Carpet cleaning business – how it runs?

Carpet cleaning business. Do you know that there are a lot of carpet cleaning services in the USA? Starting with huge companies and ending with people who run their small business hoping to earn some money from this business. As you are a customer, you very often do not care about it. And you are right – the most important for you is to get the best service for cheap. You can guess that more companies involved in this business more discounts, coupons and promotions every company tries to do. Why not to use all this. The thing is that carpet cleaning is not something like buying cheap books. You call for a professional  company and you trust it your very expensive luxury carpet. Even if the carpet is cheap you never want it to be damaged. That is why it is so difficult to find high quality and cheap offers at the same time when it comes to carpet cleaning. People who afraid to loose their carpets go and pay twice more that those who prefers to take a chance. Me myself, i never advice to trust a chance in any home improvement. The sad side of all this business is that every company is sure that it is the best, offers the cheapest prices and quotes and their equipment is the newest. I am sure you would do the same if you run this business.

1. Carpet cleaning prices. We can not just trust our neighbours or reviews on Internet like other websites advice. Every company give quotes depending on square meters or number of rooms. Then it includes in the price cost of products or supplies it uses and money it spent on purchasing professional carpet cleaning machines. Each company uses different equipment and solutions. The factor of employees is also important. Those who run their own small business is an owner and cleaner himself. And large companies have to hire employees and plan to spare spend money on their insurance and monthly payments. This may make prices go higher but on another side, large and trust able companies that have offices in every state always is more trust able that a man with a mount truck that can damage your carpet and disappear and you can never find him again.

Another side of pricing is your carpet itself. How dirty is your carpet? How many times it will take to clean all the spots, odors and soil? Do you walk on it in shoes and it became almost black or is it clean in general and pretreatment will not last long? What about material? Different materials need different products and solutions. As you can understand prices may differ so much.

2. Internet. We all trust Internet nowadays. There are a lot of websites with reviews on different companies. Do you know that there are real reviews and not real – those that can be left by  companies themselves? A large company with a well known name in the market probably will not do it, but small business owners do it very often. Do not trust much those sites where you can find reviews on all  companies. A website owner can just get money for promotion of this or that company and you can never know if this review is real or not! The best is to look for reviews on forums. Usually forum owners do not allow free advertisement on their pages so you have a chance to find real reviews from real customers of carpet cleaning services. Also feel suspicious if there are only good reviews. Every company can have some problems with it’s customers, the question is if these problems were solved or not. But if the reviews are only good then again you can think that they were bought.

No comment

Carpet cleaning machines rental – get the best results yourself.

Carpet cleaning machines. It is a general opinion that only professional  equipment can clean perfect. If it is so, then why there are a lot of machines for sale and for rent  in the markets? The true is – when you clean a carpet for the first time in your life it is just impossible to get a good result even with the most modern and expensive equipment. If you have already bought a carpet cleaning machine or rented it and tried to do your best but the result was awful do not hurry to give it back! Read my article first. Maybe you missed something or just did not manage to do the job. Do you know that professionals before they do this  business learn how to do it and clean carpets everyday from morning till night so maybe the secret is just there? Believe me, there is no need to clean carpets from morning till night, just some more experience and you can save money on calling for professional services.

 1. Decide what you expect. Are you expecting the same result as if it was professional carpet cleaning or you just want to clean the carpet a bit better that it would be done with the help of vacuum cleaner? The thing is that really there are different types of  machines for different carpet cleaning methods and some of them are so expensive to buy that maybe calling for a specialist can be really cheaper. Also if you go and rent some second hand equipment ( and you never know how it was used before and in what condition it is ) you can not expect the best results. My advice is – do not buy too expensive  equipment but do rent it. This is the first step to a good result.

2. If you rent some expensive machine, follow the exact advices that are given by renters. If they recommend some certain cleaning products you must follow them. Unfortunately renting a cleaner is not the end of spending money. Cleaning supplies are also expensive but high quality so you can be sure in the result. You also can be sure that colour of your carpet will not change and you will not meet with damages like that. I am sure that any home owner first of all thinks if this or that solution will harm the carpet or not, so continue on quality and you will see how it works.

