Rent Or Buy A Carpet Cleaner?

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Should you rent or buy a carpet cleaner? With current technology, companies like Hoover and Bissell have developed home carpet cleaners that rival the performance of rented commercial machines for around $200 or less. Even professional grade machines the are similar to models rented out are now frequently bought by home users. In this article, we will discuss the in and outs of whether it makes more sense to rent or buy.

If you are also considering hiring professional cleaning services, you can see a comparison between buying or renting a machine and using a professional service here.

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Buy vs. Rent Carpet Cleaners

Advantages Of Buying

Money Savings

Many feel that if they buy rather than rent a carpet cleaner, they will save money. Carpet cleaners can be expensive. The initial cost may be higher but in the long run, you can actually save more money if your buy rather than choose a rental. Consider the amount you have to spend every time you need your rugs cleaned. Moreover, there are rental companies that charge with extra costs too. With or without extra charges, a rental cleaner costs more if you are thinking long term.

As an example, consider a carpet shampooer machine that costs $175. If each rental costs $25 for each day’s use, you would have paid out the same amount after 7 cleanings. Between major clean-ups and periodic cleanings for spills and splashes, users would have easily recovered the cost of the machine within 1 to 1 1/2 years. This monetary cost does not take into consideration the transportation costs, effort in loading and unloading the cleaning machine, and the hassle of going to a store, signing the paperwork to get the machine, and then having to re-load the machine onto your car to return it. Which brings us to the next point.

Time Savings

If you are interested in saving time, you should consider buying a carpet cleaning machine just for your home. Consider the time you have to spend calling to arrange the rental and the effort to transport and return the carpet cleaning equipment you are renting. That could be time better spent cleaning the carpet or with your family.

Convenience Of Cleaning Anytime, Especially With Pets & Allergies

If you have a carpet cleaner of your own, you can store it and use it whenever necessary. If stains develop, you can clean up immediately. Cleaning stains as they develop is the best way to obliterate stains effectively. If you wait another 3 months, the stains will have more time to set in.

It is recommended for homes whose members are prone to allergies or if there are children. It is also the case if there are pets in the home. That will make regular and more frequent cleaning necessary. And such make it wiser to buy rather than rent carpet cleaner.

No Pressure

Another convenience of having your own shampooer machine is that you won’t feel constrained by the 24 hours limit for rental machines. Some renters prefer to do their cleaning more thoroughly and without the pressure of time constraint by renting it for two days, but that eats into the cost.

You May Not Get To Rent The Model You Want

Another issue about renting a carpet cleaning equipment is that you may not get to rent the model you want. For one, your options are limited to what is available. This means you have to decide which of the models, brands or type of equipment the rental company has. It can be quite a challenge when the unit you need is not exactly available.

This is especially so with the new Bissell Big Green model. Many like it better than the Rug Doctor, but the Rug Doctor is much more widely rented.

The Rented Machine May Have Flaws

Some rental companies may also fail to pay much attention to the maintenance of their equipment. This can compromise the effectiveness and efficiency of the machine. Needless to say, you may end up putting more effort in the job than you initially expected – trying to figure out why it’s not working and then returning it to the grocery store for an exchange.

Having your own home machine is not without the perils of the machine not working. But at least you know what you are dealing with.

Exclusive To Your Home

Many feel comfortable with owning a carpet shampooer because it means the machine has only been used to clean their home’s carpets. Rental machines are shared with everyone. You don’t know the condition of the homes it has been used to clean. It may bring in dirty stuff that you would rather avoid. This lady had a really bad experience when she found blood in the carpet cleaner machine she rented.

So, is it better to rent rather than buy carpet cleaner?

Owning a carpet cleaner does have its advantages. But it is not necessarily the best choice for everyone. In some cases, it may prove wiser to rent carpet cleaner instead.

Disadvantages Of Buying

Renting Costs Less With Infrequent Cleaning

When you must do frequent shampooing of your rugs then it will save you time and money to buy your own. If you don’t clean frequently, say less than once a year, perhaps it makes more sense to rent than buy.

Renting a carpet cleaner may not be wise if you do not have a lot of rugs to clean on a regular basis. In that case, it is absolutely wiser to buy your own. If you have most hardwood floors and a little carpeting, you should think twice about buying.

Access To Commercial Grade Machines With Higher Capacity

Realize that some pieces of equipment from the rentals may have better cleaning abilities and capacities than what you are willing to pay for. Many are not willing to fork out $400 to $500 for a professional grade machine like the Rug Doctor or Bissell Big Green.

While it is more convenient to have your own cleaning equipment in the house, it is not always more advantageous. Sure there are now plenty of sophisticated machines available. You can get plenty of recommendations on the best carpet cleaning machines to buy. However, you cannot deny the fact that those at rentals may be a better machine that a regular domestic home carpet cleaner.

They generally have more power and work with more efficiency provided the machines are well maintained by the rental company. Naturally, you will save time and energy using this equipment for heavy duty carpet cleaning.

If you do decide to buy carpet cleaner, you must then choose the most suitable one. It may cost more initially but you can consider it a wise investment to maintain the cleanliness of your carpets and your home. Check out the Carpet Cleaning Machine Buyer’s Guide for more tips on how to select a great cleaner to own. If you are ready to shop, skip ahead and check out the Carpet Cleaning Machines Reviews section.

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Emmeline Chu

Emmeline Chu is the Chief Reviewer on this site. She likes to keep all things clean, especially carpets and rugs. Emmeline admits to a quirky obsession with carpet cleaner machines. Since 2014, she has been writing reviews on carpet cleaners. She shares her story here.