I desperately need to clean my carpets but don't want to do anything to hurt Paulie. We hired a carpet cleaner, but I had so many questions about the safety of his cleaning chemicals, the guy never showed up after the estimate. I think I scared him off because he was afraid of cleaning with the bird.

Some questions and opinions please:
1. How many of you clean your own carpets or hire it done?

2. Do any of you use one of the national franchise companies like Stanley Steemer, Service Magic or Sears? Do they have bird-friendly cleaning agents?

3. If you clean carpets yourself, what kind of cleaner do you use? Do you remove the fid from the area until dry?

4. Are the commercial cleaners who use an outside truck with vacuum & equipment any better than traditional shampooers?

I need to decide whether to buy my own cleaner soon. Thanks for all your answers in advance.

i have my own carpet shampooer and i don't use anything you get at the stores for it, just don't trust the safety and i have too many birds and not enough rooms to move them all so i add laundry soap and some vinegar to the water and it works great!!

With two large dogs and a dog door I have to clean carpet on a regular basis. I found that it is not only cheaper in the long run, but more convenient for me to do it myself. So I invested in a steam cleaner. Best investment I've ever done! Prior to having birds, I used their cleaner formulas and still do in my living room. Upstairs and in the bird room I use hot water, vinegar and/or GSE. Works great!

Where's the best place to buy GSE? Any particular concentrate or is each brand pretty much the same? Does it do a good job? Thanks.

I have my own carpet shampooer and also use laundry soap with vinager and gse. Just make sure you rinse well after with vinager and water to get the soap residue off Otherwise it will attract dirt right back to it.
You can get gse (grapefruit seed extract) from whole foods or if you'll be using it alot there's a company you can order it from online. I bought a 32oz bottle of it for like $64.00. My sister in law bought one too and with both bottles, shipping was free. A little, I think 2oz bottle at whole foods is like $11.99. You can do a search for it online and keep looking till you find the best deal. Prices vari so much. If I find the site I got it from I'll post it
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