Hi! We are grateful for the opportunity to provide you with information about carpet cleaning and help you choose a carpet cleaning company. We have learned that carpet cleaning is the subject of much confusion. In fact, people have so many misconceptions about carpet cleaning that we decided to offer this consumer education message so when you select a carpet cleaning company, you can make an informed decision. There are costly misconceptions about carpet cleaning. We will offer recommendations, and answer some questions you should ask a carpet cleaner before you invite him into your home.

MISCONCEPTION
You should wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet.

No. Dirt is an abrasive - like sandpaper. Every time you step on the carpet, you grind dirt into your carpet fibers. This cuts your carpet, just as if you had used a knife, causing it to wear out faster. A dirty carpet will not last nearly as long as a clean carpet. And while vacuuming helps -by itself, its simply not good enough. The longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears out.

No. As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus, bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust -- and hundreds of other chemicals. When you and your family members 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 pollens and bacteria wind up -- you guessed it -- in your carpet.

If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other breathing problems - one major source of your problem could be the pollens, fungus, and chemicals in your carpet.

In addition, as you may know, tobacco smoke contains over 4000 different chemical compounds, 43 of which cause cancer. And even if you don't smoke, those chemicals get on your shoes, you track them into your home and you leave them in your carpet.

If you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, you might find that you'll breathe easier after you hire a company to get those harmful chemicals out of your carpet. So in addition to getting rid of dirt, another important reason to clean your carpet is to get rid of pollens, fungus, bacteria chemicals and the tars and residue from tobacco smoke.

No. You can choose from two primary methods: Dry cleaning or (steam)  hot water extraction.

First, I'll explain dry cleaning. Many people believe that dry cleaning your carpet is like dry cleaning your clothing. This is not true. All carpet cleaning methods use water in one form or another. Here is  another  method, of  cleaning carpet..

The second carpet cleaning method is called (steam) hot water extraction. This is a fancy way of saying that a hot water cleaning solution under high pressure is forced into the carpet and then sucked out of the carpet. This method is also referred to as steam cleaning. Shaw Industries, the worlds largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction.: Portable extraction, which is done with a small machine. The extraction cleans much better because it heats the water to a high temperature -- and shoots the cleaning solution into the carpet at high pressure -- which breaks up the dirt, bacteria, and pollens. Then the machine uses high suction to draw the dirt out of the carpet. No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting is with a hot water unit. It's the most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that thoroughly cleans your carpet of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus, chemicals, pollens and tobacco residue. Some people believe that hot water damages your carpet, but this isn't true. By washing and then rinsing your carpet with hot water, we clean your carpet completely.

Not true. Many companies own hot water cleaners -- but a large number of employees don't know how to use them. You probably know someone who bought the newest computer on the market -- but didn't learn how to use it for a year or more. The same is true with carpet cleaning machines. The company may own good equipment, but the employees may not know how to use it correctly. This is why it's important that you choose your carpet cleaner carefully.

Maybe -- but not always. Here are two important points to consider.

Point: The price you see offered may not be for the services you want performed. Before you select a company, decide what you want to accomplish.

If you want your carpet thoroughly cleaned -- if you want to remove the harmful dirt, bacteria, pollens, chemicals and tobacco residues -- then you need to hire a company that uses a hot water cleaner. This is the only way to assure that your carpet remains healthy and free from dirt, disease causing bacteria, and harmful chemicals.

So remember that the price you see offered may not be for the services you want performed.

Point: The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay.

Many homeowners have learned that the low price they saw advertised was not the amount they were charged.

And if you've ever hired a carpet cleaner, you too may have been the victim of false or misleading advertising. You probably learned the hard way that some carpet cleaners offer a cheap price --usually between $3.95 and $9.95 per room -- and then pressure you into paying a lot more once they get inside your home. Some of them may even break the law by using illegal bait and switch tactics.

As in all businesses and professions, the carpet cleaning industry has its share of bad apples. We take no pleasure in telling you this, but some are unethical -- and, sadly, a few are dishonest. By their misleading advertising and false promises, that cast a dark shadow on our entire industry.

Then you'll find other carpet cleaners -- professionals like us who work hard to earn your trust and respect.

As a way of improving our profession, we have sent out this message to help promote our efforts at consumer education.

We wish this were true, but it isn't. Consumers often think that if they want to clean four rooms and the price is $6.00 per room, then the price will be $24.00. But this isn't always true.

You'll be glad to know that the carpet area to be cleaned is not nearly as great as most people think. For example, if you want your entire home cleaned and your home is 2000 square feet, the amount of carpeting to be cleaned might be only 1200 square feet. This is because most home measurements are outdoor measurements. Plus we deduct the area taken up by walls, room dividers and the like. The result is the actual area to be cleaned is usually only about 60% of the square footage of the home.

So even though we can't give you an exact quote over the telephone, here are things we consider when quoting a price.

First, the type of carpet. Certain types of carpet are harder to clean than others. So before we can give you a quote, we need to know the type of carpet you want cleaned.

Second, the amount of soiling. Carpet that hasn't been cleaned for ten years will take longer to clean than carpet that was cleaned within the last six months.

Third, the amount of furniture that has to be moved. If we have to move your furniture, the bid must include that labor. But if you move your furniture, you'll save money.

To recap, we consider the type of carpet, the amount of soiling, and the amount of furniture that has to be moved. So, as you can now imagine, every quotation is different.