Resolve Deep Clean Powder Carpet Cleaner

Resolve is a registered trademark name for cleaning products packaged through Reckitt Benckiser. You may not recognize the name Reckitt Benckiser, but you will recognize some of their popular product lines: Lysol, Mucinex and Woolite. Reckitt Benckiser has a line of carpet cleaning products in both spray and powder form. I purchased an 18-ounce container of Resolve Deep Clean Powder and was stunned to see what it did to my carpet.

How It's Applied

First, you vacuum the carpet. The 18 ounce "Resolve Deep Clean Powder" container says it will clean up to an 8 foot by 10 foot area. The directions say to first shake the container. The bright red container has a twist top much like a container of baby powder. They tell you to sprinkle the concoction on a small area where you are then to work it into the carpet fibers using a soft bristled brush. You are to continue brushing and applying more cleaner if needed to lift stains. After waiting 20 minutes for the powder to dry, you vacuum it up using a new bag in the vacuum.

The Ultimate Challenge

I have an 8 foot by 10 foot wool fiber area rug. The decorative rug has a creamy background with a border of colorful flowers and a flower medallion in the center. I allowed our dog to lie on the rug, a decision only dog lovers will appreciate. The dog's area of the rug became obvious as her fur oils left a darkened area on the creamy part of the rug. As disappointing as that was, it wasn't until I had been away from the house for a day that upon my return, it was clear we had a dog in the house. That area rug smelled horrible, something that I became accustomed to and didn't recognize until my nasal passages had cleared.

Having tried spray carpet cleaners to no avail, I paid the high price for this container of Resolve powder carpet cleaner. At Wal-Mart, the container cost almost $8. Seemed like a lot, but that is far, far cheaper than having the carpet professionally cleaned, and that was assuming the powder would work.

What Happened

I vacuumed the carpet and as directed shook the container before sprinkling some in a small area. Using a soft bristled broom, I slowly worked the powder left, right, up, down and even in circles. I say "slowly" because if you brush fast, the powder flies.

After finishing the whole rug, there was a white hue left by the powder. The room had a pleasant fragrance, almost like vanilla. Because it was particularly humid that day, I left the powder to dry for more than hour. Rather than placing a new bag in the vacuum as directed, I decided to use the current bag to collect the powder, which I figured had to carry some unpleasant odors. That way, I wouldn't be stuck with a new bag of stinky powder that could necessitate using yet another new bag to toss the stinky one-vacuum bags are not cheap.

It took more back and forth action with the vacuum to pull up the powder than it typically does to just vacuum the rug. I used the upholstery tool on the raised floral design of the short pile rug. With that complete, I replaced the vacuum bag and went over the carpet again, confident that little or no smelly powder would be lingering in the bag to smell up the house with subsequent vacuuming.

It was a eureka moment. That soiled area left by the dog's fur was gone. The carpet fibers felt soft. The creamy background was back. The best part is that the carpet no longer smells. I was stunned to see how an $8 product could so easily make such a dramatic difference. I'll be keeping a container handy to at least monthly clean the small area the dog calls home.

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I was not compensated by the manufacturer/packager of Resolve Deep Clean Powder to write this review.