There are many factors to consider when choosing a company to clean your carpets, whether at your business or your home. The 5 most common of those are listed below.
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification is your guarantee that a cleaning company has the experience and technical knowledge to do a professional job. The certification from the IICRC is earned through study and experience, with formal written examinations to assure you that the carpet cleaner you choose is competent and experienced.
Not all carpet cleaning products and equipment clean equally well, and some may even cause damage to your carpets. The CRI Seal of Approval is your assurance that your carpet cleaner is using products and equipment that have been tested for specific performance criteria and passed with flying colors. Using a carpet cleaning company that is recognized as a CRI Seal of Approval service provider lets you know that your carpets are being cleaned professionally, using quality products and equipment that will not damage your carpets.
The Hot Water Carpet Extraction method (HWCE), is recommended by most carpet and carpet fiber manufacturers. Also known as Hot Water Extraction, Warm Water Extraction or Steam Cleaning, this method is the only carpet cleaning method to be classified as ‘deep cleaning’. Other methods leave soil deep in the pile, as well as residue from the cleaning agents used. Shaw Industries, the world’s leading carpet manufacturer, recommends this method based on their own research results, as published in their maintenance brochure.
Although this method is often called steam cleaning, it does not use steam at all. A solution of water and detergent is sprayed onto the carpet to force the dirt out, which is then sucked up by a vacuum slot positioned immediately in front of the spray. The HWCE method penetrates deep into the pile of the carpet, and the use of hot water loosens the dirt more efficiently to provide a superior cleaning service.
Low prices – sometimes as low as $3-95 per room – are often used as bait to lure customers into using a carpet cleaning company. Be wary of these operators – once they arrive in your home or business you are then pressurised into buying add-ons which are often included the more expensive price from a reputable carpet cleaner. Sometimes these add-ons are necessary to clean the carpets properly, and you are forced into paying more than you expected.
Proper equipment and trained personnel are not cheap. Low prices may indicate that poorly trained personnel are working with cheap, inefficient equipment that may damage your carpets.
After having made the investment in carpeting, paying a fair price for a professional carpet cleaner to keep those carpets looking beautiful longer just makes sense.
A reputable carpet cleaning company should be willing to be accountable for its work. If the company doesn’t trust their work enough to offer a full money-back guarantee, why should you?
Not all cleaners offer a guarantee, and some offer ‘limited’ guarantees that often turn out to be no guarantee at all. Make sure that the cleaning company you use offers a money-back guarantee, and make sure that it is clearly stated on the written quotation or agreement.
Avoiding these 5 mistakes will hep you choose a professional, reputable carpet cleaning company that will provide an efficient service. Cleaning methods, equipment, cleaning products and trained personnel make a considerable difference to the quality of the work carried out, and industry certifications and guarantees give you peace of mind. All these factors add up to a significant investment made by the carpet cleaning company in order to provide a professional service. Their pricing may not be the lowest in town, but often it is better to pay a little more for a much higher return.
