Professional Carpet Cleaning Services

Professional Carpet Cleaning Services was first seen on First Class Reviews

We all know that vacuuming your carpets is not enough to thoroughly clean them. The dirt, allergens and other substances that penetrate the fibers of your carpets can be very detrimental to your (and your family members’) health in the long run, unless your carpets are regularly cleaned either by you or by a professional (or a company) you hire. This is especially true if you have pets or little kids that can add daily mishaps to the mix.

So, you have two options to regularly clean your carpets:

• You can either rent or buy a carpet cleaner and do the cleaning yourself; or
• You hire a professional to do the job for you.

Now, we won’t argue about the pros and cons of renting or buying a carpet cleaner and doing the cleaning yourself (which is the subject of another post). What we want to discuss here today is whether or not hiring a professional cleaner is a good idea, and what are the most important questions you should ask and points you need to consider when hiring one. If you want to get your hands on a good machine and do the cleaning yourself (which has its' own merits), you can check out our latest comparison table and reviews here.

Do your Homework before Hiring

As savvy and informed homeowners and consumers, we all know that we should be quite careful when enlisting the help of any professional service provider. There are certain questions we must ask, and certain points that we need to clear before giving them the job.

And it is no different with carpet cleaning companies. If you fail to ask the important questions beforehand, you may end up spending money for a job-not-so-well-done and regret your decision in the end.

Points to Consider and Questions to Ask when Hiring a Pro

Step One: Finding the right company

The first step is pretty straightforward: you need to find the right company for the job!

• Time in business is a sign of relative success and trustworthiness (after all, a company that constantly does a poor job cleaning their customers’ carpets wouldn’t be in the business for long, would it?). Although it’s not a decisive factor by itself, try and find out how long the company/person has been in the business. The longer, the better.
• Ask for references. Every service provider would be quick to tell you how good they are at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they’ll actually do a good job. Talking to a homeowner who hired them before to take care of their carpets is always a good idea. Even better, if you can get any recommendations from your family and/or friends who recently have their carpets cleaned, you may prefer to go with the cleaners they recommend.
• When you get one or two suitable-looking candidates for the job, call their customer line and talk to the representative. Although you may not be able to determine from a phone conversation whether or not they will remove that nasty stain on your oriental rug, a professional and helpful approach from the representative can be a good indication of a decent service.

Once you find the company that you would like to hire, it will be time to learn the specifics of their service.

First of all, if you have different types of carpets (wall to wall carpets, area rugs, barber, oriental, silk, wool carpets, etc.) that may require different cleaning methods and/or solutions to be used, make sure you mention them to the company. If they will not be able to handle the job as good as you need to, you may want to look for another provider.

Once you determine that the company can handle all the carpets in your house, start talking price. Some companies give quotes for the number of rooms (in case of wall to wall carpets), while some quote based on total space they need to clean. In either case, make sure you get a reasonable price (even if it’s not final). You should also find out if they have a minimum rate policy. Some companies may have such policies and you may end up paying more than you thought because of that.

Additional Services You can Get from Carpet Cleaning Companies

Some of the carpet cleaning companies you will get in touch with will be able to offer additional services (most likely with additional costs) that you can benefit from. That’s why it’s always a good idea to think of such services that you may need beforehand, and inquire about them before making your final decision.

Some of these additional services include:

• Upholstery cleaning
• Hardwood cleaning
• Car/RV interior cleaning
• Protection against future stains
• Air duct/air conditioning cleaning

Even if not every professional carpet cleaner will be able to provide these services, it never hurts to ask, and you may get a discounted service when you hire them (as opposed to hiring someone else to perform such services separately).

If you have any other ideas or checklists you use when hiring professionals, please do not hesitate to share them with us and our readers using the comments section.

Happy cleaning!