3. Remember, that steam  machine is not a vacuum cleaner. You can not just switch it on and clean. Follow the directions well and read reviews on Internet about this type of cleaner before you start. After you clean your carpet for the first time in your life you will say to yourself : I wish….and phrases like this. When cleaning your carpet use brushes in the same direction. Then go back over it. Your way back must be 90 degrees from the previous cleaning way.

Good news. After the job is done it may look for you so difficult and long so you can never repeat it one again. The truth is – more you do it, quicker and easier it is. The secret is practice – like in any other job. Once you just will wonder that your neighbour is calling you for advice and help, so easy it will be for you!

As the carpet cleaning machine rental works by hours do remove furniture before you rent it. Do all the preparations like pretreatment and close your pets in another room. Earlier you finish your work – cheaper the rental will be. But do not hurry with cleaning just because of one hour – if you hurry when cleaning the results will be really worse that you expected.

No comment

Easy carpet cleaning pet odors, how to get rid of pet odor, removal.

Pet odor. What was the first? Dog or carpet? Or carpet or cat? A nice question isn’ t it? If you are going to purchase a new carpet then it is easier. As you already know how a cat or dog’s owner’s house can smell this time you will buy easy for cleaning carpet and rugs. And what if you have no intention or money to buy a new one and the old one smells awful? Let’s see what we can do. We can not just take the dog out, the odor will got go with it. So let’s clean the carpets. Remember, that pets owners get used to the smell and may be it is even worse than you can think. The best idea of how bad your carpets smell is to call someone from outside.

Pet odor removal. Those who earn money on selling pet odor removers know your problem very well, so there are a lot of carpet cleaning solutions for removing stains and odors from carpets and rugs starting with chemical solutions and ending with green carpet cleaning. Which one to choose? The most effective ones that make your job easier are enzyme neutralizers. The second important point is carpet friendly. That means that pet odor eliminator should not remove colour of your carpet at the same time. Anyway, it is a good idea to try removal on some hidden space in the room.

 Green carpet cleaning solutions. I have already told you about green methods of carpet cleaning like vinegar and baking soda. How to use it so you job will be successful? First of all clean the carpet with some good pet odor removal that has enzyme neutralizers. This will help to get rid of stains. The problem of any carpet cleaners is that they really clean carpet well but later, when the carpet is dry you understand that smell is still there and nothing helps. Then you should apply baking soda. Mix some powder in a glass of water and apply it on the smelling area. If your carpet smells in general, not some certain spot where your cat or a dog likes to sleep then you should spread powder all over the carpet when it is dry, leave it for an hour or so and then clean the carpet well with the help of powerful vacuum cleaner. Your carpet will look fresh and will not smell anymore.

Removing pet odors will be successful only if you clean the floors too. If you have wall to wall carpets all over the house it will be really a difficult job that can manage only professional carpet cleaning companies. If you have pets at home it is better to have rugs so you can remove them and wash the floors too.

When you call for a  specialist for odor removal you can meet with such a problem like even worse smell than it was before after cleaning. Do remember that you can understand if your carpet still smells only after 2 weeks of so. Do not hurry to complain about bad work. Even if your carpet looks dry still it will smell. If the smell did not go after two weeks then you can want your money back. Cause carpets start smelling after cleaning even if there are no pets at home.

No comment

Prepare your home before professional carpet cleaning services come.

Professional carpet cleaning. Are you using professional carpet cleaning services for the first time? Carpet cleaning specialists usually do not have time to wait until you pick up something forgotten on the floor or take you some very expensive case to another room, so it is better to be ready for their coming. What should I do? As you pay money for some certain services that usually include pre – treatment too, there is nothing for you to do with carpet clean. All you need is prepare your house for specialists so they can do their job quickly and leave away.

1. Clean your house before professional carpet cleaning services come, not after. The most important thing is to get rid of dust – furniture, picture frames, mirrors, lambs, curtains and windows – everything must be cleaned. Even when you do some general cleaning in the house – carpet is the last part of home decor to be cleaned, cause if you clean the carpets first, then dust from other furniture and accessories will make your carpet dirty again.

