I love my dogs. The mess the make? not so much. Thus I find myself cleaning the carpets in my home about every six months. It keeps the house smelling clean, carpets looking nice, and, most importantly, the wife happy.

These are some tips to get the most bang for your buck while cleaning your home carpets yourself.

Note: We won't be building any carpet cleaning machines or the like. Sorry to disappoint.

This instructable is based on using a rented Rugdoctor carpet cleaner. Why rent? It's cheaper. Each time you rent you end up paying about $30. A rugdoctor machine costs $600. You'd need to rent a rugdoctor 20 times before you'd equal the purchase price. And that, friends, is why we rent.

Step 1: The Day Before...

The day before you intend to clean is the day to do a little prep.

Find a rental location and get a coupon-

Visit http://rent.rugdoctor.com/map/map.html and enter your zip code for a coupon and near by rental locations. (You don't have to enter your email addy, unless you really like "exciting" offers on carpet cleaning products.)

Turn your water heater up-

This step is optional, but recommended. Hotter water will give you a better clean. If you have the ability to do so, turn your water heater up to hot. This will increase the water temperature in the whole house, so be careful and always test the water temperature before bathing, etc. This is done, often, by turning a large dial on the front of your water heater, at the foot of the tank. You may also want to mark the current setting.

Make a filler-upper-

Yes, filler-upper is a technical term. A filler-upper is nothing more than two lengths of PVC connected by and elbow, with another elbow on the end (see photo 3). It is not required, but sure makes filling the machine from the sink much easier. No need to glue the parts together, either. If you are on this website, I imagine you have some laying around somewhere... go scrounge it up.

Step 2: Cleaning Day...

You've got your coupon in hand, a tank of steamy hot water, and a filler-upper. Time for action.

Go rent your machine and get some carpet cleaner-

And by carpet cleaner I mean regular old white vinegar. It's strong, green, safe*, and cheap. What more could you ask for? So instead of spending a chunk of change on fancy-pants carpet soap, drop three bucks on a big jug of vinegar. Armed with your coupon and a jug of vinegar for cleaner, you should be able to clean as may carpets as you want for less than $40.

Clean your carpets-

The rugdoctor is really easy to use. Just follow the instructions on the machine. When filling the machine, put in one cup of vinegar first, then fill up the tank with hot water.

The machine sprays the clean water into the carpet then sucks it back out. The suction nozzle is along the front edge of the machine. I've found that by using the machine with the handle in the lowest position (See photo) you push the nozzle into the carpet and suck more water out.

Take your time. Go over things as many times as you like. Once you are done cleaning, go over the carpet one last time without pushing the button to suck out as much water as possible. This will decrease drying time.

Step 3: Once You're Done Cleaning...

Pweh! All the hard work is over. Time to finish up.

Wait until your carpets are good and dry-

This is hard, but wait until your carpets are good and dry before walking on them much, or moving furniture. If you must move furniture back before the carpet is completely dry, put some way paper under the feet so the pain/stain doesn't bleed into the carpet. Also, moisture kind of attracts dirt, so by waiting until the are dry to walk on the carpets, you can keep them cleaner longer.

Turn your water heater back down-

If you turned your water heater up, turn it back down. That'll keep you from accidentally scalding yourself.

Clean the machine-

I'm not saying anything major here, but clean out the dirty water take pretty good. Treat the machine how you want the person before you to have treated it.

Enjoy your clean carpets!