Friday

Review of Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300

The Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300 is the deluxe version in Dirt Devil's economical Easy Steamer series. While it offers a performance similar to Dirt Devil's no-frills Easy Steamer models, the MCE7300 has two important features that set it apart: It comes with additional attachments and a higher price tag.

Even though it costs about $60 more than the economy model, the Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300 is still half the price of some of its competitors -- and does an admirable job when tackling everyday cleaning tasks. It comes with onboard tools that extend its usefulness. The tools make it possible to use the steam cleaner on stairs and upholstery. If one needs a steam cleaner to do more than clean carpets, these additions may make paying an additional $60 worth the cost. The tools include an upholstery tool and a nozzle, as well as an 8-foot accordion-style hose. We tested the upholstery tool on a stained portion of a seat cushion. It removed a fresh spill with ease, but needed the help of a pre-treater to extract a more stubborn stain that was several days old. Still, it is not uncommon to need to pre-treat a stain, even with more expensive steam cleaners.

The Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300 has a motorized, rotating brush head. It has an 11-inch cleaning path and 5.2 amps of cleaning power, which is about average. It has two built-in tanks that are nested vertically within the cleaner's main body. Each tank has a 1-gallon capacity. One holds hot tap water and cleaning solution, while the other collects dirty water extracted from carpets. The tanks are easy to remove, and simple to refill and replace. We only wish the tanks had a greater capacity, which would allow one to use the steam cleaner on larger spaces before stopping to refill. The trade-off to the tanks' 1-gallon capacities, however, is that the Dirt Devil MCE7300 is truly lightweight -- even when in use. With both tanks full, the MCE7300's working weight is about 22 pounds, which makes it easy to maneuver. The other benefit to using a lightweight, easily portable model is that one is more likely to pull it out of storage for everyday spills.

It's important to note the Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300 does not have an internal heating mechanism to create steam, so calling the cleaner a "steamer" is a bit misleading. Instead, one must use hot tap water when filling the clean water reservoir.

If one expects to use a carpet steam cleaner on stair or upholstery, it's worth it to pay the additional $60 for this model rather than purchase one of Dirt Devil's no-frills steam cleaners. The Dirt Devil Easy Steamer MCE7300 is an average carpet cleaner with onboard tools that make it more versatile.


Pros: Onboard tools, lightweight
Cons: Doesn't heat water internally

Warranty
2 years, parts and motor

You can view more product reviews at http://products.howstuffworks.com/dirt-devil-easy-steamer-mce7300-review.htm

How To Rent a Carpet Cleaning Machine

We've written about how to use the Carpet cleaners that you rent from the Supermarket. However, we decided to include this article about how to rent a carpet cleaning machine. It is a great outline to follow so you don't get home with your rented carpet cleaner and realize you forgot to pick something up!

However stain-resistant your carpet is, and how frequently you vacuum it, you would still need it to give it a deep cleaning at least once a year. Instead of hiring professional carpet cleaning services
to do it for you, you can actually rent a carpet cleaning
machine and do it yourself without costing you as much. Here are the five easy steps on your way to renting a carpet cleaning machine:

1. Find store. The first step is to find a grocery store or check with a local home depot if they rent carpet cleaners. Wherever you live, chances are there would be several close locations that provide carpet cleaning machine rentals. You can check the machine out for half a day, an entire day or for as long as you want and just pay the amount of time you have rented it out.

2. Choose carpet cleaner. In picking a carpet cleaner machine for rental, there are several thing you could try to inspect to get the best one. Make sure that you get clean equipment by checking the bristles, water tank and its attachments. Double check if it has clean upholstery also. A lot of people already might have used the machine to clean all sorts of things. You may also want to consider renting either a Bissell machine or a Hoover machine that are both known for their high efficiency.

3. Purchase supplies. Renting cleaning equipment more often than not does not include other cleaning materials and supplies. You would need to purchase these cleaning solutions and other supplies yourself. To ensure deep cleaning, you can buy a urine eliminator to remove human and animal urine stains on your carpet. For high traffic areas, you can also purchase a pre-treatment. Most importantly, you should ask the rental agent or look for the equipment machine instruction manual to give you an idea of the best cleaning solution that works with the machine.

4. Ask for instructions. Ask the carpet cleaner rental company for instructions on how to operate the machine. The establishment can either explain to you the information you need or you can bring the manual home and read it there. Not all carpet cleaning equipment works the same. That is why it would be wise to ask the rental agent for operational instructions, or better yet, request for a demonstration.

5. Pay the rental. Rental agreements and rates vary depending on the rental store you go to. Some may prefer up front payments while others would charge you when you return the carper cleaner. For up front payments, you would have to give the rental company a specific time frame you would have their equipment checked out. Otherwise, if you exceed the time frame you initially signed up for, you would have to pay extra for those excess hours. It would be better if you also consider giving yourself time to purchase the necessary supplies, time to figure out how the machine works, plus travel time going to and from the store. Sometimes, it takes more time than you think trying to work out what shampoo machine is.

These are the five easy steps to follow on how to rent a carpet cleaning machine.

You can find this article at: http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-rent-a-carpet-cleaning-machine