2. Cover all valuable large items like TV, piano, paintings and everything that should be protected from water and chemicals. No specialist will  clean your furniture or TV but even a few drops of water or chem can damage your property. Why should we risk? Carpet cleaning companies give warranty on the carpets and rugs they clean but it is you responsibility to protect your furniture. You should not take it away, just cover it and be sure the cloth will not slide down easily cause if you have wall to wall carpeting specialists will move it.

3. Take away in another room easy to brake items like vase, photo frames and other accessories – specialist just can not notice it and brake it without any intention to do it.

4. Do not leave valuables like rings, antiques and other small accessories in the room. They can just fall down and be vacuumed by cleaners. You can never prove later what happened to them.

5. Take away pets. Some pets like cats and dogs can be scared of sound produced by carpet steam cleaning machines.

In general, when chemicals are used for too dirty carpets it is advised to leave the house. Professional services always use protection for their breathing, it is a must, so you can wait until the job is done in the garden.

No comment

Professional carpet cleaning prices – pricing by room or square meters?

Carpet cleaning prices. Professional services has certain ways of pricing depending of if you order commercial carpet cleaning of just cleaning for home rugs. How does it work? And how to get cheap quotes? Can we get price list online or only after they come and see the how dirty the carpet is. Of course, you can always get approximate costs by phone or online, but the thing is that pricing for carpets and rugs may differ depending on your carpet’s material, age, dirt and pets. Prices also depend on quality of  solutions used and  machines. This is natural that any company charge more money for using new and expensive truck mount or other equipment. Or you can order some cheap carpet cleaning served by a usual vacuum cleaner. Do you understand the difference? All of them depend on pricing but of course – the most important is your area. How big is your house? Do you have wall to wall carpets or just some rugs in the living room and kitchen? First question to ask your  company is if they price by rooms  or square meters.

Carpets priced per room. Some home owners sometimes do not even know how many square meters they have. that is why a lot of companies prefer to gives prices per room. As addition they can give some discounts for large amount of rooms and like cleaning halls for free. But it depends on a company that is interested in attracting customers. When you speak on the phone, be aware that room sizes are limited by 200 square feet and if your room is bigger price can be doubled. That is why this method of pricing can be not very useful for those who have large rooms.

Carpets priced per square meters. If you know how much square meters is your carpet or rug then it will not be a problem to get quote online or by phone. But usually companies send professionals to check how much really it will take to clean your carpets. This is better cause at the same time they check material and how dirty your carpet is so they can give you the exact cost before they start working. Some companies offer such a technician visit free of charge.

What is included in the price? Every carpet cleaning company has it’s own pricing policy. Some may charge for even cleaning floors between rugs and some can offer some options for free. It depends on coupons, promotions and discounts provided by companies from time to time. Ask if pretreatment is included in the price. Ask what chemicals and equipments are used and ask if they have any warranty for damages during carpet clean. High quality equipment will make your carpet look like new, fresh and smell nice.

No comment

Carpet steam cleaning machines, easy carpets clean with steam.

Steam cleaning machines. In general we have already told you about carpet cleaning equipment. Today we want to give more attention to steam  machines, as carpet steam cleaning is considered to be the most effective method  and is used both by professional  companies and by carpet owners themselves, who rent carpet cleaning machines instead of calling for a  specialist.

 Carpet steam cleaning machines. There are a lot of carpet steam cleaning machines that are sold, rented out or used by professional  services but all of them operate in the same way and has the same principles of carpet care. steam carpet cleaner has a water tank where water gets heated to high temperatures. When you are looking for a carpet steam cleaning machine to buy or to rent, note that it’s name may change. It can be called multipurpose cleaning machine, dry steam cleaning, or vapor cleaning machine and equipment. 

Carpet steam cleaning machine worth buying cause it is a very effective method of carpet clean and if you use it in a proper way it will work more that 20 years! More expensive steam cleaners have longer life cause they have stainless steel boilers, and have more cleaning features that helps to clean carpet easy and quickly. Knowledge of carpet cleaning machines and their work is important not only if you want to buy or to rent a carpet cleaner. Ask your  company what carpet cleaners they use, and how does it work. It will help to avoid problems if you have different type of a carpet that need special maintenance and care.

