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Beware of companies that charge by the square foot
but don’t move any furniture around to clean underneath it!
The chance of
getting a novice carpet cleaning technician is fairly high, especially
if you are dealing with a large company with a high turnover rate.
Submitted by Sandra Ferguson of
New Hampshire
For example, if your room is 12' x 12',
you could be charged for 144 square feet regardless of the furniture in
the room. You might pay 10 to 30 percent more than you should have to
pay.
The chance of getting a novice carpet cleaning technician is fairly
high, especially if you are dealing with a large company with a high
turnover rate. Novice technicians generally have an improper wand
stroke. This means that they leave areas of the carpet uncleaned or too
wet.
Even experienced carpet cleaners don’t know everything about all
cleaning chemicals or which chemical to use for a particular stain. Some
have inadequate knowledge of chemicals and stain removal. Often they
will simply try one product after another until something works. This is
very bad! Using the wrong chemical may set the stain instead of removing
it, or damage your carpet. You’ll end up footing the bill to have your
carpet replaced.
Never, never leave a carpet cleaning technician in your home alone. This
gives them the perfect opportunity to take short cuts at your expense!
They want to finish quickly so they can fit more jobs in per day. Unless
you know your carpet cleaner well and have used his services for a long
time, don’t leave until the job has been completed to your satisfaction.
Never let a technician apply a spray-on guard or Teflon protector
product to your carpets unless you see the original container with the
seal still intact. Dishonest technicians will merely use tap water mixed
with very little, if any, protector. Also, the chemical should be
applied with a spray attachment connected to the carpet cleaning
machine. A hand pump-up sprayer cannot achieve sufficient pressure to
apply the chemical. The pressure should be at least 45 psi. A
“hydroforce” sprayer is the type most commonly used.
Often you will obtain a quote over the phone that sounds good, but when
the cleaners arrive, you’ll find that the price has suddenly changed due
to unexpected conditions. They are attempting to take more of your hard
earned money than they should. Before agreeing to a quote, have them
detail what their services include. If possible, get an agreement in
writing before you finalize the deal. Make sure that you know beforehand
what you are expected to pay, what services they are to perform, and any
factors that could possibly require modification of the agreement.
Many carpet cleaners use pre-sprays to help them clean the carpet
faster. These pre-sprays typically void the carpet's warranty. Most
cleaners will tell you that the chemicals in the pre-spray are safe, but
they are not. If your warranty is voided because the pre-spray has ph
levels that are too high, you won’t be able to have the carpet replaced.
You’ll have to pay for a replacement out of your own pocket! This
warning applies to nylon and polyester carpet, not to olefin.
Too often dry cleaning companies only clean the surface of the carpet
and leave chemicals in the pile that eventually make the carpet turn
yellow or brown. They vacuum, use a pre-spray, and then use a bonnet
with a buffer, or floor machine, but they don’t get the ground-in dirt
out. The chemical cleaners stay in the carpet and make it dingy because
of the high ph level in the pre-spray. In addition, dirt will stick to
the chemicals in the carpet and the carpet will soon need cleaning
again. Steam cleaning is the method most often recommended for cleaning
carpets, as it is thorough and effective.
Guides to carpet cleaning:
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