*REVIEW* Rug Doctor

So the lovely people at Rug Doctor recently sent me a machine and some carpet detergent for the purpose of reviewing. It couldn't have come at a better time as I've recently decorated my living room and was toying with the idea of a new carpet to finish the look.

The machine arrived in a huge box, it felt like Christmas! Upon opening it, there was a net bag containing all the extra fixtures and fittings like tubes and nozzles to get at the corners of your carpets, a bottle of detergent and the Rug Doctor itself. Scrambling for instructions in the box, I started to panic that there weren't any! Seems I was having a bit of a panic over nothing as the instructions are as clear as day, on the stickers all over the machine. Clear step by step instructions - any dope could follow them - *BONUS*!!

Pic 2. First ever clean leaves filth stripes :-(
The machine was much heavier than I'd anticipated, and I started to worry a little just how heavy it would be with the tank full too, but it was surprisingly easy to manoeuvre and those nozzles in the net are there to make it easier still.  

Having several coffee spills over the years, plus the inevitable toddler 'food grind' etc I was aware there were a good few stains that needed lifting - so the Rug Doctor review was predominantly going to be about whether it worked in that department. Let's be clear... it does. (See Pic 1 at foot of review.) 

However, using RugDoctor has made me really question why I've not cleaned my carpets before. In fact - it sickened me.

After doing the first run around in the living room, the water that had to be removed from the tank was black. I'm not kidding guys. BLACK. Never in a million years did I expect it to be so utterly filthy.

I re-positioned my furniture back in the living room - making sure I used tin foil under the feet to prevent any staining whilst drying - and I was just not happy. You could see lines of filth from where I'd run over the carpet with the Rug Doctor. 

 2nd use - gleaming carpet! (Coffee table shadow, not dirt!)
I was absolutely mortified and made a quick texting spree to make sure no-one was to come to my house for at least 24 hours! (Pic 2).

Impatiently I waited until the carpet had dried - a reasonable time of approx 3.5 hours, with open windows and radiator switched on - before I refilled the tank with hot water and detergent again and off I went...

Though not black, the water was murky grey in colour. Just how much dirt had my carpet been retaining over the past 3 years I'd been in this house? My son is 4 and he'd been crawling in this a few years ago. My gorgeous 3 year old nephew Tyler and my cousin's beautiful 2 year old girl Maisy-Sue have been playing on these carpets. I felt a wave of shame. 

On the plus side, how powerful is this Rug Doctor to be able to draw out so much of what we can't see with our eyes?! With so little effort too.

 After the second run - looks like new!
I left it another 3.5 hours until repositioning the furniture in their spaces - in case I needed to re-do it again. But no, it was okay! PHEW!!! As it was drying, the second time around, you could see the lines were fading, the colour was brightening and the texture was softening. Utter relief, and shocked at the difference that was now evident. My carpet had been vile just a matter of hours ago, yet the only reason I wanted a new one was to finish the look of the redecoration, totally oblivious to the dirt I was allowing to join my family and I in our floor play times. 


We vacuum every day so I'd always thought that this was "taking care" of our carpet. 

How wrong was I? :-s



Going back to my initial pondering of Rug Doctor - does it remove stains. Yes it really does. I'd been concerned by a particularly large coffee stain that I was sure was set to stay, but this came out after the first use of the machine. The second run was clearly to deep clean the depths of the shag. 

I'd absolutely 100% recommend this Rug Doctor for all and sundry. 

Pic 1. coffee top, gone bottom!

Step by step guide easily found on the body of the machine mean you cannot go wrong in terms of application of the detergent. The drying time is more than reasonable and the power in its' cleaning is simply awesome. 

I've managed to save a massive couple of hundred pounds by not buying a new carpet, all for one days use of the Rug Doctor. 

I received mine free of charge for the purposes of review, but you can hire these machines from retail outlets at a daily or 48hr rate, usually in the region of around £22.99. 

Check out Rug Doctor's store locator here for your closest outlet. 
Follow them on twitter here too for hints, tips and special offers that they often tweet.

I'll be making the RugDoctor a part of more rigorous household clean from now on. I will use this a minimum of 4 times a year and I vow never to get such disgusting carpets ever again. Thanks RugDoctor!

To finish, just to show you again the difference between first clean and second clean with the RugDoctor again, see below - wow!


Have you used a RugDoctor before? I'd love to hear your stories!

Love Jo xxx

Measles and GP's

Having already had a week of being a lot more sleepy, gooey eyes, generally worn down, great lack of appetite and very hot & sweaty nights resulting in waking and nightmares - My lovely little 4 year old Carson awoke on Bank Holiday Saturday, with a red/brown rash that wouldn't disappear with the glass test.


The scariest thing was that no-one would come to the house to check on him - I was refused by the out of hours GP (it came on, on the Saturday) and NHS Direct told me the same thing:


"GP's do not visit sick children at home any more for diagnosis. Go to the walk-in centre"

Given that I'd put together the previous week of him not being himself, and the type of rash that had appeared, I assumed measles. He had all the signs and symptoms. To make you aware, the rash comes AFTER the initial symptoms - much like chickenpox too.

I very much doubted any walk-in or A&E would thank me for taking a poorly boy with probable measles in to their facility - already filled with weak and vulnerable people (and possibly pregnant women who could be totally oblivious to the fatal dangers of contracting measles during pregnancy.) 

However, following instruction, Carson was taken to the local walk-in centre (Victoria Central Hospital) where (as we suspected) he was whisked off to an individual room upon arrival - staff terrified of creating an outbreak. 

But guess what?

No swabs here, you'll have to go to A&E at Arrow Park Hospital instead. Well, I'm sorry but Carson is in no state to be traipsing half way round the Wirral - when we don't drive either - just to have a swab to confirm it was, as suspected, the measles. When, in the grand scheme of things, they'd already said there is  nothing to treat measles with anyway. 

Simply keep an eye on him, help keep him cool, provide him with some Calpol and plenty of fluids. The other alternative was to wait until Tuesday and if he did still have the rash, which would back up the suspicion of measles, contact our own GP's surgery.


So that's what we did. 


We spent all bank holiday weekend indoors together. His mood changing at the flick of a switch. He could go from being OK to talk to and even smile or giggle with you, to very irritable and tired. It breaks my heart to see such a usually bouncing boy, just sitting there/lying there in a quiet, uninterested and sadly agitated manner.


Tuesday came and the GP surgery denied that we could take him there, as the walk-in centre had advised. They asked us to go there - without Carson - collect mouth swabs, take them home and swab Carson's mouth, then take them back. The results would be with us in a day or two.

Bit of an effort, but well worth it given that Carson was still poorly so we needed to know whether it was just a viral infection or the measles so that the school could be notified.

Well it's now a whole week later and he still has the rash but it has faded an awful lot. His appetite is back and he's himself again! However, as the GP surgery didn't bother sending the swabs until Thursday meaning the lab in Manchester hasn't tested yet - we are STILL none the wiser as to whether we can call it measles or still go by "suspected measles" #FUMING 

** For anyone local, this bad GP's surgery is the old Martin's Lane one now at Mill Lane. Every time I've ever had to provide urine at that surgery they lose it, and once the GP prescribed Carson a sedative meant for 5yrs+ at the 8yrs+ dosage -when he was just 18 months old and it was the pharmacist that refused to abide by the prescription. The"apology" received was simply that 'it's the pharmacists job to check these things over so no harm done' **

Oh but on the bright side, he can go to school on Monday as we quarantined him for 6 days as advised.

Have your children ever had the measles? What did you do, how did you cope?

Have you ever been let down by your GP either? 

Loadsa love
Jo
xxx

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