What is a vapor carpet cleaning machine? This type of carpet cleaners use high temperatures when heating water. Small water droplets allow to reach even very difficult areas where other steam carpet cleaners are useless. Another advantage of vapor carpet cleaner that you do not need to use, shampoo, foam or other detergents. Dust mites and other parasites are cleaned off only by hot water. This makes this type of cleaning Eco friendly and less allergenic for members of your family who have allergy on cleaning products like detergents and other cleaning solutions. Another plus of carpet cleaning without detergent is that when you rent a carpet cleaner you also have to buy  detergents and it make increase cost of maintenance, without detergent you pay only for carpet cleaner. Vapor carpet cleaner helps to clean carpets effectively and easy with any level of dirtiness but is not suitable for carpets with special materials, that need to be treated gentle!

 Dry steam cleaning machine can also be very useful and cleans well not only dirt but also odors. Remember, that more you wet the carpet more it smells. In case if you have a cat, it’s odors may smell awful after steam. Dry method allows to avoid it.

 Advantages of steam carpet cleaners. Modern carpet cleaners have self cleaning system. That is why it works for years, does not need changing filters and can be really a good investment in to your household. How do steam carpet cleaner manage to clean carpet so quickly ? Modern models can heat water to high temperatures even in 30 seconds, so the process of carpet cleaning is fast and easy. You can change the speed and pressure yourself to protect your carpet if it is too old or has a different expensive material.

No comment

Steam cleaners rental for carpet cleaning.

 Carpet steam cleaners. If you decided to clean rugs yourself and have already read our article for steam carpet cleaning guidelines and equipment it’s time to tell you about portable  steam cleaners rental.

It is cheaper to rent a carpet steam cleaner than to call for a professional  specialist. Some people even buy them but prices for them are not cheap at all. And if you are going to clean carpets once a year rental is the best  for you. Another advantage of hiring  equipment is that you can try different types of carpet cleaning machines and then buy. Cause once you’ve bought it you can not take your money back. Why should you try different machines ? The thing is that some of them are easier in use, some of them are more effective, some of them are more powerful, anyway, once you have tried you can understand if you can do it yourself for a cheaper price than if you called for a professional. You can also read and ask for  steam cleaner reviews on forums or from your neighbors.

Best carpet steam cleaners rental is available at many big stores like Lowe’s, Depot, groceries and other rental services for household products. Most popular trade marks are hoover, bissel, also you can hire equipment at Rug Doctor. It has  large equipment choice with a lot of locations all over the U.S. Carpet cleaner doctor rug has big choice of machines for all types of carpets and rugs. It is important to follow instructions on the steam carpet machine to get the best result. Do not think please that if you use more detergent and water solution the result will be better. It can only destroy carpet fibers cause if you do not clean out detergent very well it will attract dirt and your rugs will get dirty quicker than before.

When renting  a carpet steam vacuum cleaners be ready that it will leave the carpet wetter than if it was done by a professional carpet cleaning company, cause cheaper the steam cleaner is then less powerful it is. Not everybody can afford themselves renting professional  machines, so when choosing a steam cleaner ask for it power first. Still if you use some low power  machine it ok, all you need to do is to dry it after cleaning properly. For that you can open windows and air condition, and also we advice to do maintenance in summer in the hottest days.

Cost of a carpet steam cleaner hire can change but generally it is cheap and that is why most of families prefer to do it yourself. But do not forget that you will have to pay also for cleaning supplies like detergents and removers like spots and odor removers. In case if you rent equipment both for rugs and upholstery cleaning, ask for attachments that are used for cleaning furniture.

No comment

Shampoo carpet cleaning method.

Shampoo carpet cleaning. How does it work? In this  method a lot of foam is spread over the carpet, them this foam has to dry, attract dirt and be vacuumed back to the  machine. All this will be done well if foam levels are high and stable. Foam not only cleans the it but also protects it’s fiber from brushes during cleaning.

Disadvantage of this carpet cleaning method is that foam includes chemicals. Without needed chemicals foam will not be so good for cleaning, most used chemical in this case is sodium lauryl sulfate. This chemical’s bad side is that  after it rugs will get dirty quickly again and you will have to repeat cleaning.  Second point is that brighteners that are used in shampoos make so that rugs looks bright and new but in some time it will turn in to your usual old carpet.

