Rug Doctor used, now carpets have a bad smell

2

Comments

  • Crabman
    Crabman Posts: 9,943 Forumite
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    Has anyone pursued a (court) claim against Rug Doctor for damages, or know anyone who's done so?

    It would be a breach of contract and failure under Supply of Goods and Services Act (1982).
  • tiamaria
    tiamaria Posts: 1,483 Forumite
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    Hi, i would be interested to hear from anyone who's used the rug doctor recently. My son did our carpets for us on Friday and we're left with dark marks/stains all over the carpets, they don't seem to be wet and it should have dried out by now.

    we have used this 3 or 4 times before and it was fine!
  • Crabman
    Crabman Posts: 9,943 Forumite
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    I'd contact an independent carpet cleaning company to obtain their opinion.

    When you inform the store where you rented it, Rug Doctor will take the machine back to its base and 'test it' and inform you if they will accept liability. No prizes for guessing where the customer could lose out unfairly.

    This is why if you have an independent professional round who believes it could be a fault with the machine it can be tested independently. That is something I'd have done in hindsight.
  • tiamaria
    tiamaria Posts: 1,483 Forumite
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    Thanks Crabman, I was actually thinking about getting some professional cleaners in to try to sort it.

    I've contacted the store and the manager should ring me tomorrow when he's in (we'll see), I'm not expecting much back as the blurb on the receipt says they will only be liable for the cost of renting the machine.

    I've managed to remove a couple of blotches with carpet spray cleaner but to do it all will take hours as it's hard to find 2 inches without a mark! It just looks very dirty which defeats the object of using it!

    I'm thinking of maybe rehiring the machine and going over it again, can't understand what's gone wrong really as everyone raves over it and how good it is:(
  • Crabman
    Crabman Posts: 9,943 Forumite
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    What they may say on the receipt is irrelevant to your statutory rights which they can never exclude. If you believe this is what they are seeking to do I would suggest you contact trading standards to let them know.

    I would suggest you take photos of the damage and then contact a local company (or two) for quotes on rectifying the damage and whether they would be happy to also provide you with a statement to the effect that the damage appears to have been caused by a faulty machine (not incorrect use of the machine as obviously this is outside Rug Doctor's control) and what work they feel is required to put it right. I found a local firm who came round for free and quoted for repair of the damage.

    It could be the previous customer did not clean the machine properly but that is not something you are liable for or that they can use as a successful defence, as the store is supposed to check that customers return the machine fully cleaned.
  • richardc1983
    richardc1983 Posts: 2,157 Forumite
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    I will never use a rug doctor again after one year I thought of being lazy and getting the proffesionals in with the truck mount machines.

    The dirt and soap they took out of the carpet that the rug doctor left behind was shocking... my carpets were filthy and getting dirtier quicker because the rug doctor leaves the soapy solution behind.

    Now this year I am getting them done proffesionally again, it cost me £70 for my flat and the rug doctor cost £35 after I had bought solutions and messed about for the day.

    My carpets are dry after about 3 hours with the proffesionals and they dont use soap they use acids and alkalis which are soap free and the carpets are spotless after... plus I can do something else while they are cleaning.

    Waste of time rug doctors, ok to do a small area such as a rug or something but not entire carpets, they get the carpets too wet and do not extract the water properly.
    If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->
  • tiamaria
    tiamaria Posts: 1,483 Forumite
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    Sounds similar to what happened to mine, the carpet just looks very dirty, lots of black blotches.

    Anyway the update is that the rug doctor people have given us a refund of the money we paid to hire it, they have taken the machine away to be "independently" assessed to see if it's faulty, only then will they admit any liability. So basically, they will call me in a couple of weeks to tell me they won't accept the blame, can see that coming! But we all know how hard it is getting anything out of these companies - no-one is ever responsible are they?

    I'm not waiting that long, the carpets look awful so I've got a local company coming in next week to clean my affected carpets, they are a good price and with my refund I will only be £15 out of pocket, it could've been a lot worse. Of course that doesn't excuse the fact that the rug doctor caused the problem in the first place!

    BTW Did you manage to get rid of the smell Crabman?
  • richardc1983
    richardc1983 Posts: 2,157 Forumite
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    Excellent... make sure they are not using soap based fluids like the rug doctor uses otherwise you might as well just get the rug doctor back out.

    Soap residue stays behind and it damages your carpet:

    For example:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA21RLjDBL8&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qtahy785ZM

    Look at the foam when these ppl had to get get the proffesionals in.

    Ur company should be using acids and alkalis, they use an alkaline to spray on the carpet to get the dirt out and then an acid based rinse which then neutralises the pg level and all is clean.
    If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->
  • tiamaria
    tiamaria Posts: 1,483 Forumite
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    Rather yukky videos there! I think the company I've booked will be OK,they use hot water extraction, the machine they use is the Ashby Ninja 400 PSI System(whatever that is!)
    They were recommended to me so I'm optimistic, needless to say I will never rent another Rug Doctor!
  • richardc1983
    richardc1983 Posts: 2,157 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    tiamaria wrote: »
    Rather yukky videos there! I think the company I've booked will be OK,they use hot water extraction, the machine they use is the Ashby Ninja 400 PSI System(whatever that is!)
    They were recommended to me so I'm optimistic, needless to say I will never rent another Rug Doctor!

    yes thats good as long as they aint using soap based detergents like rug doctor. SOme of the "proffesionals" do because its cheaper so just ask them at the time of doing it what solutions they use. It should be an alkaline based pre spray followed by acid rinse. Or similar!

    Spread the word about rug doctors, more harm than good!
    If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->
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