long as you aimed it so that it didn't blow air where you were trying to vacuum, it worked. Never had a problem with the battery holding a charge either. But then one day it just stopped turning on. If I hit the power switch about fifty times, it would eventually turn on and stay on. But it's annoying to have to hit the power switch fifty times every time you want to vacuum up a little mess.

Does the easy jobs
It's great for small, light things like hair and dust. It is noisy, blows things away, but it's great for just a quick clean up. The design, however, is a little faulty in that the handle area is so slick and smooth, it often slips out of my hands because it has some weight to it too. The filter is a little gross to clean, could be more efficient. The battery life isn't great, seems to die really fast. It does the job in my house though for the quick clean up of pet and human hair. Not great though.

this thing really sucks...in a good way!
i read some of the negative reviews w/ skepticism & bought this anywayDirt Devil 0213BLU Kone Cordless Rechargeable Handheld Vacuum Cleaner, Blue...it has proven my skepticism to be well-founded. perhaps the negative reviewers were comparing this to a reg vac, which is apples to oranges. for its size & the fact that it's a handheld & cordless, it works very well. we just put an addition on our house & there was a lot of sm debris to pick up daily; the only time i had trouble was when the filter got clogged w/ sheetrock dust...well that would reduce the efficiency of a full-szd vac! just banged most of the dust off the filter & reused, until it got to the point where i had to wash it...no big deal. it's very convenient, has great suction & i didn't have to drill holes in the wall for a charger plate.

amazing!
This is the greatest dustbuster ever! I have long hair that I need to vacuum off the floor constantly. This is perfect for a quick cleanup, especially great for the bathroom. Instead of lugging out my full-size vac, I just use this and I'm done in just a few seconds. I keep it plugged in all the time in the corner of the hall. It takes up very little space and does not look ugly.

glad I got it
The bad reviews almost made me not get it, but I'm glad I did. I got it mostly for cleaning up pet hair. It works great for small jobs. The vents aren't a problem because they aren't on the bottom and I have had no problem putting it on the charger. It is kinda loud and needs to be emptied often, but it works great.