Side by Side Comparison of: Prolux vs Rug Doctor

Seemed a little pricey at first until I saw the performance first hand. Very versatile, easy to assemble, easy to clean and disassemble. The only down side I noticed was that when you use the extensions to use the carpet scrubber, it seems a little flimsy. Can't beat it for the money! Update: I am an auto detailer and tried using it on very stubborn stained seats...it worked amazingly on them. Just need to wrap a micro fiber towel around the head so it catches the dirt as the steam lifts dirt to the surface. Love this tool!

This cleaner does everything. It's light and super easy to use. My husband and soon have their own bath rooms that just about kill me to get the tub and toilet areas clean. With the scrubber wand and super high steam... with awesome reach wand. My back and cleaning success has reached new ground. The best way to put it is, "the yuck came up w/o breaking my back! "

Lots of power lots of attachments. Great machine

I have been cleaning my nasty grout with this product and it has worked GREAT!

Love this steam cleaner! Easy to use, not over complicated at all. It's light and easy to move around. You cannot see how much water you have in it, but I have used it a few times, and have yet to be in the middle of a job and have ran out of water. The best little cleaner around!

Great product great product it really works well well worth the money

This works really well, much better than our previous carpet cleaner. One nice thing is that, because of all the suction, the carpet is much dryer when done, it's barely damp. I was able to clean up fresh wet paint splatters with the moving brush. The water containers are a bit slippery and tricky to take out - there isn't a handle to grab, just a narrowed corner. But you get the hang of it. I like the way it packs up to put away. The carry handle and roller/handle are handy.

Best portable spot cleaner on the market and my wife loves it!

This thing is pretty magical! We only have carpet on our stairs so I didn't want a bulky full size carpet cleaner but something small with the same power. My goal was to find something for the stairs and for my car interior. After trying out a different brand purchased at Lowes and returning it disappointed I set on a mission to do more research and give it another try with a different brand. I'm so glad I did. This thing has one minor flaw but I still rate it 5 stars as its cleaning ability outweighs the fixable flaw. The flaw is that it does tend to leave a small drip puddle of dirty water under the machine, but easily fixable by placing it on a folded towel instead of directly onto the floor. The puddle is not big enough to soak through the towel so it more than solves the problem. The suction power is great for soaking up all of the cleaning fluids and remaining moisture dries quickly. I did follow someone else's review and did a second cleaning pass with just water after using the original solution to get rid of the soap left behind. Even that Second pass with just water lifted lots of dirt. I would recommend this and I would buy another one. Looking forward to trying it out in my car. The included pictures are of uncleaned stairs after 2 years of owning the house.. After two passes (1st with soapy solution followed by just a water solution) the carpet feels softer, looks fluffier and like new.

I was hesitant to buy this because many reviewers received a free machine in return for writing a review, and I wasn't sure if they were sugar-coating it or being honest. But I'm very happy with this machine. I was hesitant because the price seemed steep. I had bought a Bissell Lil Green Machine about 5-6 years ago for around $60 that recently stopped working. I'm so much happier with the Rug Doctor. The cleaning solution it comes with is very effective - while the Bissell cleaning solution maybe got 60% of the stains out of my carpet after I went over the stained area repeatedly. The Rug Doctor got most of my stains out in one pass - it seemed too good to be true! I admit I had two stubborn stains that didn't fully come out after 1 pass with the Rug Doctor, so I sprayed Spot Shot on each then immediately vacuumed that out with the Rug Doctor and the stains were gone! I rinsed out the waste water tank after using (as the directions indicated) but I will store it with the cleaning solution tank partially filled (which the directions indicate is fine to do). The vacuum head has a power switch which activates movement of some of the bristles, I found that this feature was unnecessary. I did try using it, but I worried I would break that feature or the motor behind it from the force I applied to scrub the carpet or to dig in with the vacuum part to suck the solution out of the carpet. My point is, that I don't mind a little elbow grease, so I probably won't use that feature, but other people might find it helpful. I should point out that I don't have kids or pets, so it's possible that my carpet stains are easier to get out than others.

The Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner has thus far been one of the most useful cleaning purchases I have ever made. In the past, my family has rented either a Rug Doctor or similar vehicles through Walmart, but we used them frequently enough that we ultimately decided it would be more convenient to simply purchase one. While the sticker price can be a little intimidating to say the least, we received it within a week and are extremely satisfied with the results. Its smaller size allows us to clean crevices that might otherwise require us to move heavy furniture, with no apparent sacrifice in cleaning ability. One rug in particular that has been at the front door to our home is approximately a year-and-a-half old and bore the wear of many winter feet as a result; after using the Rug Doctor, it looked as if it were new again. In regard to loading the cleaning supplies, everyone in my family who has used it thus far has found it easy to do, but I do recommend you use cleaning supplies from the same manufacturer. Overall, it has been a great product and I enjoyed it so much that we may end up buying the full-size one also.

QUICK TIP FOR LONG LASTING RESULTS:If you have an area that repeatedly needs cleaning, like the carpet in front of my computer desk, add this step to your cleaning routine and the area will stay cleaner much longer:After you're done cleaning, fill the detergent reservoir with clean, hot water--no detergent and run the spray head into a sink until the reservoir is empty. This flushes any residual detergent from the machine's innards. (ps---you should do this anyway after each use). Now refill the detergent reservoir with clean hot water and "clean" the area using just plain hot water. This removes residual detergent from the carpet fibers. Residual cleaners when dry becomes soiled much faster than fibers with no residual detergents. I think you'll find you dirt prone area stays cleaner much longer.

When I use the wand directly to clean my grout it works great. If I used the floor attachment it did nothing for the grout.

I had problems getting it to spray out the cleaner the first time around. I called customer service and they had me try different tests but nothing worked. After getting off the phone with them I gave it one more try of turning it on and off 10 times. It worked! I haven't had any problems with it since and it cleans well.**Make sure you do not leave dirty water in it! Common sense I know, but I got distracted and that stuff gets really foul, really quickly.

This is a big machine and it sucks. Not bad suck, but good. It really pulls the fluid out, along with all the crud. It is loud, but that is the powerful suction. The hose storage is a pain in the b..t. I would not leave any liquids in the machine for a long period, as the seals at the base of the tanks rely on gravity for a good fit. The spray nozzle on the wand is very fragile. Mine broke and it makes for an uneven distribution of the cleaning fluid. Like I said. This thing is big, therefore finding a storage spot is a consideration.

Overall, I am pleased with this machine and I hope that the benefits will outweigh the negatives throughout the life of the machine. Aside from the few things we've noticed, overall the Rug Doctor has been a great and handy tool for quick stain cleanup. The things that I wish were different are the following:1. Once full, you have to use all of the "clean" solution before removing the container or it will spill everywhere. So if you fill it full and only clean a small stain you either have to remove it over a large sink and waste it or you have to leave it in the machine for next time.2. Both containers are easy to spill the contents if you're not paying attention to how you're removing them or carrying them.3. It does require a fair amount of muscle and reptitions to clean a stain, however, it has performed this well in the handful of times we have used it.I think that these are relatively minor and I hope that the heavy duty feel and quality build will make this a better purchase when compared to other spot type cleaners.

First, I want to just say I do like this product. It works well. It packs up nicely. I've only used it a few times, so I can't speak to durability or anything like that. I also think competing similar products would have similar or worse problems as what I'm listing below.After using it a few times, here are some things I wish were different:This thing is a serious workout. You know that exercise where you are on your knees and holding a roller, and you roll out/back and it's really hard on your abs? That's this. To properly suck up all the liquid, you need to be pressing down firmly as you drag it back toward you (not away). This is made even harder because the handle isn't ergonomically designed for downward pressure. And the clear window to see how much liquid you're sucking up is facing away from you/probably covered by your downward-pressing hand. Would have rather had a clear spot closer to the hose.The tank is HUGE if you're truly doing "spot" cleaning. I did an entire hall way end to end twice on one full tank and still had clean fluid left over. Which sucks because the only indicator how much soap to put in is for a full tank. If you're doing less, you guestimate.I'd say, if you think there's any chance you're covering more than small spots, rent a machine or go full-in and get a stand-up full size unit. Spending hours on your hands and knees with this thing is brutal.

