Two different machines answer to the name at a rental counter. The one most people want is a hot water carpet extractor at about $35 to $60 a day, which sprays solution and vacuums it straight back out. A true vapor steamer boils water into low moisture steam for hard surfaces and grout, and hires at roughly $70 to $150 a day.
Extractor or vapor steamer
An extractor is a tank, a pump and a wet vacuum: it wets the carpet with hot solution and pulls the dirt back out. A vapor steamer makes dry steam under pressure and cleans by heat and agitation, leaving surfaces nearly dry. Carpet and upholstery want the first. Tile, grout, kitchens and vehicles want the second.
What the day rate covers
The machine, its hoses and the standard wand. Solution and defoamer are sold separately at the counter, and substituting a supermarket detergent is how a pump gets clogged and billed. Upholstery tools, stair wands and hand tools are add on lines. Ask about the four hour rate, since a couple of rooms is a morning's work.
How long the carpet stays wet
A hired extractor puts down more water than a truck mounted service does, so plan on several hours of drying with fans and open windows, and longer in humid weather. Two slow passes with no solution at the end pull out a surprising amount. Furniture goes back on foil or blocks until the floor is properly dry.
When hiring beats calling someone in
For a room or two, a flight of stairs or a car interior, the day rate plus solution is a fraction of a professional visit and the result is close. For a whole house of heavily soiled carpet, or anything with pet contamination down in the underlay, hire time and drying time make the service the better buy.
Questions people ask about rent steam cleaner
How much does it cost to rent a carpet steam cleaner?
Around $35 to $60 for a day at a general rental center or a grocery kiosk, plus solution at roughly the same again for a house sized job. Four hour rates are common and are often the right ticket, since two or three rooms take a morning rather than a day.
Can a steam cleaner be used on hardwood floors?
A carpet extractor should not go near them, and a vapor steamer only with a dry bonnet on a sealed floor and a light touch. Water and heat lift finishes and swell boards. If the floor is old, waxed or unsealed, keep steam away from it altogether and clean it another way.
Do rental steam cleaners really use steam?
Carpet extractors do not. They use hot tap water and solution, and the word steam on the box is marketing. The machines that genuinely make steam are the vapor units, with a boiler and a pressure gauge, and they are hired for hard surfaces rather than for carpet.