Consumer guide
New consumer guide leaves your carpets cleaner for less!
Please check out this helpful consumer guide. It's full of useful stuff on how to choose a professional carpet cleaner, how to avoid carpet cleaning rip-offs and how to achieve fresh, healthy, and clean carpets.
Choosing the correct company for any job (without a referral) is always a bit of a gamble, and the world of carpet cleaning makes no exceptions.
For a start there are so many companies to choose from, then there's a ton of misleading claims, and confusing advertising. Add to the mix, ridiculously low prices and high pressure sales along with untrained operators, poorly chosen methods of carpet cleaning and ill performing equipment, and it really is a challenge to sort the good from the bad too the plain ugly.
Once you have worked your way through the guide you will be in a much better position to make an informed decision about the kind of company you may want to employ. You should also be able to avoid the potential problems described and, most importantly, save money and potential heartache.
Regards,
Daren Morrish
Sub-standard Training
You would be correct in thinking that anyone can clean a carpet. The big question is, how WELL, can they clean your carpet? The untrained, or poorly trained cleaner could well commit a number of very costly mistakes.
This could be something as simple as not using the correct cleaning method, or just not cleaning to a very high standard. Further problems could involve leaving your carpets soaking wet or worse case scenario even shrinking your carpet! Asking for proof of some sort of training could save you all kinds of headaches.
Many cheaper carpet cleaners do not invest in the same level of training and certification that a professional cleaner would.
Here are 6 common ways in which a poorly trained technician can ruin your carpets:
1. Allow mould and odours to develop in your carpet's underlay by using too much water.
2. Split your carpet's backing by using excessive water pressure
3. Shrink your carpet by again using too much water.
4. Bleach your carpet by using the wrong cleaning agents.
5. Ruin the pile of your carpet by not restoring the correct PH (acidity) levels, after cleaning.
6. Cause your carpet to rapidly resoil after cleaning due to bad cleaning methods (and cleaning agents)
Conclusion, Always ask for evidence of professional training.
Insurance Issues
Any company coming in to your home to carry out work should be fully insured. Budget carpet cleaners however, are often un-insured.
Any company you employ should have what's known as 'treatment insurance'. This means that should anything go wrong while cleaning your carpets or soft furnishings they will be covered.
If a cleaner does not have 'treatment insurance' it can be a major problem if things don't go as planed. Often as not, your home & contents insurance policy will not cover damage caused by tradesmen working in your home.
If this is the case and an un-insured cleaner ruins your carpets, your home contents insurance will not pay out and you the homeowner will have to pay for the damage caused.
Conclusion, You should only consider using insured cleaners and ask for valid proof of there policy.
Cheap Cleaning agents and Cheap Protector
Some budget carpet cleaners will only use the cheapest cleaning agents and protector they can get there hands on, ( I have even heard stories of unscrupulous cleaners using washing up liquid or washing powder to clean your carpets) This is not the way forward for a number of reasons.
1. Cheap products are not very effective, this can then lead to a cleaner using excessive water to try and clean the carpet which can lead to over wetting as described earlier.
2. They can leave a sticky residue in the carpet which will then attracts soiling much faster than previously.
3. The cleaner may use a cleaning product totally unsuitable for carpet cleaning, which could damage your carpet, and be harmful to children and pets.
4. If the price of protector (e.g. scotchgard) is very low then beware. There's a good chance that what is being applied is either protector so watered down to be totally useless. Or, even worse its not protector at all. It could in fact be plain tap water!!
Conclusion, cheap cleaning and protection products are a false economy and can damage your carpet.
A Cast Iron Guarantee
All work, regardless of what it is, should come with a guarantee. Sadly this is often not the case and some carpet cleaning companies are no exception. If no guarantee is offered, it means that you the customer run the risk of the work falling short of your expectations.
Ask the company if they offer any sort of guarantee and if so ask them to be specific.
Any professional carpet cleaner worth doing business with, should offer a full money back guarantee, based on the quality of his work.
Ask the cleaner if this is the case and if so make sure it is included with your written quote.
Conclusion, avoid choosing a carpet cleaner who doesn't offer a full money back guarantee
Do you want your Carpets 'Clean' or 'Cleaner'?
In the world of carpet cleaning there is a huge gulf between the two.
