Which cleaning supplies truly work?

Folex!  I got it at Target for about $5.  It worked great on a stain that the people who lived here before us left and has worked great on lots of them.  I have even used it on pesky stains on my clothes from time to time!  I don't think it is a neutralizer for urine but for the stain it works well.  I am sure others will have many suggestions and home made concoctions that will work well too!

great!  I'll try that.  The latest is buppy barf at the bottom of the stairs.  UGH!  I wish my entire house was just hardwood and tile or other hard surface.  I can wash throw rugs!  Not wall-to-wall carpet.
 
Trust me - I do NOT like dirtiness and stains and gross things.  ick! 

[linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=1548&mpage=1&key=Folex쪨]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=1548&mpage=1&key=Folex쪨[/link]
 
Here was another thread about this very topic!  Good luck with your stains!  I finally live in a house that has very little carpet and it is the greatest!  I will never go back if it is up to me!

That's odd..... Nature's miracle has been a miracle for me.

I don't know if you could use greased lighting but I have used it a couple of time to remove stains on my carpet.

I second the Folex suggestion.  It is truly amazing stuff.[] Just soak the stain with it and it will start to disappear - a long handled scrubber will help, too.

Joyce & Max

If you go with the Oxyclean....just be very careful. I used in on my carpet (for juice stains), and the oxyclean bleached the coloring out of my carpet!!!! Yes, I know. I should have done a spot test first....but I didn't. Now I have this huge area on my carpet that is much lighter than the rest. [:@]

I second the Folex suggestion. 

 
I third it! Folex is awesome. []

You can get Folex also at Wal-Mart, just bought some last week.

I've never heard of Folex..... I'll have to keep it in mind if I have any stains that need removing.

Izzy had a poop crate accident last night and managed to get it all over the carpet outside her crate....one of the few places we have carpet in the house.  I am off today so when DH was leaving for work he came in and told me.  I went to check it out and start cleaning and he had sprayed the carpet with the folex and laid a paper towel over it with the bottle on top.  When I picked it up there was NOTHING on the carpet and the paper towel was covered. 
 
It really does work wonders and most of the time there is little to no scrubbing involved.  That probably depends on how deep or set in the stain is and what it is.  Just thought I would add my personal experience to the thread since the very first thing I thought of when DH told me about it was this thread!

I've found  there really is nothing at all that can "get out" stains that have reached the pad.  You can steam clean and that will clean deep enough that the pad stains will take a while to leach back up to the top carpet fibers - which is what will keep happening no matter how thoroughly you clean them.

Now, if you get to the stain immediately- or if it is just a solids stain - there are several products that will help - but pretest first and don't soak the carpet all the way through to the pad.

For musty or doggy odors with no obvious stain, my favorite is the dry carpet cleaning systems.  You can either have a service come do it (it's not very expensive - we had it done every three months when we rented a house with w-w carpets), or you can buy Capture at Lowes home improvement or I think Walmart sells it - it's a bucket of powder, a spray bottle, and a brush you use on a long handle.  Oreck sells a similiar product that is just called Oreck Dry Carpet cleaning system.

For stains I catch right away, I like Spot Shot.  For various stains that involve juice or other food items, google for specific cleaning tips - again, if you catch it when it happens.  For urine, most of the enzyme cleaners work fine until the stain makes it to the pad.  Fortunately that doesn't happen unless the liquid is copious (like a typical adult dog or child accident), or is walked on at all.

If it's cat urine, your money is better spent replacing the carpet and the pad, and maybe the floor underneath!  We just sold our house and had one room that - no lie - we pulled up the rug and pad and were going to have to refinish the floor but fortunately someone bought the house who didn't care.

Good luck!

GREAT information!  Thanks all!  I try to get to these accidents right away, but often I come home from work and find one hours after it's happened.  Luckily no cat pee, just cat vomit.  Dog pee after her steroid shot (why didn't the emergency vet tell me to expect increased urination?)
 
The Nature's Miracle worked really well for the pee spot. But the discolored stain was another story.  I tried oxyclean on one spot, and it worked really well for the discoloration.  I'll be checking WalMart for Folex (since that's closer than Target).
 
Borrowed a steam cleaner, too, so between all of the above I should see some improvements.  Thanks again, all!