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Carpet Cleaning Home6 Co$tly Misconceptions About Carpet CleaningMISCONCEPTION #1: You
should wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet.
No! Dirt is an abrasive--like sandpaper. Every time you step on
your carpet, you grind dirt into the carpet fibers. This cuts your carpet, just
as if you had used a knife. This cutting causes your carpet to wear out faster.
A dirty carpet will not last as long as a clean carpet. And while vacuuming
helps--by itself, it is simply not enough. The longer you wait to have your
carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears
out. MISCONCEPTION #2: The
only reason to clean carpets is to remove the dirt.
No. As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus, bacteria,
air pollution, cigarette smoke, and car exhaust--and hundreds of other
chemicals. When you come into your home, you carry those pollens, bacteria, and
chemicals in your hair and on your skin, clothing, and shoes. Not surprisingly,
all those chemicals and toxins wind up in your carpet.
If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other breathing
problems--one major source of your problem could be the pollens, fungus, smoke,
and chemicals in your carpet. MISCONCEPTION #3: One
method of carpet cleaning is as good as another.
No. The dry cleaning methods--which are dry
foam, dry chemical and dry compound, don’t rinse your carpet in any way.
Instead, they leave a dirty residue. You might say they clean your carpet only
half way. The most effective cleaning method is hot water extraction.
Hot water extraction means a hot water cleaning solution, under high
pressure, is forced into your carpet and then drawn back out of your carpet.
This allows the dirt, bacteria, and pollens to be broken up and extracted from
your carpet. Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer,
requires hot water extraction as the primary method of cleaning carpets. Some people believe that hot water
damages your carpet, but this isn’t true. By washing and then rinsing your
carpet with hot water, your carpet is thoroughly cleaned. MISCONCEPTION #4: Having
the right equipment is all a company needs to clean your carpets properly. Not true. Many companies own hot water cleaners
but very few companies teach their employees how to use them properly. This is
why it’s important that you choose your carpet cleaner carefully. The best
cleaning companies are those that have been certified by the Institute of
Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, known as the IICRC. Before
you choose a carpet cleaner, ask to see written proof of the company’s IICRC
certification. MISCONCEPTION #5: The
company that offers the lowest price is the company you should hire.
No. I’ve seen so many problems arise from lowest-bid companies that I
suggest you NEVER hire a company that quotes the cheapest price. The two most
common problems are:
1. The price may not be for the services you want performed. The company
may be equipped to remove only the dirt from your carpet. But you may want
bacteria, fungus, pollens, and tobacco residues removed as well.
2. The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay. Many
homeowners have learned that the low price they saw advertised lasted only until
the carpet cleaner got to their home. Then they were pressured into paying a lot
more for a variety of add-ons. Some carpet cleaners even break the law by using
illegal bait and switch tactics. MISCONCEPTION #6: Any
honest carpet cleaning company should be able to give you an exact price quote
over the telephone. I
wish this were true, but it isn’t. Honest, reputable carpet cleaning companies almost never price carpet cleaning by the room or over the phone. Instead, carpet cleaning is usually priced by the square foot. So if you’d like me to tell you the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, I need to know the exact number of square feet that you want cleaned. Other factors that contribute to the cost of cleaning include: type of fiber (wool, nylon, olefin, polyester, etc.), degree of soiling, pet odors/stains, items moved, and if other cleaning detergents already exist in the carpet.
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