A 'Full Deep Clean' is a whole world different to just getting your carpets 'cleaner' or as it's commonly called a 'maintenance clean' or a 'quick run over the top clean'
A Full Deep Clean will involve the cleaner doing his utmost to get your carpets as clean and stain free as he possibly can. He will follow industry guidelines to achieve this. The technician will pre-vac, use quality cleaning agents, agitate the pile, extract all the dirt correctly, re-clean where required, perform spot and stain removal techniques on stubborn marks, and generally go the full mile, to give you the best possible job.
A quick 'maintenance clean' or 'run over the top clean' is nothing like what I've just described. The cleaner will do the bare minimum of work and only remove the worse of the surface soiling. This is invariably cheaper than a 'Full Deep Clean', but obviously involves a lot less effort, and leaves a lot of dirt still on or in your carpet. Also, any stubborn marks will be left as they won't take the time to remove individual spot and stains.
Conclusion, do you want your carpets correctly cleaned to professional standards or would you prefer something cheap, but only half a job?
Accurate Pricing
In order to quote an accurate price a reputable company will need to have 'eyes on' the carpet for a number of important reasons.
a. Carpet type. What type of carpet is it? This is really important information as some carpets can't be wet cleaned! (You would need to examine the backing to determine this)
b. How dirty. Some carpets are harder to clean than others, also how dirty is it, and is there any heavy staining etc. These factors will help determine the price.
c. Furniture. Does the customer want to remove the furniture themselves (to save some money) or will they require the cleaner to move it. Maybe they only want to move some of the furniture. How much is there, how heavy etc.
d. Access. How close the cleaner can get his van and equipment to the building will have an influence on price, as will working on the ground floor as opposed to the third floor.
As you can tell, there are a fair amount of factors to consider, which is why a decent company will never price over the phone. If however they do give a price without seeing the carpet, insist they confirm it prior to starting any work. Lastly, be extremely aware of any really low prices given over the phone which could lead too 'Bait and Switch' sales methods.
Bait and Switch Sales Methods
Some carpet cleaners out there use an illegal sales method known as 'bait and switch', which catches out thousands of homeowners every year. This sales technique is outlawed in the UK.
You will be offered an extremely low initial price, i.e. £ 8.00 a room (this is the bait). Once they have used the 'bait' to reel you in they will then use there cleaners to try and squeeze as much profit out of you as they can.
Like this:
When the company arrives at your home the cleaner will start explaining that your carpets don't qualify for the original price (wrong sort, to dirty etc etc), or maybe tell you that the cheap price gives a poor service (believe me it does).
Basically the cleaner will do his utmost to convince you that the price you 'thought' you were getting is no longer applicable.
At this point the cleaner will 'switch' the deal and subject you to a load of high pressure selling techniques, which are designed to get you to agree to a much, much more expensive clean.
When I say expensive, I mean exactly that, the chances are you will end up paying well over the market going rate.
What makes things even worse is that any cleaning you do receive will definitely be of a very poor standard, which really adds insult to injury.
You may think it wont happen to you but it's been proven that their sales methods can work on even the most strong minded of individuals.
Lastly, if you don't fall for these pushy sales techniques, (which I really hope you don't) you most certainly will end up with a poorly cleaned carpet.
Google BBC Watchdog bait and switch for further reading
Conclusion, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Don't fall for these sales techniques. Always insist on a written quote outlining exactly what the price entails.
There's more than one way to clean your carpet.
Ever heard the saying, 'there's more than one way to skin a cat'? Well the same applies to your carpets. It depends entirely on the customer's requirements and the condition and type of the carpet in question. If you require your carpets back in use as soon as possible and the soiling is not too heavy then a dry cleaning method could possibly be more appropriate than a wet one. Any company worth its salt should be able to offer a variety of cleaning methods.
1. Encapsulation.
The carpet is covered with a 'shampoo' which is worked into the carpet pile using a rotary brush. This is then allowed to dry. While it is drying the shampoo turns into a crystal and encapsulates the dirt trapped within the carpet.
The carpet then receives a thorough vacuuming. This removes all of the crystals that contain your carpets soiling. This is a good method for the maintenance cleaning of large areas of commercial carpet. Not generally used in the domestic environment.
2. Absorbent Pad (bonnet buffing or padding)
Again a slow speed rotary (buffer) is used, only this time it has a large cotton bonnet attached to it. The rotating action causes the bonnet to absorb the dirt from your carpet.
