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No matter how hard you try, it’s always quite challenging to keep your carpet looking its best. After all, carpets often fall victim to constant foot traffic, pollen, pet hair, and tough stains that are hard to get rid of. Regular mopping and equipping your home with smart tech gadgets can make cleaning much easier will definitely help. But that’s not always enough. Besides vacuuming your carpets, you’ll also want to give them a deeper scrub with a carpet cleaner. This will help remove stubborn stains, prevent mold growth, extend your rugs’ longevity, improve air quality, and keep your house smelling and looking cleaner.

For most of us, owning a carpet cleaner might seem like the most obvious choice. It’s even possible to get a reliable model for around $100. But such devices are ideal for families or individuals with light carpet-cleaning needs. If your home has an abundance of carpet and you want to tackle seasonal cleaning or post-party messes, it’s often wiser to rent a heavier-duty carpet cleaner from a big box store like Home Depot. This way, you’ll have access to top-tier cleaners that pros use to tackle stubborn stains and significant pet odors without spending several hundreds or even thousands of dollars on purchases.

Perhaps the greatest perk of renting versus owning is that it saves money. Purchasing a high-end model such as the Clarke EX20 Portable Extractor on Amazon would run you at least $3,877. In contrast, if you decide to rent the same cleaner at Lowe’s, you’ll be charged $71 for four hours or $95 a day. Given that you’ll probably use this cleaner once or twice a year, renting is a practical route because it will take over 30 years of rentals to equal the cost of buying it outright. Not to mention that if you own the equipment, you’ll have to maintain it even when not in use. Without proper care and handling over time, it might break down; the cost of sourcing parts and paying for labor can add up and put you in a rough spot financially.

When you rent a carpet cleaner, you’ll have the flexibility to choose the right machine for the job. As such, if you want a small unit for handling occasional spills or a heavy-duty model for whole-home cleaning, you won’t be locked into one device. Stores that offer tool rental services like Lowe’s have an enormous collection of carpet cleaners, offering you access to equipment you could never justify buying. Also, by renting a carpet cleaner, you will avoid storage issues, as they are generally bulky and can take up a good amount of space in your garage. Another perk of renting a carpet cleaner is that if your cleaner fails from normal use, you can easily swap it for a working one right away.

While there are many pros of renting a carpet cleaner, there are scenarios where buying one makes more sense. If you’re sure that you’ll be using it frequently, perhaps because you have multiple pets or your carpets see lots of feet daily, you’ll want to buy one. The good news is that if it’s for residential use, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a commercial-grade model. There are great carpet cleaners that retail for $400 or less, and they’ll still deliver enough cleaning power to lift stubborn stains, pet odors, and embedded dirt and grime.

It will also make sense if you plan to use your machine for more than just cleaning your rugs. When paired with the right cleaning solution and attachments, some devices can make a huge difference in deep-cleaning your car’s upholstery, you house furniture, and pet beds. On top of that, committing to buy a carpet cleaner means that you’ll have the freedom to use it whenever you want. Unfortunately, because most rental stores usually tend to run out of carpet cleaners during certain seasons, if you plan to do something like deep clean your car’s carpet, you’ll have to adjust your cleaning schedule to when the machine is available; you can avoid this hurdle if you’ve got your own carpet cleaner at home.