Consumer’s Guide To Carpet Cleaning

Think Twice Before Hiring a Carpet Cleaner

Before you decide on a carpet cleaning service, take a moment to arm yourself with the knowledge from this essential guide.

In This Guide, You Will Learn:

• The truth about common carpet cleaning scams.
• Misconceptions that could cost you.
• The hidden world within your carpet.
• The best cleaning methods for your needs.
• Choosing a carpet cleaner: Mistakes to avoid.
• Understanding the balance between cost and value.
• Steps to achieve a truly clean carpet.

Dear Homeowner,

Selecting a carpet cleaning service isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

The market is filled with misleading ads, confusing claims, and outright false information. From rock-bottom prices to high-pressure sales and unqualified technicians, navigating the maze to find a professional carpet cleaner is a challenge.

This guide is your first step. It will equip you with the knowledge to navigate the pitfalls, understand carpet cleaning better, and make a choice you won’t regret.

Avoiding Carpet Cleaning Scams

Scam #1: The Price Trap

Low prices are tempting but often a sign of a scam. Some services may advertise an incredibly low rate to get their foot in the door, only to reveal hidden costs once they start.

Scam #2: Bait-and-Switch

Beware of services offering a cheap “basic clean” then pressuring you to upgrade to a more expensive option. This tactic leaves you paying more for subpar service.

Scam #3: Unfounded Claims

“Best cleaning method” claims are everywhere. Remember, the best method is what best meets your specific needs, not what’s best for the cleaner’s wallet.

Scam #4: Outdated Advice

Ignore the myth that hot water damages carpets. Modern techniques have made hot water extraction safe and effective.

Common Misconceptions

Misconception #1: Wait to Clean

Delaying cleaning wears your carpet out faster due to the abrasive nature of dirt. Regular cleaning extends your carpet’s life.

Misconception #2: Cleaning Just Removes Dirt

It’s not just about dirt. Cleaning also removes pollutants and allergens that could be affecting your health.

Misconception #3: Any Method Works

Not all cleaning methods are equal. Hot water extraction, recommended by leading manufacturers, is often the most effective.

Choosing Wisely: Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Equipment Focus

Great equipment alone isn’t enough. Skilled, knowledgeable operators are crucial.

Mistake #2: The Low Price Lure

The cheapest option can lead to poor service and unexpected costs. Quality comes at a price.

Mistake #3: Rushed Decisions

Don’t choose based on a single call. Ask for an in-home estimate and a written quote.

Mistake #4: Skipping the Guarantee

Choose a company that stands behind its work with a solid guarantee.

Mistake #5: Not Researching

Check with the Better Business Bureau to avoid companies with poor reputations.

Mistake #6: Ignoring Method

Truck-mounted, hot water extraction is superior. Don’t settle for less effective methods.

Price vs. Value: What’s Important?

Choosing between price and value is key. For a clean and healthy carpet, invest in professional, thorough cleaning.

Desiring a Truly Clean Carpet?

It’s about more than just appearance. A truly clean carpet impacts your home’s health and air quality.

Your Path to a Clean Carpet

1. Commit to cleanliness.
2. Define your cleaning goals.
3. Ask the right questions.
4. Insist on a written quote.

Ready to choose a cleaner? Keep this guide in mind. For a comprehensive, no-pressure consultation, reach out to us. We’re here to educate and serve you, ensuring your carpet is not just clean but healthy too.

Thank You!

Thank you for considering this guide. We’re here to ensure you make an informed choice for a clean, healthy home.

Homemade Carpet Care Recipes

To clean a carpet thoroughly, there’s nothing quite like getting in professionals to deep clean whatever’s on the floors of your home. It’s recommended by carpet manufacturers that you get your carpets, mats and rugs professionally cleaned once a year. However, day-to-day carpet cleaning is also important, and you don’t want to call in the professional carpet shampooing team once a week. Well, you could, but it’s probably unnecessary and expensive for you, even if you find a low-price carpet cleaning company.

As part of your routine carpet care, you might want to try a few homemade natural cleaning products. Most of us know the importance of reducing toxins while ensuring that our homes are clean, hygienic and beautiful. Making your carpet care products is one way to do this.

Of course, none of these products should be used alone. You’ll still need to get out the vacuum cleaner for regular sessions. However, they can form part of your toolkit for maintaining your carpets.

Carpet Fragrance

For many people, it’s enough to have carpets that don’t stink. However, if you want to level up your carpet game, perhaps you could consider adding a pleasant scent to your carpets instead. You can buy commercial powders that are designed to scent your carpets, mats and rugs, but these have got something of a bad reputation thanks to the artificial chemicals that are rather toxic. However, this won’t be the case with this homemade carpet fragrance that absorbs bad smells and adds a scent you like.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of baking soda
• 20 drops of the essential oil(s) of your choice (I like a combination of lavender, citrus and peppermint, but use what you love and have fun experimenting with what you can find)

Method:

Put the baking soda into a screw-top airtight jar. Add the essential oils, close the jar, and then shake well. Leave the baking soda to take up the essential oils. Before you vacuum, sprinkle the fragranced powder all over the carpet and leave it to sit on the fibres for about 10 minutes. Vacuum, as usual, is taking up the powder and the usual dust and debris. As a bonus, you’ll smell the fragrance as you vacuum afterwards.

