I went to Menards in Crystal Lake, Illinois this morning to grab some of the coupon and rebate deals. I went out last week to grab some of the previous ad’s free-after-rebate items, so today was all about bargain-priced cleaners, motor oil, and of course… free toothbrushes!
The Oral B Shiny Clean toothbrushes have been on sale since last week’s ad, but the new 9/25 PG has a coupon for $1.25 off 2 Oral B toothbrushes. It does not exclude this variety, so we’re well-stocked on toothbrushes now.
I also picked up four 8-packs of Dial bar soap. It’s on sale for $2.97 this week. With the $1-off-2 from the 9/11 RP2, it’s $2.47.
Heading over to the cleaning aisle, I also stocked up on Sprayway glass cleaner. 19-ounce cans are on sale in the new ad for $1.69 through 10/1 as well, and with the $1-off-2 coupon from the 8/14 RP, I paid $1.19 per can! (We go through a lot of glass cleaner since topping our kitchen table with glass last year.)
Next, I grabbed four bottles of Shaw Carpet Stain & Soil Remover. It’s on sale for $4.99 and FREE after a $4.99 rebate, limit 4. I love free cleaners, of course, but the real reason I sought this out was because of a tip from my father.
Dad borrowed our Bissell carpet shampooer/steamer recently, and I’d give him a partial bottle of Bissell carpet shampoo to go with it. When he returned the steamer, he told me what he’d put in the solution reservoir after the Bissell shampoo was gone:
This.
Free-after-rebate Shaw Carpet spray from Menards..!
I was incredulous as I assumed this was a spot cleaner. Even more amazing? He swears this Shaw carpet cleaner did a better job than the Bissell solution.
Silly me — I’ve been buying the pricey Bissell stuff because… well… the steamer’s documentation said to. My machine is no worse for having a different brand of cleaner run through it, and I’m looking forward to free carpet cleaning in my future.
I then headed over to automotive, where I looked forward to grabbing 24 quarts of Valvoline synthetic motor oil, which is $2.99 each after rebate this week. (I love Menards’ oil rebates, by the way — it makes it even more cost-effective to change my own oil.) However, I was greeted with an empty shelf where the 5W30 should be. The Crystal Lake Menards checked the stock, but they were completely sold out.
The Woodstock store did have Valvoline in stock though, so I headed down Route 14 to the Woodstock Menards to complete my deal-hunting for the day.
I arrived at the Woodstock store a short while later and completed my Valvoline run. As I was loading my oil into the cart, I saw that a lot of camping and outdoor gear was on clearance, so I headed down the aisle to check for potential bargains there too.
These soft-sided 6-can coolers were only .99 each! We never seem to have enough of these, especially for sporting events and summer day trips, so I picked up three of them. This was my only unplanned purchase of the trip, but that price is hard to beat. The funny thing is, I completely missed buying these coolers the week they were $1.99 back in June, as I didn’t get to the store that week.
Woodstock shoppers, there were nine or ten coolers left on the shelf after I bought mine. (For you deal-seekers, Woodstock had plenty of toothbrushes too as of mid-morning today — I’d say 20 or more — unlike the Crystal Lake store, which was down to four Oral-B Shiny Cleans after I bought mine.)
Here’s the aftermath! I learned today too that Menards’ checkout lanes have extra large bags if you ask for them. These extra large bags each hold 12 quarts of motor oil nicely.
My sons often tease me after a Menards run… they like to point out that Menards’ theme song says “Save big money at Menards,” but “Mom, you spend big money at Menards too!”
And, of course, once I returned home from two Menards in one morning, I found this in my mailbox:
Wouldn’t it have been nice to have gotten this before I hit the stores today?! Just another excuse to go to Menards again… :)
SSMark1 says
I’ve used that Shaw’s in my Max Extractor carpet machine as well in the past.
It really does work great!
I love rolling the store credits, then you don’t have to pay tax on that amount. & Repeat & Repeat & Repeat…
You can always return & repurchase most of the stuff you bought or if you have a nice customer service person, they will do it for you.
-Mark
Coupon Maven says
Oh, no worries – I am at Menards almost every week and always seem to have one project or another to spend these on!
And, apparently, I am the only one who looked at a spray bottle of carpet spot cleaner and DIDN’T think to empty it into a carpet steamer and clean that way. Who knew?
It’s funny – I could not find the carpet cleaner at Crystal Lake right away, and I asked an employee for help. He showed me where it was and was putting it in my cart for me, asking if I wanted a mix of carpet and hard floor cleaners. I said no, I wanted as much carpet cleaner as I could get because of what I planned to do with it.
He, of course, asked “What are you doing with it?” I told him what my dad told me — that he empties it into the carpet steamer reservoir instead of solution. He said “Really… we have a carpet steamer too. I never, ever thought to do that. I think I may get some too after work.”
sportnfood says
So you just pour the Shaw cleaner in at full strength? Don’t dilute it? I think this afternoon I will be getting myself some free carpet cleaner too!
I have a small Bissell spot cleaner, but think it should work in that too.
Coupon Maven says
I have not tried it yet myself, but yes, Dad said he just poured it in there straight without dilution. My Bissell has a smaller tank for the solution and then a larger clean-water tank — the steamer mixes the two as you push it around, so it does get mixed/diluted in the machine.