So, I’d pre-cleaned the carpet and read the instructions on the back of the carpet cleaner solution - 40ml of solution per 1L of warm water - and I was ready. I opened the box, took out the VAX and all the parts and sat on my dining room floor completely perplexed by the quantity of fittings, fixtures, pipes and filters! Cue a google search and the realisation that the VAX I had rented is a 3in1 machine; offering not only VAX carpet cleaning, but hoover and spill collection too. Following the googled instructions carefully, I put all the unwanted accessories to one side until I was left with, what I thought to be, the correct parts for the machine to be a VAX carpet cleaner. I plugged the pipes in, attached the VAX nozzle and put the body of the machine into it’s correct tiered order. I then stood back to admire my handiwork, the hardest part was done!

Having filled the upper tank with the warm water and solution mix, clipped it securely in place and plugged the VAX machine in - yes it requires power - I was then finally ready to begin cleaning my lounge carpet. Rather sensibly I started in the corner - working my way back towards the door - going back and forth over the same area, with a slow moving forward motion to release the cleaning fluid and a normal speed reverse motion to hoover it back up again. After a few passes in each area the marks from my dog wiping her bum on the carpet was all but a distant memory! I continued in the same fashion until the whole floor was done, finishing up at the door so I could escape without soggy socks.

NB. After a recommendation from the owner, I VAXed the carpet on a sunny day and in the morning to give it half a chance of drying. With the heating left on and door shut, this worked a treat!

Before:           

After:    

After Saturday’s successful carpet cleaning, I woke excitedly ready on Sunday to do the chairs. With the carpet still slightly damp, I decided it was worthwhile simply removing the chair seat covers and sticking them in the washing machine, rather than making the foam itself damp. While I was at it, I did the many - and as my husband would say, unnecessary - colourful cushions from the lounge too.

Once the washing machine was on, part two of my weekends VAXing could commence! This time using the smaller, furniture intended nozzle, I repeated the same motion of the previous day: working along the sides, armrests and backs of the chairs. The few marks on our sofa cleared up well, while the grime on my dog’s armchair cleaned up beautifully! Success. The £20 weekend’s rental had revamped the furniture to look fresh and clean once more!

Time to clean the machine. After emptying the shockingly dirty water into our outside drain, I rinsed both tanks out to remove the grit. Another helpful tip from the owner was to wash the pipes through with plain warm water after use. I then put all individual parts in the sunny conservatory to dry out, before boxing it up and returning on Monday morning as arranged.

By Monday lunchtime my lounge was back together, seat covers on, everything dry and the array of colourful cushions arranged perfectly on my now non animal affected sofa! I know it won’t be long before either the dog or cat, or perhaps my overall clad husband, makes themselves comfy on the clean furniture. But, with a weekend’s rental only costing £20, it’s hardly worth worrying about and I look forward to the next exciting weekend of VAXing my lounge!