To make an unscented version, leave out the essential oil. Most essential oils have antiseptic properties, but if you want to make something more powerful in terms of germ-killing ability, use tea tree, eucalyptus, lemon, thyme or clove oil – and they’ll all smell nice!

DIY Spot Cleaning Spray

Small stains and spots of dirt can be treated effectively and easily at home without needing a professional stain removal specialist. The easiest dirty spots and stains to clean are mud, soft drinks and other drinks, and spilt food (but possibly not curry – that can be a bit harder to remove). This spray will help lift out the dirt and clean your carpet. However, it might do too good a job showing how dirty the rest of the carpet is. If this happens to you, maybe it’s time you talk to your friendly local carpet cleaning company!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 cup of cold water
• four tablespoons of grated soap or soap scraps
• one teaspoon of detergent liquid (the sort for washing dishes)
• ½ cup of white vinegar
• essential oils (optional)

Method:

Add the soap scraps to the boiling water and stir well, then allow to cool to a gel. Pour this into a spray bottle (use a funnel for this). Add all the other ingredients and shake well to combine them. Ensure the mixture is completely cool before using it, as heat can set certain types of stains. Spray this mixture lightly onto any dirty spot that needs treatment, then scrub it gently to create a lather. Only scrub gently, and work from the outside of the stain to the inside to avoid spreading the stain further. The lather will lift the dirt out of the carpet. Blot the lather away with an absorbent cloth or paper towel, then keep blotting until the carpet fibres feel dry. Avoid walking on or covering the spot for the next 2 or 3 hours to allow the carpet to dry completely.

Pet Pee Treatment

One of the big problems when a new puppy or kitten has an accident on the carpet, is that the lingering smell in the fibres will send the message “It’s OK to pee here” to your pet. Removing the smell is important when dealing with pet pee in carpets. Disinfecting the area is another important step for the health of your home.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• one teaspoon of detergent liquid
• ¼ cup of vodka
• 15 drops of eucalyptus essential oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. To remove pet urine, start by blotting up as much of the urine as possible. After you have removed as much as you can, lightly mist the area with the spray. Use a soft scrubbing brush to create a lather, then blot away the lather. Repeat this process, then blot again until the carpet fibres are touch-dry. To be sure of removing the smell completely, use the carpet fragrance described above.

The same method also works for pet poop, but be sure to physically remove as much of the poo as possible before applying the spray.

Other DIY Carpet Care Hacks And Tips

Your DIY carpet care toolkit can contain several other handy bits and pieces. These can’t be called recipes, as they don’t require you to mix and measure anything. However, they’re so useful that you can’t leave them out!

• A rubber squeegee. If damp, it removes pet hair very readily from carpets, mats and rugs, and upholstery. Run the rubber blade along the carpet and watch all that pet hair lift away! Use a paper towel or cloth to remove the loosened pet hair as you go.
• Hydrogen peroxide. This is one of the best ways to remove bloodstains and other protein stains, such as egg yolk. This chemical dissolves the protein (with a very satisfactory fizz into the bargain). Apply it onto the spot, then let it do its magic. Once it’s finished fizzing, blot the liquid away. It also makes a great topical disinfectant for your first aid cupboard.
• Salt. Sprinkle this onto red wine stains – the salt is more absorbent than the carpet fibres, so that it will draw the liquid up. Sweep it up, then use the spot-cleaning spray described above to remove any residues.
• A hot iron. Usually, heat and stains on the carpet don’t make a good combination. However, if fat or wax has hardened in the carpet fibres, heat will help you get it out. Cover the affected area with paper towels or a wad of loo paper – use enough to ensure that the carpet doesn’t touch the iron directly. Apply the hot iron (the lowest setting) to the spot to melt the fat or wax. The paper will absorb the liquid oil so you can remove it.
• Ice. Use this to freeze chewing gum or solid substances so they can be picked or cracked off the carpet.
• Vodka, methylated spirits or white spirits. This is your best bet for removing permanent marker, felt tip pen or ballpoint pen ink from the carpet. You don’t need to use a lot – apply it to a cloth, then dab the affected area rather than pour the alcohol onto the carpet. After doing this, you’ll need to let the room air, so the place doesn’t smell like you’ve been on the sauce.

Nothing feels like knowing you are not using harmful agents in your home. Your pets will love it, your kids will thank you for it, and you will be grateful you read this article today ;).

Peace!

Rug And Carpet Cleaning Tips For Pet Lovers

There’s no denying that we love our pets. For many people, a home just isn’t a home without at least one cat or dog living in it alongside humans. However, as much as we love our pets, we probably don’t love the mess that they inevitably make inside our homes and on our carpets. Even cats, who are supposed to be very clean animals, manage to make mistakes and leave a mess on the carpet.

