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Rug Doctor

rugdoctor.com/
1.7

40 reviews

10%
5-star
15%
Positive
75%
1-star
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ReviewTerminal Summary

Rug Doctor suffers from severe operational failures with a 1.7/5 rating driven by consistently filthy, poorly maintained rental machines that often damage customer property and leave persistent odors, compounded by unresponsive customer service.

What customers love

  • Easy online booking and convenient locker/retail collection process
  • Effective cleaning results when machines are in proper working condition
  • Individual customer service representatives occasionally demonstrate empathy and willingness to issue refunds

Common concerns

  • Machines routinely rented in filthy condition with previous customer's dirt, hair, bodily waste, and stagnant water left inside, requiring customers to spend hours cleaning before use
  • Machines leave persistent foul odors (described as cat urine smell) on carpets and upholstery that customers cannot remove, sometimes requiring carpet replacement
  • Machines damage or worsen carpets and upholstery through mechanical malfunction, excessive moisture, or spreading dirt rather than cleaning it
  • Non-functional or poorly working equipment (broken hoses, malfunctioning spray triggers, inadequate water extraction) forcing customers to manually compensate
  • Customer service is unresponsive, unhelpful, defensive, and refuses accountability for property damage or machine faults
  • Hidden charges, aggressive late fees, billing disputes, and refund delays or denials despite documented problems

Customers mention

machine hygiene and maintenanceodor damage (cat urine smell)equipment malfunctioncarpet damagecustomer service failureshidden fees and billing

Frequently mentioned

MachineCleanDoctorCleaningCarpetDirty
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Showing 40 reviews
K
Verified
kirsten sherouse
19 May 2026

Had 3 broken machines also that came…

Had 3 broken machines also that came minging noe carpets smell musty to that i am trying to get out was not even worth it at all.

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Richard Kemp
17 May 2026

The unit actually tore and marked my…

The unit actually tore and marked my carpet in a few places. Company refused to assist in anyway, really shocked and surprised such a large company wanted nothing to do with it. Looking at the reviews, it looks like I’m not alone. I’ll be spreading the word to as many as possible to avoid this company like the plague.

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Natalija Spasić
1 May 2026

Horrible experience

Horrible experience. The machine was not clean and full of dirty water from the previous customer. That dirty water flooded my car because it was not emptied. Spent 2h cleaning the machine to be able to use it. Machine's hose was broken, had to patch that up too. I returned the machine clean. They don't maintain their machines at all, they don't check them. Will not use their services anymore. Customer service useless. Offering to rearrange different machine after I already wrote I cleaned it and used it. What for? For me to clean that machine also, as everytime it comes dirty. I used their services 3 times, 2 times it was it horrendous condition.

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Ide Ryan
28 April 2026

It left my couch dirtier than it had…

It left my couch dirtier than it had been. I rented the rugdoctor from my local Tesco to clean my couch for an upcoming celebration in our home. The couch wasn’t very dirty, yet needed a sprucing up type of clean. The machine itself needed cleaning before I started. When I used this The tool for cleaning the couch- it continued to spray the cleaning solution even when I wasn’t pressing the red handle for it to come out. So afterwards I found that there are loads of dirty streaks on my couch. It looks worse than it did before! Absolutely disgusted with it. I used it on two rugs also and they had been a cream colour but now a light brown! There are brown streaks on then too.Yuck!! 🤢 So so annoyed 😡 . I DO NOT recommend! UPDATE: I rang customer service and I told them about my experience. I asked for a refund and they have issued one without a problem. I still need to figure out how to reclean the rugs and couch but at least they have offered my money back.

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Kelli Register
23 April 2026

Eww!

One word, disgusting! The units are old and poorly maintained with a STRONG, HORRIBLE odor now left in my carpets, not to mention, they’re even dirtier than before! I don’t even want to walk on our carpets barefoot and I’m super disappointed and feel so gross with the terrible odor. Bought for the “professional grade” cleaning power. Paid extra for their “deepest clean” detergent that did absolutely nothing. Also bulky and difficult to maneuver. Biggest waste of money. Will never use again and will just buy my own which I’m sure will clean much better than this 🤮

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Rick Bonewell
16 April 2026

Fantastic results for a great price

We hired a carpet cleaning machine for 24 hours. The process was really easy. Ordered online the day before, collected from a locker the next day. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. We cleaned 8 rooms, 2 sets of stairs and a sofa in a day which was much more than we anticipated and the results were incredible. I thought the products might be expensive with the hire being so cheap but £20 of cleaner was more than enough. I would not hesitate to use the cleaners again and would highly recommend them.

