CARPET MYTHS

Misconceptions

We have been in the carpet cleaning business since 1995. And in that time, 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 these consumer information facts. When you select a carpet cleaning company, you can make an informed, intelligent decision.

Here we will share six costly misconceptions about carpet cleaning. Plus, we will offer four recommendations.

SIX COSTLY MISCONCEPTIONS

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 the 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 near as long as a clean carpet. And while vacuuming helps - by itself, it's simply not enough. Then, the longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and the faster it wears out.

The only reason to clean carpets is to get the dirt 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 these pollens, bacteria, and chemicals in your hair and on your skin, clothing, and shoes. Not surprisingly, all those chemicals, pollens, and bacteria end 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 your 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 and you track them into your home and 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.

One method of carpet cleaning is as good as another.

No. You can choose from two primary methods: Dry cleaning or hot water extraction. First we'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 are the three methods of dry cleaning carpet.

When a carpet cleaner uses dry foam, he applies shampoo to your carpet, allows it to dry, then sucks the dried shampoo into a vacuum. Can you imagine applying shampoo to your hair, allowing it to dry, and then removing the shampoo from your head with a vacuum? This method can leave residue in your carpet, which is one reason why dry foam is not very effective.

The dry-chem method is similar to dry foam. The major difference is that when dry-chem is used, the company sets a large cotton bonnet on your carpet. Using a machine, the bonnet spins from side to side, absorbing dirt that is in the carpet. After the bonnet is saturated with dirt, another cotton bonnet is applied. Bonnet cleaning is like trying to use a large towel to rub the dirt out of your carpet. Like dry foam, it is not very effective.

The dry-compound method spreads an absorbent mixture that looks like wet sawdust all over your carpeting. Then the machine brushes the mixture into the carpet, which in theory, causes dirt to absorb in the mixture. When the mixture has dried, a vacuum cleaner sucks the material out of the carpeting. Because the carpet is not rinsed in any way, this method is not very effective.

The second carpet cleaning method is called 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 even though steam is not really used.

Shaw Industries, the world's largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot water extraction and you can choose from two different types. Portable extraction, which is done with a small machine, or truck-mounted extraction, which means the large cleaning machine is mounted in a truck or van.

Not surprisingly, the truck-mounted extraction cleans much better because it heats the water to a higher 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. This is the method our company uses.

No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting is with a hot-water unit mounted in a truck. It's the most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that thoroughly cleans your carpet and rids it of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus, chemicals, pollens, and tobacco residue.

Methods that use cold or even warm water remove dirt - but are not as effective as the hot-water truck-mounted method.

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 - in the same way that the person who showers and then rinses off the dirt and soap will be much cleaner than the person who only takes a sponge bath.

Having the right equipment is all a company needs to clean your carpet properly.

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.

The company who offers the lowest price is the company you should hire.

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

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 the carpet cleaner to remove only some of the dirt, you can choose from hundreds of companies that use small shampooers or other cleaning methods. Or, you can even rent a machine at the grocery store and do the job yourself.

On the other hand, if you want your carpet to be 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 mounted in a truck. 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.

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, they 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 dedicated our business to educating the public. The only way you can make an intelligent decision is to have all the facts you need. This is why we have written this guide.

Any honest carpet cleaning company should be able to give you an exact price quote over the phone.

I 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.

First, honest, reputable carpet cleaning companies usually price carpet cleaning by the square foot. so if you would like us to tell you the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, we need to know the exact number of square feet you want cleaned. You'll be glad to know that the area cleaned is not nearly as great as most people think. For example, if you want your entire home cleaned, and your home is 2000 sq. feet, the amount of carpeting might only be 1200 sq. feet. We deduct the area taken up by walls, room dividers, and the like. The result is that the area to be cleaned is usually about 60% of the square footage of the home.

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

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 what type of carpet you want cleaned.

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

The amount of furniture that has to be moved. If we have to move your furniture, the big 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.

If you are thinking about having your carpets cleaned, we offer these four recommendations:

Make a commitment to yourself to get your carpets cleaned. The longer they remain dirty, the sooner they'll wear out. Plus the longer you will have to breathe all the pollens, fungus, chemicals, and dust mites that live in your carpet.

List your objectives. Do you want only the dirt removed, something you could do with a rented machine? Or do you want the bacteria, fungus, and chemicals removed, which will require a hot water truck mounted cleaner, like we use? Do you want to work with an honest, reputable company - or are you willing to risk working with the company that offers you the lowest price - knowing that company might not be in business tomorrow?

Ask questions. The way you learn about a company is to ask specific questions and listen carefully to the answers. Here are the questions we suggest you to ask

What type of carpet cleaning do you recommend?

What type of equipment do you use to clean the carpet?

What does your equipment remove from my carpet?

How often should I get my carpets cleaned?

How much experience do you have repairing and cleaning carpets?

Once you are satisfied that you are working with an honest, competent professional, invite him into your home and ask for a specific quotation in writing. A written quotation gives you the assurance that you know exactly what your job will cost - no surprises.

By following these four recommendations, you'll gain all the information you need to make an informed, intelligent decision. If you want a quick, cheap carpet cleaning job, many companies in the phone book can help you. Or you can rent a shampooer and do the job yourself.

But if you want your carpeting to be completely and thoroughly cleaned - removing the bacteria, fungus, and harmful chemicals then we invite you to call on us.

We will be happy to answer your questions and come into your home and give you a free written quotation - without any obligation of any kind.

Here's one last point: We know that many consumers are skeptical about carpet cleaning companies. Before we got into the business, we were skeptical too. So in addition to dedicating our business to consumer education, we do one more thing as well.

We guarantee our work. That's right. We fully guarantee every carpet cleaning job we do. If you are not happy with our work, we'll re-clean the area for free. And if you still aren't pleased, you pay nothing. Not one cent.

What more could be fair???

As a matter of fact, add this question to the list. Question #6 is, "Do you guarantee your work?" Not all companies do - and it's important that you have this information before you make your decision.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this guide. We hope you found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments - or would like to schedule a free, in home quotation, please call us at metro 817-572-3989.

On behalf of Amazing Results Carpet Appearance Co. - we thank you for your kind attention.