I have only used it on my disgusting microfiber couch (i have 3 young children haha) but I'm impressed so far. The only reason I took away 1 star is becauseuse when you are suctioning up the dirty water and pull the head away from the fabric it causes the soap dispenser to release a little water. Not a huge deal but I would prefer for that not to happen. We have tried cleaning the couch with other things but this did the job and it was only the first round. I can only see the couch looking better and better.

I have owned more than one of these portable carpet shampooers from other manufacturers, and the other have been junk, i.e., horribly engineered and designed, poorly assembled and constructed and they all end up at the curb as I SWEAR I'll not buy another.DO NOY BUY THE ONES with the brand name that begins with the second letter of the alphabet!There is no free lunch, i.e., those that supposedly sit there and "automatically" remove a spot (in my case pet urine) DON'T!!! They just make a bigger spot.I first saw this one at Costco but it was gone by the time I decided I wanted to it based on brand.I have used it ONCE!!! To clean a flight of carpeted stairs. It worked exceptionally well---the stairs are cleaner than they have been in a decade.This is a sturdy and well constructed unit---and no more expensive than the shoddy ones. The spray tubing is easily three or four times the diameter of the "other" brand. The "insides" are simple and direct and indicate that an actual engineer who had ever used such a device was somehow involved in design.This is user friendly. The pull out handle, sorta like your pullman suitcase makes it easy to maneuver, although it is not terribly heavy and there is a separate carry handle. Plus, someone thought about why we buy these most often---cleaning stairs---and the unit fits nicely on a step without tumbling over.I LOVE having the brush control on the handle.Speaking of the handle, it seems to be substantial----other brand are not and I've had to replace them.Why not five stars? Because I've only owned it for a few hours.

Doesn't hold temp for long at all so you hear it up steam for about 3 minutes and then wait for it to heat back up. That is frustrating when you want to power through some cleaning.

Arrived damaged

For a flight of stairs, this worked OK and had great suction, but still is a lot of work, just about as much as using a spray can with scrubber brush on top of Woolite. A lot of downward pressure needs to be used to make great contact with the commercial carpeting and suck up the dirty water. The design overall is good and it is good looking; however, the design of the tanks is terrible. They cannot stand on their own to fill or empty. Taking the dirty water tank out for the first time, half of it surged out all over me. It does work... just not sure if it is worth the work and effort considering the price. By the way, I have never had a spot cleaner before... have always done it by hand with microfiber towels and Woolite for carpet spot cleaning.

I have a full size Rug Doctor and I hoped this would be easier to clean up occasional pet messes. I had a few spots (ok,- several) and this was okay but frankly the big one is easier to use. I am 77 years old and I was getting a backache from stooping over. I don't think this will get much use. It may be great for younger people. I would never need a full tank of solution for one or 2 spots - not sure what the ratio of water to cleaner would be.

The motorized brush it quite weak. You still need to use good old muscle to get the dirt but the solution and suction help. Just don't go in thinking the machine will do the work for you.Still it did a good job (or rather I did) of removing month old stains on the floor compared to my large Hoover "steam" carpet cleaner.Tanks were easy to refill, empty and clean.Had issues with the SPRAY NOZZLE. Took a long time to get it to work and a lot of adjusting. The Shampoo container is finicky and has to be set down just right.Hose seems like it would last but only with care. This is a BIG issue for most spot cleaners, the hose usually gives out after a few months.I'll update if anything else happens.

