Anyone who has carpet in their home knows that it's a gigantic pain in the butt to keep clean. If you have pets, chances are they've soiled your beloved floor at some point or another. Even if Fido is a perfectly toilet trained dog, I'm sure he's tracked mud into your house on more than one occasion. Children are equally as guilty when it comes to messing up carpets and rugs. Why don't those little buggers just take their shoes off! Even us adults may occasionally stain the floor with a bit of red wine or juice. And if you've ever cut yourself, you're probably familiar with the horrors that come with blood stain removal. So what can we do to keep our carpets clean?

Vacuums are great for cleaning carpets but they don't really get to the core of the threads the way that a steam cleaner does. Tough stains won't come out when vaccumed. In fact, running a standard vacuum cleaner over a deep stain may even to more harm than good. Another reason to use a steam cleaner is related to things in our carpet that we can't see. I'm talking, of course, about allergens. These pesky little buggers pollute the air inside your home and make your entire family sneeze. Running a carpet steam cleaner over your carpet twice a year can keep these allergens in check.

To Rent Or Buy?

Traditionally, renting a steam cleaner to treat your carpet has been the way to go. I've great success with the "Rug Doctor" units available at Safeway. These units have almost become the industry standard - So much so that they're often referred to as a "Safeway Carpet Steamer" or a "Safeway Carpet Cleaner". There are other places to rent these as well. Do a quick Google search and I'm sure you'll find something in your area.

If you have a big house and are a bit of neat freak, you may want to consider buying your own unit. Prices are continually coming down so now's as good a time as any to take that plunge! At the conclusion of this article, you'll find a breakdown of recommended brands.

There are few qualities that good steam cleaners have. Whether you're going to rent a unit or buy yourself one, have a look at this "Checklist"... There are four things I've suggested a cleaner should have. Now, a steamer that has all these features is about perfect as it gets. Most folks don't really need all of these things though. Use your own discretion...

Rotating Brushes

• These are pretty standard on all but the most budget units nowadays. Unlink stationary brushes, these ones rotate. They thus do a much better job of penetrating the carpet and lifting dirt and allergens out of the floor

Separate Canisters For Clean And Dirty Water

• It's important that the steamer that you choose has two separate compartments - One for dirty water and one for the cleaning solution. Usually you mix this cleaning solution with warm water and put it in the lower container. While in use, the dirty water will make it's way into the other canister. Make sure that you put the clean water in the right place!

Tools And Attachments

• A lot of carpet steam cleaners come with a variety of attachments. Depending on your needs, you may of may not need to purchase a steamer with these. Typical attachments supplied with these items are meant for cars (interior), stairs and upholstery.

Built In Water Heater

• You'll really only find this feature on the most high end models available. It allows you to pour cold water into the machine as it provides the heat. I don't really see the need for this... How hard is it, after all, to just pour warm water into cleaner?

A Few Different Steam Cleaners That I've Tried

Below you'll find a few products that I've had the pleasure of using. You'll recognize the brand names... They're all vacuum companies.

This unit features spinning brushes and a "Clean Surge" feature for those extra tough stains! It also comes with an assortment of accessories to clean upholstery and even bare floors. It's also got two containers for clean and dirty water.

This is quite similar to the Hoover unit shown above. It's go a bunch of accessories that some standard with it. One thing I really like about the Bissell units is they're great for stairs and tight areas.

Here's a "budget friendly" steam cleaner for you.  It does a surpisingly decent job consider the price.