Shampoo carpet cleaning machines.

Cylindrical foam  machine has an air compressor that creates dry foam before it is spread out over the carpet. After this method of cleaning you should vacuum itwell otherwise all the dirt will go deep in to the carpet and stay there forever.

Rotary shampoo  method differs from cylindrical one by a dispersing tank with shampoo, brush while cleaning the carpet turns shampoo into foam. Rotary cleaning is not advised for homes cause they can damage fibers.

As you can see, now dry carpet cleaning and steam carpet cleaning became more popular cause shampoo  can not give us a good result. Why do people still use it then? Sometimes we just have no opportunity to order other methods of cleaning. In this case, when you have no choice, just read carefully instructions, do not forget that you should let it dry well before your put on it furniture. Sometimes even, when we have no opportunity to clean carpet with a  machine we clean it with a cloth and shampoo. In this case it can be a good choice, if you still didn’t start using vinegar as the best green  method :)

No comment

Dry carpet cleaning: dry foam, dry powder and bonnet methods.

What is dry carpet cleaning? It can be performed in 3 ways: dry foam , bonnet ( mostly for industrial cleaners) and dry powder. Different types are is used for different types of carpets and materials.

Dry foam. Though it is not the same as shampoo carpet cleaning still it requires scrubbing in a circular manner. You don’ have to wit for any drying in this case. It is considered to be a classic dry cleaning method that is very effective.

Bonnet dry method more often is used in industrial cleanings. Though it is very effective it can damage home carpets, exactly fibers of them. In this case detergents are mixed with carbonated water, carpet is scrubbed as well as in dry foam cleaning. Bonnet dry method takes a lot of time and it is not suitable for deep care. For cleaning odors it is better to look for some other carpet cleaning method.

Dry powder . Cleaning powder is spread out over your carpet and then with a brush of machine is scrubbed, during this procedure soil, dirt and dust from the carpet sticks to this powder, later all you  have to do is to vacuum powder with machine. Advantage of this  method is that carpet stays dry. It is also not suitable for deep care but ideal for old carpets and for areas with high humidity as you do not need to dry your carpet after it.

As an example of dry carpet cleaning services we can mention Chem- Dry company that provides carpet and upholstery cleaning products. It’s hot carbonated extraction system needs less water as compare to steam carpet cleaning.  Chem Dry uses non toxic, Eco friendly green products that are safe to nature, people and pets. Chem dry has the green certification.

No comment

Steam carpet cleaning guidelines, in case you want to clean carpet yourself.

Steam carpet cleaning guidelines.  Advantage of steam cleaning is that it can be used for almost all types of carpets. High temperature and cleaning products make this type of care very effective. Now, when renting carpet cleaning machines and equipment became popular everybody get opportunity to clean carpets with steam themselves. Yes, it is possible, and maybe, cheaper to rent a machine for an affordable price but it is not an easy job, and, if you are not sure in the result ask for a  specialist. Carpet steam cleaning is considered to be the best carpet cleaning method as it cleans carpet not only from soil, dirt and dust but also from odors and microbes that may live in dirty carpets.

If you want to clean your carpet yourself, be sure that you can do it in a safe way without damaging the carpet and hurting yourself.

Does not  matter in you do steam  or dry carpet cleaning complete following procedures:

1. Clean the carpet thoroughly with vacuum cleaner. It can be a usual vacuum cleaner that you use every day for cleaning carpets.

2. Preconditioner must be applied to the carpet. If you call for services ask if they will do it. What for preconditioner is? It will help to loosen up the fibers. Done? Let’s see what is next.

 3. Next just use your steam  machine following the instructions. Again, be careful and if you are not sure in the result ask a professional  company to help you.

Some more information on steam cleaning.

Thanks to high temperatures steam carpet cleaning is most effective against dirt, soil, microbes and odors. This will help you to avoid allergy and illnesses.

Now it is possible to buy your own steam cleaning machine. You can also hire it. Once you tried it, you can understand if you will do it yourself or it is better to call for a professional.

No comment