I like that this spot cleaner has a removable brush, instead of rotating brushes under the machine. I used it on both carpet and furniture. It is fairly lightweight, even with the water, and is easy to carry.I dislike that it only sucks up about 1/3 of the water I put down. I think with a bit more practice, I could get that amount higher, but not much. The setup process is a bit difficult because the water container is rounded on the end, making it impossible to set down - make sure you have the soap opened before you start, or someone else to help you. I also dislike that you have to fill the entire container, and top off with soap - with the rounded end, it's hard to know that I filled it up enough with water, or put in enough soap. And it is quite a lot of water/soap to use, especially if you're just cleaning a spot! I dislike the waste. I'd prefer the ability to only fill 1/2 or 1/4 full, for smaller areas. Lastly, it is extremely loud in use.

A cleaning contractor brought this machine in to clean a mattress and I was so impressed with the amount of water that it sucked out that I bought one to replace a Rug Doctor that I had. And in about six months I sent it back because the dirty water tank leaked CONSTANTLY which is absolutely disgusting (the contractor didn't seem to have this problem). So the new machine comes in and the clean water tank pools in the bottom of its holder and the tank also leaks a bit after the machine is turned off. But it's the clean water tank so I'm just going to deal with it. I really hope the dirty water tank doesn't start leaking because I'll soon be out of the 1 year warranty. The power of the vacuum is great though, and I have a bunch of animals so vacuum power is important.

It worked the first time I used it (puppy had an accident). According to the instructions, I did not have to empty it in between uses. So when the puppy had another accident a week or so later, I just plugged it in, as there was still water and soap. But this time, the stain did not come out. My guess is that it is has something to do with my using not hot water (you are supposed to fill it with hot water initially). If I fill it up with hot water and soap every time I have small stain, I will be using a lot of soap and water unnecessarily. Note that I am not sure if the not so good second use is due more to the machine or the cleaning product.I will say it did a pretty good job of just getting the dirt out of the carpet. The water was pretty brown when I was done, but that would take forever to use it for that purpose because of the small wand.

First let me start off by saying I own an automotive detailing company and bought this for back up after my bissell broke.So first off its a great machine. Although the head is wider this thing has almost as much suction power as my mytee carpet extractor. It works good but man is the head and handle almost useless. It's so bulky it's hard to get around areas. The bristles are also so stiff you can only pull with it not push. Good news is the head has a scrubbing action. Without that I wouldn't even be able to use this machine. It works great don't get me wrong. It's just the head needs to be redesigned. The other thing that needs to be redesigned is the water fill tank. It's triangular shaped so you can't set it on a glad surface to fill.In comparison to my bissell spot clean pro it's hard to say which ones better. The handle on the rug doctor is just so bad but the suction makes up for it in a way. The bissell gets into tight areas and you can scrub with it plus the bissell tank is easy to fill.If you ask me this thing is perfect for a house. For a car not so much only due to the handle. For a car I think the bissell is better. But I will say the suction power is incredible.

This worked for me exactly once. The second time I pulled it out, I could not get the water to flow through the machine and it was completely unusable. Thankfully I was able to return it. I liked it the one time I was able to use it. I may have gotten a dud, but I won't be reordering this.

Works great! Unfortunately the big design flaw is a deal breaker. The leakage of the dirty water tank mentioned in other reviews (and to some extent the clean) is a genuine problem. I cleaned one spot, moved to a second but had to leave it sitting for a while before starting up again. When I came back, water everywhere. Afterward I noticed a trail of water from the first spot to the second, so the leaking had started right away. Who wants to deal with that?? I'm doing what one other smart reviewer suggested: spray bottle and a shop vac.

Purchased an open box deal that was suppose to be like new. It looked like it was opened and used once. So after testing it on carpet stains and stairs, I guess it worked okay. The water extraction wasn't great because the carpet was still very wet but it looked like it was extracting well from the see thru compartment. I love that it has two handles but the unit leaked clean and dirty water everywhere. That defeats the purpose of cleaning when I'm also mopping.

The dirty water always leaks through the bottom (or throught the hose where it is connected to the unit) of the unit. I always put it on the hard surface so that I can mop up the leak after cleaning. I use it to clearn carpet when my dog makes a mistake on it. It sucks up urin well from the carpet, though.