Pets are especially messy during the house training period. Of course, techniques for teaching your pet not to go to the lavatory on the carpet would make a whole article, if not a whole book, in itself. All we can say here is that it’s important to be persistent and patient, and to use rewards for the right behaviour frequently. It’s not just cats and dogs that can be housetrained successfully. A very wide range of pets can be housetrained so you can give them the run of the house without fearing for the appearance (and smell) of your carpets – even chickens, parrots and rats. The only pets you can’t housetrain adequately are mice. Mice have no sphincter muscles controlling their bladders, meaning that as soon as urine hits their bladders, out it comes. So maybe keep the mice in their cage (and clean it frequently), and wash your hands very well indeed after playing with your pet mice.

All the same, even when you have managed to teach your pet not to pee in the living room, accidents happen. Somebody will have to clean the resulting mess up, and that somebody is probably you. It certainly won’t be your pet!

Prevention Is Better Than a Cleaning Bill

In an ideal world, you will never find a pile or a puddle left by your pet on the rug or in the corner of the living room carpet. However, the world is not ideal. Furthermore, it’s not just pee or poop that animals can get on the carpet – they can bleed and throw up as well.

The less that you have to clean up after your pet, the better. A few simple steps may help reduce the number of times that you have to get busy with the rubber gloves on:

• If you use a litter box for your cat or dog, make sure that you change it frequently. If it’s full up, a cat won’t use it. Also make sure that it’s easy to access.
• Let your cat or dog outside for a reasonable amount of time during the day if possible. This means that your cat or dog can do their business outside where it’s easier to clean.
• Make sure that your pet is not stressed – cats pee in self-defence if they feel threatened. So do dogs, to a certain extent.
• If your pet is suddenly peeing more often in the house after getting it right for years, this may be a sign of a medical problem so see the vet.
• If possible, ensure that your pet sleeps outside overnight.
• Install a cat door so your cat can get into the garden to relieve him/herself.
• Some puppies show submission by peeing when scolded. Take steps to boost your pet’s confidence – you achieve a lot more by praising good behaviour than by punishing bad behaviour.
• If you notice your pet retching and coughing as though about to vomit, quickly move him/her to an area that’s easy to clean.
• Unspayed bitches will produce a small amount bloody discharge when they come into season. If possible, confine her to an easy to clean area. It’s also possible to buy “hygiene pads” for dogs, which are a canine equivalent of sanitary napkins.

However, the worst can still happen. Somebody will close the door and shut Fluffy or Fido away from the litter box. What are you going to do about the resulting pile or puddle?

Cleaning Up Puddles

Puddles are usually urine, but can also be vomit. Act quickly to prevent staining. As always, wear rubber gloves and use cleaning tools that are kept for “yucky” jobs rather than the ones that you use for cleaning the kitchen.

• First, blot up as much of the puddle as possible with an old towel or newspaper, and dispose of this.
• Spray the area generously with a disinfectant spray and leave it to kill bacteria.
• Scrub the area well with a gentle scrubbing brush (a harsh one will damage your carpet).
• Blot with a second towel to remove any excess disinfectant and wet mess.
• Sprinkle the area with baking soda to help absorb any smells. Sweep or vacuum up this after 10–24 hours.

Cleaning Up Piles

Never, ever use the vacuum cleaner for removing solid pet mess. Tiny traces will linger in your vacuum cleaner, no matter how you try to clean it afterward. This will mean that every time you vacuum other rooms in the house, you will be blowing eau de dog poop all through your living areas. Not pleasant. Avoid the vacuum cleaner – it’s a hands-on job.

• Scrape up as much mess as you can – a big fat paint scraper or a dustpan is ideal. Dispose of the mess in the toilet.
• Wipe as much of the residual traces (there will be some) as you can using toilet paper.
• Spray a very generous amount of disinfectant onto the area. You should use enough to flood any particles of poop out of the carpet. Leave it on the carpet for some time to kill bacteria.
• Scrub the carpet using a soft scrubbing brush to get the particles out of the carpet fibres.
• Blot the area dry with an old towel or wad of newspaper.
• Sprinkle baking soda on the area to absorb smells. Vacuum or sweep this up after 10–24 hours.

Cleaning Other Mess Your Pet Gets On The Carpet

• Muddy pawmarks: Treat the same way as puddles, although you can use warm soapy water rather than disinfectant.
• Bloodstains: Treat the same way as puddles. Be very careful to use cold water, as heat will set the stain into your carpet.
• Hairs: A regular vacuum cleaner with a good brush head will remove the worst. However, during the moult, you may need something more. Numerous methods can be tried, ranging from a damp towel tied around a broom head (the moisture catches the hairs) to lint rollers and lengths of Velcro.

Why You Still Need To Call In A Professional Carpet Cleaner

Even if you have got onto that puddle or pile as quickly as possible, you may still need to call in a professional cleaner. Obviously, if there are still lingering traces on a light rug that just won’t go no matter what you do, get a pro in to spot-remove the stain.

Pet owners should also make sure they get a professional in to clean the carpets annually to avoid the home getting a doggy or catty smell. No matter how thoroughly you clean your carpets after your pet has made a mess, there will be a little bit of residue remaining. You might not be able to smell this but your pet will. Over time, you will be able to smell it, too! Annual cleaning is a real must – and maybe a session after the house training period is completed wouldn’t go amiss either!