1) Pay Cheap, Pay Twice

Your mother was right, if you buy cheap you get cheap – but that doesn’t mean you should aim for the most expensive either! Whilst price judgement is not the only thing to look out for (see more points below) always take into consideration how hard your carpet cleaner is going to be prepared to work for £15- £20 an hour? Will they really want to get down on their hands and knees and work at that coffee stain until it’s gone and vacuum the room and skirtings beforehand as well as run his heavy machine across the whole room? Possibly not. Neither would you, I suspect.

2) Look for and read recommendations and reviews from other people

You don’t have to use the same person your neighbour did. Great recommendations and reviews can now be found online and through social media and most reputable companies will have reviews and testimonials either on their carpet cleaning website or Floor Blimey’s Facebook page. Even better check out their google reviews, most companies that know their stuff will ask customers to review them here in return for discounts on their next clean or free products etc such as their good review is important for their business. Likewise, reputable businesses know how damaging a bad one can be and will do their utmost to ensure they deliver a fantastic service to their customers.

3) How many questions does the person cleaning your carpet actually ask you?

Just as not all carpets and stains are the same, neither are all carpet cleaning methods. Does your carpet cleaner recognise or know the difference between a carpet tile or a pure wool shagpile? Will they have a system specifically designed to clean each type of carpet? As a customer you aren’t expected to know exactly what questions to ask but if the carpet cleaners asks what type of carpet you have, it’s a very good sign that he’s taking the trouble to work out exactly which cleaning method will get you the best results.

4) How do you take your tea?

Whilst this might sound like a question you would ask your carpet cleaner, if you have a tea stain on the carpet and it’s something they ask you, you’re onto a winner. A tea with milk stain requires a different stain remover to tea without. If your carpet cleaner knows the difference it means they have undertaken extensive training in carpet cleaning alchemy, which means you’ve found yourself a carpet cleaning keeper.

5) No matter what they’ve been told, size doesn’t matter

Lots of carpet cleaners credit their performance down to the size of their machines. Whilst it’s very important that your carpet cleaner turns up with a high quality and reputable system, it doesn’t have to be huge! You often hear carpet cleaners refer to their super powerful truck mounted systems. The simple truth with carpet cleaning is that the power of the clean lies within the skill of the technician. The only thing a machine will do is extract the water from the carpet after a cleaning solution has been put in. This does not require anything above 100 psi (a term most carpet cleaners use to explain the power of the machine and misleadingly the effectiveness of the clean) anything else is just overload and administers damaging force that your carpet fibres simply don’t deserve to be hit with.

Remember: High quality smaller mobile carpet cleaning systems can provide all the extraction your carpet cleaner ever needs.

6) Size may not matter but appearances do!

How smart is your technican?

How clean is their van?

In life, respected and reputable people lead by example. Just as you wouldn’t have much faith in an unfit personal trainer, don’t expect a person with no regard for their own appearance (and hygiene) to commit themselves to giving you and your treasured furnishings the treatment they deserve.

7) How long did your last carpet clean last?

A carpet that has been cleaned well will stay clean for longer. This is because soap and residues will not have been left behind causing fast re-soiling. If it’s been at least 6 months to a year after regular vacumming, and tending to stains as and when, that your carpet looks like it’s ready to be professionally cleaned again (and you were happy with the last result) the chances are the last technician was a good one, if the above points apply too.

Something else to add here is if you are asking friends for recommendations and a certain name crops up, ask them how often they tend to use that person. If it’s more than twice a year it’s likely they’re not as good a carpet cleaning technician as your contact thinks they are.

So there you have it. Floor Blimeys! guide to getting the best possible carpet cleaning service for your money. Don’t forget we are here at the end of the phone for any doubts or questions you may have. Advice here is absolutely free and all part of the service!