Easy to use, compact, and effective. The only downside is you have to let the whole thing dry out or you get mildew/mold inside the tanks.*Update as of 6 months after receiving* 1) They don't tell you how to clean the inside of the machine itself, and that is critical because the sprayer and pump begin to mildew if it sits. 2) The sprayer quit a month ago. 3) Just using the extractor after pouring solution on the spots, the machine started smoking. In addition, when I called customer service, they gave me useless advice and they were clearly not in the US so hard to understand. They expected me to run the machine while I was on the phone with them, and it's deafening.....NOT happy with this machine, or with Rug Doctor! No wonder my local repair shop stopped working with them a few years ago....

Doesn't work. Worked one time. Just sprays out water.

Stopped working after 13 minutes

After 3 uses it was leaking and hot to the touch. I purchased based on the good reviews. I'm afraid to use it anymore. A lot of money for 3 uses. It is flimsy and doesn't even do a good job. I was hoping to find a better steamer as I have had several, I don't like to use chemicals. This is by far the worst one I have ever had. Would return it if I could.

This product heated up quickly, but I had to continuously adjust the dial between cleaning upholstery on chairs. The water would come out heavy when I moved to the next chair although I didn't change the setting. It didn't remove the stains on my chairs so I returned it. Also no return label was provided because my reason for returning wasn't a good enough reason. So I paid the return shipping fee at USPS for 41.00. After reading all the good reviews I thought it would work. I won't buy or recommend this product or company. Will try a Bissell steam cleaner next.

Mine died after two days. The seller gave an immediate refund without troubling me to send it back which I appreciate. When it worked it worked really well. I needed a steam cleaner for a time sensitive job and when this one died I was forced to waste a whole day driving around looking for another steam cleaner. I purchased a Shark model that is much better than this Prolux. It doesn't have the assortment of attachments that the Prolux has but it's a better built, more robust machine that really cranks the steam.

Oh, it worked well until it didn't. The power beater brush stopped working the second time I used it. So I called the number they suggested. It is probably one of the worst menuing systems in the world. I think I spoke to every department. Of course, ​they wanted me to send it back at my expense - still under warranty but I wanted to see if I could trouble shoot it myself. All I wanted was a little information or a schematic. No one seemed to know and to make matters worse every person I talked with seemed to be on time lapse. I'd say something and then nothing for several seconds. Exasperating. I kept thinking the call was dropped. So no, with that kind of support I would not recommend no matter how well it worked.

Very disappointed with this item. It is true that the stream of cleaner does not work well if not at all. When I got cleaner the machine did a very good job of cleaning and had a very powerful suction. Until Rug Doctor fixes this problem, I would not buy this machine. I sent it back.

Had some VERY light stains on a tan-colored carpet that was installed a month ago. This machine/concentrate would not clean them out. I had to dab the concentrate on straight out of the bottle to even begin to make an impact on them. The other thing that's a problem...strands of carpet fiber have collected between the red and clear part of the nozzle and will not vacuum through to the dirty water container. My carpet was completely vacuumed before I started cleaning with this Rug Doctor, but the rotating action on the machine's brush pulls out more fibers. I can't see any way to clean this nozzle out. The clear piece should unscrew for cleaning purposes. Also, unless you have carpeted stairs, you might as well get an upright rug cleaner. You will be on your hands and knees far longer than you wish to clean a path. I'm returning the Rug Doctor.

This item was used once and malfunctions. Don't waste your money. The spray comes out of a windex bottle better than the spray on this unit which is paltry at best. The suction is adequate, but for spot removal-it's worthless and going to the junk yard.

This cleaner has good suction and that is about all the good I can say about it. The spray nozzle constantly clogs up and the hose is too short.

I might have to return it. Seems the water trigger does not put out water all the time. I've only used it 4 or 5 times. I'd like to know where I can take this for repair? It's got to go to a rug doctor only. A regular repair shop can't get rug doctor parts. It won't spray at all.