I use a Rug Doctor Mighty Pro X3
It replaced a Hoover SpinScrub FH50150 which did a great job but didn't inspire confidence that it would last more than a couple of years. The brush turbine assembly broke twice. There is a bearing inside that will rust. While you could try to pry it open and oil it, it is only a short term fix, if it will fix it at all.
With the Mighty Pro X3, I use a 2 gallon pump sprayer to apply a detergent solution down onto the carpet (and a spray bottle for the carpeting in the cars). This was recommended by a YouTuber named Joe Wheeler who has a carpet cleaning business and uses the Mighty Pro X3 day in and day out. He says it does two things: it extends the life of the pump and gives the cleaning solution more contact time to do its work. He uses this method to clean really filthy carpets in rentals. The results are amazing. I just clean carpets just for hygeinic reasons, even though they are as white as can be (yay! No kids or pets, and a strict "No Shoes" policy for our visitors helps with that too).
Now that I have a couple Kirbys (and a shampoo kit, which came with the Sentria that I found at Goodwill back in January), I will have to give the Kirby shampoo method a try. Since I already sunk $400 into the X3 and the fact that I am not very convinced that a carpet can be thoroughly cleaned unless there is an extraction, it will just be out of curiousity. The trouble is, I won't really be able to put it through its paces as my wife and I keep our house immaculate, so I'll have to rub different things into the carpet to test just like I have with the Hoover and the Rug Doctor that replaced it.
It replaced a Hoover SpinScrub FH50150 which did a great job but didn't inspire confidence that it would last more than a couple of years. The brush turbine assembly broke twice. There is a bearing inside that will rust. While you could try to pry it open and oil it, it is only a short term fix, if it will fix it at all.
With the Mighty Pro X3, I use a 2 gallon pump sprayer to apply a detergent solution down onto the carpet (and a spray bottle for the carpeting in the cars). This was recommended by a YouTuber named Joe Wheeler who has a carpet cleaning business and uses the Mighty Pro X3 day in and day out. He says it does two things: it extends the life of the pump and gives the cleaning solution more contact time to do its work. He uses this method to clean really filthy carpets in rentals. The results are amazing. I just clean carpets just for hygeinic reasons, even though they are as white as can be (yay! No kids or pets, and a strict "No Shoes" policy for our visitors helps with that too).
Now that I have a couple Kirbys (and a shampoo kit, which came with the Sentria that I found at Goodwill back in January), I will have to give the Kirby shampoo method a try. Since I already sunk $400 into the X3 and the fact that I am not very convinced that a carpet can be thoroughly cleaned unless there is an extraction, it will just be out of curiousity. The trouble is, I won't really be able to put it through its paces as my wife and I keep our house immaculate, so I'll have to rub different things into the carpet to test just like I have with the Hoover and the Rug Doctor that replaced it.
