Carpet Cleaning Myths To Junk

Carpet Cleaning

Cuddles Stay, Odors Go

Furry friends add fun to any home—but they can also add unwanted aromas. Traditional carpet cleaners rely on perfumes or deodorizers that add residue and work only temporarily to mask these odors.

Spills and Stains – Solved for Good

Deep stains in carpet or upholstery can ruin the look of a room. It’s tempting to think that it takes harsh detergents or strong chemicals to get stains out. However, the truth is detergents always leave behind a soapy residue—and soapy residue actually attracts dirt and oil towards the fibers of your carpet or furniture. Furthermore, some chemicals can damage fine fabrics.

Thorough Care for Your Thoroughfares

It’s easy to see discoloration in the high-traffic areas of many carpets. However, discoloration is often the first thing to reappear after a traditional carpet cleaning. Conventional cleaners use a lot of high-temperature water even though high-temperature water can damage a carpet’s backing and seep underneath carpet. When carpet is exposed to footsteps, stains rise up from the pad beneath.

How to Clean a Carpet: Super easy carpet cleaning tips and tricks

If you have carpets in your house, then they’re probably constantly bombarded will all kinds of stains and dirt. So, to maintain a clean domestic environment, it’s always a good idea to learn how to clean carpets without a machine. Keeping in mind that there isn’t a single best way to clean a carpet, we have gathered the best carpet cleaning tips and tricks to help you in your day to day battle with dirt.

How to vacuum carpets right

To achieve the best results in your weekly cleaning ritual, it’s always good to have some order in the way you take care of your carpets. To make sure you’re vacuuming carpets properly, follow the steps below and enjoy a clean home.

Dust surfaces first

The best way to start is to dust all the furniture, blinds, window frames, baseboards, and any other places where dust usually builds up. All the fallen residue will be vacuumed up after.

Prepare the room in advance

Go around the rooms and pick up any objects which might get in the way of the vacuum cleaner. This includes mainly the toys of kids and pets, shoes, and small decorative items. Don’t forget to look under the sofa, or any other piece of furniture to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Use the proper vacuum hose attachments

When vacuuming carpets, you will need different vacuum attachments, depending on the area you’re working on. For example, the edges of the carpets and baseboards are the ones collecting the most dust and they are the places you should start from. You can use a nozzle attachment for them and a cranny extension if there is any furniture you need to reach under to remove accumulated dust.

steps to take before getting your carpets cleaned

Grubby carpets and rugs? Say no more. Whether you’ve got one of the best carpet cleaners or you’re getting the professionals in to do the job for you, you’ll still need to prepare before you can get those carpets looking like new again.

Declutter and remove as much furniture as you can

Any cleaning job is much easier if you have a clear space to work with. Before you can even start cleaning your carpets or let the professionals work their magic, take out any potential trip hazards. Shoes, bags, and clutter that we’re all guilty of leaving around need to be tidied away or simply taken out of the area you need to clean.

Protect your walls 

If you’re getting a professional carpet cleaning company to do the work for you, it’s worth thinking about your walls. As carpet cleaners can be pretty bulky and some come with large hoses, consider using good quality painter’s tape where cleaning cords or hoses could leave ugly black marks. Problem areas normally include baseboards, doorways, and corners.

Hang up your curtains 

If you have curtains or drapes that reach the floor, now is the time to protect them from getting wet and dangling on the damp carpet after it has been cleaned. If you’re going all out and want your whole room to be spotlessly clean, now is also a great time to take your curtains down and wash them, or alternatively most carpet cleaners have attachments that are great for cleaning curtains or upholstery. 

Take your pets out

Your furry friends might be cute, but their hair and fur can get pretty much everywhere – especially when there are damp carpets for them to stick to. If you’re cleaning the carpets yourself, check out our advice on the best way to stay on top of pet hair. If you’re getting the professionals in, take your pets out of the room and make sure they’re not frightened by any newcomers in your home, as well as the noises and beeps some carpet cleaning machines can make.

Carpet Cleaner

Pay for carpet cleaners varies depending on skills, experience, and the type of work they do.

Carpet cleaners in training can expect to earn minimum wage.

After two to three years they usually earn $19 to $25.

Carpet cleaners who are qualified as carpet cleaning technicians can earn up to $30 an hour.

Carpet cleaners may do some or all of the following:

discuss clients’ requirements and assess what cleaning needs to be done

choose the best cleaning methods for the job

clean carpets, hard floors, chairs, sofas and curtains

remove or reduce stains

sell products for cleaning and protecting carpets and furniture

use sprays to control pests such as fleas, cockroaches and ants

Flood restoration technicians also:

assess flood damage to floors and upholstery from water, mud, sewage and mould

use specialised drying equipment such as dehumidifiers and pumps

wash and sanitise carpets and upholstery.

Carpet cleaners need to have knowledge of:

carpets and furniture fabrics

stain removers and other chemicals

how to use and care for their equipment.

How to Identify These Devious Carpet Cleaning Scams

Scammers are more common than most of us would hope. Although the majority of businesses are honest, you can usually find deceitful people in any industry, carpet cleaners included.

We all wish it wasn’t true, but there are some people out there that are just looking to fool honest consumers out of their money with carpet cleaning scams.

How to Avoid the Bait and Switch

Bait and switch is a common illegal practice and one of the most often used carpet cleaning scams. It begins with a company advertising prices that are so much lower than any competitors’ that it will always seem like too good of a deal to pass up. But if you take a step back and give it a second glance, you’ll notice that there MUST be a reason why the price is so low. This is the bait, and it looks mighty appetizing.

The Way They Pull This Carpet Cleaning Scam Off Might Surprise You

The second half of this scam happens once you’ve agreed with a price and the cleaner shows up for your appointment. There are actually a number of common excuses that scammers tend to use, but ultimately they are going to make a point to say that you need more done than what was previously agreed to.

These excuses will go something like:

You have a special type of carpet that requires a more complex cleaning method.

Your carpet stains are “extra stubborn” and require XYZ expensive product.

The price costs more for “Deep Cleaning” or you carpets are heavily soiled and the basic service won’t work.

The price quoted was only for traffic lanes, so cleaning the entire room costs more.

Adding service charges, soap charges, equipment charges, etc.

Your rooms are odd shapes or too big, so it costs more.

Any other previously un-discussed charges that show up out of nowhere.