The bonnet can also be used to help absorb water after hot water extraction to speed up the dying time. Another good system for maintenance cleaning, but not for a deep down clean to the base of the pile. Mostly found in the commercial sector.
3. Dry powder cleaning.
This is the driest of all the systems available. A moist absorbent powder (containing small micro sponges) is evenly spread over your carpet. These sponges/powder are then worked into the carpet pile using a counter rotating mechanical brush. The sponges absorb the carpets soiling and are allowed to dry. The whole lot is then sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. This method is only suitable for cleaning carpets that are already fairly clean, and there is a tendency to leave some of the powder/sponges in the base of the carpet.
4. Hot water extraction (HWE)
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the method to use if you want your carpet as clean and fresh as possible. I'm not dismissing the other methods as they have all got there merits and advantages, but non will clean as well as HWE.
A liquid cleaning solution is applied to your carpet, which is then worked into the pile with a counter rotating mechanical brush. Hot water is then injected at high pressure into the carpet, followed immediately by being sucked out again by a high powered vacuum.
When I say 'hot and high' were talking around 110 degrees of heat and 300 to 500 pounds per square inch of pressure, i.e. lots. The vacuum itself is a huge heavy-duty engine driven industrial type.
This type of machine is split into two categories.
Van mounted - The whole unit is self contained, being permanently mounted in a van. It has an engine, high pressure pump and vacuum. These machines are hugely powerful, as an example they can be parked at distances of 400 feet from a property and still clean to the highest of standards.
Portable - These are a scaled down version of the above. They are used when access is a problem and can be bought into the property. These are obviously not as powerful, but will still give excellent results
Both of these HWE machines will do a brilliant job. The real main practical difference is that of time. A van mounted unit will do the job a lot quicker than a portable one, and it is argued to a slightly higher standard.
Conclusion, the most effective cleaning method is without question 'hot water extraction'. The system cleans so much better due to the temperature of the water breaking down all the soiling, the pressure penetrating right down into the base of the pile, and the massive vacuum of air to help pull all the dirt out of your carpet.
Hot water extraction is even recommended as the best cleaning method by Shaw industries, which incidentally, are the world's largest carpet manufacture. I would imagine they know what there talking about.
Having said that, the other systems described are also very effective when used within the correct conditions. Encapsulation and absorbent pad bonneting are both great maintenance cleaners, but will never perform as well as hot water extraction on a heavily soiled carpet
So you're in the market for some professional carpet cleaning?
If you're in the market for some professional carpet cleaning you need to be asking questions and lots of them. Here are some samples of the most important ones:
1. What method of carpet cleaning would you recommend?
2. What type of equipment will you be using to clean my carpets?
3. Have you had any professional training and can you provide evidence?
4. Are you insured and can I also see a copy of your insurance policy?
5. Is your written quote set in stone?
6. Do you offer a cast iron money back guarantee?
7. Am I going to get a 'Full Deep Clean' or a half hearted, half a job clean?
8. Do you use professional cleaning products designed for the job, which are safe for animals and people alike?
9. Are you willing to visit my home to give me an accurate quote?
That's the end of our consumer guide. Having got this far, you should now be a consumer carpet cleaning expert.
As already described, some cleaning methods will just skim the carpet surface, while others will remove some of the dirt. The very best, however will out perform all the others in every respect. Additionally some are very cheap while others are far more expensive. The old saying, you get what you pay for never rings more true.
If all your after is a cheap 'splash and dash', remove the dirt off the surface kind of clean, then there are company's out there who perform to this kind of standard. They charge very little. But then again you will receive very little in return.
There is an alternative:
At Fantasticlean we care about our work and care equally about our customers.
1. Our fully trained staff know how to get your carpets as clean and fresh as possible.
2. Any work carried out in your home or commercial premises is fully insured.
3. Quality cleaning products are always used on your carpets which won't cause any problems.
4. All of our work is backed up by a 100% cast iron guarantee.
5. Your carpets are always given a 'Full Deep Clean'
6. You always receive a free non obligation carpet survey. This allows us to give you an accurate quote, which is then set in stone.
7. We absolutely never employ 'Bait and Switch' sales methods.
8. Your carpets are always cleaned using the most appropriate method that gives the best results.
Please call us on 07891 911065 or 0113 2255706 for a free, non obligation carpet survey and written quote.
I look forward to your call
Daren Morrish
