I've looked at the RugBadger website, read the background on how it was developed, and it appears to be a worthwhile machine. For those unfamiliar with
area rug cleaning, the first step is called "dusting".
Dusting attempts to remove much of the dust that is packed deep down into the fibers of carpets. In-plant
rug cleaning facilities usually blow compressed air
thru the back of the rug to remove dust, lint, etc.
Those of us who offer the cleaning of area rugs on the
customer's premises flip the rug over and run a reel
brush type of vacuum cleaner over the back. This
dislodges some but by no means all of the deeply buried dust. The RugBadger appears to be along the line of a vacuum cleaner on steroids. Apparently it
beats on the back of the upside-down rug, and forces out A LOT of buried stuff. Cost is about $2500.
Mark, how are you cleaning small'ish area rugs? i've tried OP'ing some in my house and as i've read from other OP users on other forums, their OP's would not do well on smaller rugs either...the rug doesn't want to stay in place because of the OP movement.