You’ve worked hard to get stains out of your carpet, cleaned it as much as
possible, it still looks dingy? Or the carpet looks beautifully clean, but
now your furniture looks frumpy next to the nice fresh carpet? Time to
call in the professionals.
A professional cleaning service, if competent and well-trained, can make
your carpets and upholstery look bright and new. The power of
truck-mounted equipment and hot water extraction can make all the
difference in the world.
Begin by looking in the Yellow Pages (in print or online at
yellowpages.com), under Carpet & Rug Cleaners. You will no doubt find at
least a handful, and in a large city, probably a few dozen. How do you
decide which of these companies is right for you? If you are methodical
about it, you can narrow down the choices until you find the best cleaning
service.
Make a few telephone calls and get price quotes, starting with companies
that are smaller and locally-owned. Ask them exactly:
* what they do,
* how they do it,
* how much it costs, and
* what kinds of machines and chemicals are involved.
Truck-mounted equipment is standard, but is not always necessary for a
thorough, professional cleaning job. The good companies will have portable
equipment that does the same job as a truck-mounted extractor. What you
want is to make sure that they vacuum, treat stains, spray with detergent
(what kind?), and have some sort of agitation or scrubbing, then hot-water
extraction — in that order. You also want to make sure that they wear
shoe covers when they come into your home. Many companies describe on
their websites exactly what they do.
Try to find a company such as oxifresh.com that uses “green” or
eco-friendly cleaning products; they’re better for the environment and for
your health and your family’s. This is especially important if you have
pets and/or small children. You can even use the words “green carpet
cleaning” in a web search. Many small, locally-owned companies such as
missoulagreencarpetcleaning.com now offer environmentally safe services –
check in your area.
Don’t base your decision solely on the above, but ask a few more
sophisticated questions.
* Is the company insured and bonded? If they do any damage in your home,
who pays for it? If you are injured because of something directly related
to the cleaning (breathing fumes, or slipping on a wet carpet) who pays
for it?
* Do they do the work themselves? Some places advertising themselves as
carpet/upholstery cleaning companies are actually sub-contractors who hire
the work out to a third, independent person. Some of these are good, but
many are not! You can’t take that risk.
* Is the company a member of the Better Business Bureau? (Often it’s a
good idea to check the company out with the BBB at http://www.bbb.org to
see what their record is.)
* Ask around the neighborhood — talk to people at your church, school,
grocery store. Has anyone ever heard of or employed this company? How
satisfied were they? Look on the internet and see if the company is listed
on any consumer reports-type websites, and what kind of ratings they
received.
* Are the workers trained and certified with an organization such as the
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
(http://www.iicrc.org) or the Restoration Industry Association
(http://www.ascr.org)?
* Do they have an iron-clad guarantee — if they messed up, missed
something, or in any way you are not pleased with the results, do they
offer a full refund?, will they come back and correct the problems for
free?
It’s not impossible to find high quality carpet and upholstery cleaning
service at reasonable prices. Follow these guidelines, and you will avoid
a lot of unnecessary frustration.
Tags: Carpet Cleaning, Carpet Cleaning Service, Deodorizing Carpets, Find a Carpet Cleaning Service, Pet Stains, Restoration Services, Rug Cleaning, Spot Removal, Upholstery Cleaning