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Client from Chadderton
27 March 2026

The f***ing Rug Doctor experience

The Rug Doctor experience started badly. The locker allocated at our local Asda store was empty but in any case the given code did not open the locker. After a trial of a phone call to the 0800 number I got through to someone who gave me a new code for a different locker - it didn’t work. They talked me through resetting the lock and then gave me a new code which eventually did work. With some difficulty I got the machine to the car, it wouldn’t easily fit in the boot. I found it very heavy and awkward to lift, I laid it on its side to get it home. It leaked a load of crap all over the boot of my new car - I spent an hour cleaning the boot. I wanted to start upstairs but had difficulty carrying it upstairs, very heavy and awkward and no handles. Cleaned upstairs OK ish, a bit too wet. The tool that I paid extra for to clean the stairs didn’t work - I note that other commentators make the same point. The machine cleaned downstairs OK ish a bit wet. The cleaning fluid is very expensive - looks and smells like old fashioned 1001 that used to clean a big, big carpet for less than half-a-crown. I would not recommend Rug Doctor, look for an alternative

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Amy
10 March 2026

Disappointed.

Disappointed. Collected the machine from Tesco. Easy collection. The machine was not clean and full of dirty water from the previous customer! It was hard to bring home due to the weight of the water in the machine. The hand device to clean mattress was also dodgy and did not work properly. When I called the customer service number they advised the machine I was using was old. Overall disappointed and would not recommend.

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M Stewart
7 March 2026

Rented from Lochgilphead co-op - good

Rented this from Lochgilphead co-op. It was perfectly clean and in good order. It was a bit heavy to get in and out of the car, but help was offered. Did a good job (has used general spot stain remover first) . Think your other reviewers have been unlucky, or you need to remind your franchises that they must ensure machines are returned clean or charged for cleaning.

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Hollie McHugh
2 March 2026

Awful, don’t hire

Awful. Filthy machine with chunks of dog hair all over it, Smelly & dirty. Couldn’t bring myself to even use it & just brought it back to the shop. Don’t hire these. They are disgusting.

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Lyndsay Smith
16 February 2026

Kiara

I called customer services in a panic as I had to extend my hire. Kiara was really friendly, empathic and helpful. I really appreciated her kindness in a stressful situation

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Empe
13 February 2026

Worse than useless

Worse than useless - ruined a rug and left a terrible smell on the upholstery I was cleaning. Save yourself the hassle and get a professional to do it if you can

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rayc
8 February 2026

Machine was filthy .. 🤮

Just picked up a machine ! Yuk , and on the top of the machine , it has a sticker saying I will be charged for cleaning! It was filthy? Why did I pay for a machine that needed cleaning??I wish I could up load photos to my review! I got the worse off and reluctantly cleaned my carpet , no word of a lie , the machine was actually cleaner , cleaning my carpets.. 😳 so where did all that crap go to . . Yup on my carpet 🤮 tried to email and phone them , but they are not opened at weekends? Tomorrow I am going to ring and complain ! There is some one with alopecia , walking around and I have their hair on my carpet! 🤮 and I'm not sure what the sticking substance was ...

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Kristina Litvinova
27 January 2026

The machine hired did not work properly…

The machine hired did not work properly and was dirty. Once theres a problem - no one bothered to deal with it. Crap customer service.

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Sun Shine
17 January 2026

Rug doctor is a joke it's not working…

Rug doctor is a joke it's not working please keep your money.

Page 1 of 3 · 40 reviews

Rug Doctor — Review Summary

Based on 40 verified customer reviews, Rug Doctor holds an average rating of 1.7 out of 5 — rated Bad on ReviewTerminal. 15% of customers gave 4 or 5 stars.

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