Avoiding Carpet Cleaning Rip Offs

RIP-OFF #1: UNBELIEVABLY LOW PRICE. To some degree, all of us are attracted by low price because we want to work within a budget. But some carpet cleaners use price as the bait for their false and misleading advertising. They offer a cheap price, usually between $10.00 and $15.00 per room. Once they’re in your home, then the pressure to buy the “add-ons” or “extras” begins. It’s like buying a car and finding out that the dealer was charging you extra for the seats and tires. Thorough carpet cleaning is not as cheap as some unethical carpet cleaners would like you to believe.

RIP-OFF #2: BAIT AND SWITCH. Dual process carpet cleaning describes the process of shampooing or heavy preconditioning, followed with hot water extraction cleaning. Unfortunately, unethical carpet cleaners often use dual process as a bait and switch technique. Here’s how it’s done: First they “bait” you with a basic cleaning (a single process) at an unbelievably low price. Then, when they arrive for the ‘cleaning’, they try to “switch” you to the more expensive dual-process cleaning. If you refuse to switch and choose their basic service, you’ll likely receive poor workmanship using little or no chemicals. As you can imagine, guaranteeing their work is a foreign concept to them.

RIP-OFF #3: UNSUPPORTED CLAIMS, SUCH AS: “THIS CLEANING METHOD IS THE BEST.” You’ll read this in almost every ad and hear this from virtually every carpet cleaner. But remember this: The method that’s best for you is the method recommended in your manufacturer’s warranty. So before you choose a carpet cleaner, look at your warranty. Then select the method that best matches those recommendations. It pays to read your carpet warranty!

RIP-OFF #4: OUTDATED BELIEFS: “HOT WATER DAMAGES YOUR CARPET.” Many people still believe this myth. Retail carpet sales people have even told their customers this! This is completely false. It is only by washing and then rinsing your carpet with hot water that it’s thoroughly cleaned. In fact, hotter is better. The cleaning power of water doubles every 18 degrees over 120 degrees. That means the hot water we use with our truck-mounted machine (at 240 degrees) cleans 5 TIMES BETTER than 180 degree water.

Check out what the carpet manufacturers themselves have to say. Shaw Industries is the largest carpet manufacturer in the world. They recommend only hot water extraction for cleaning carpets. Most of the other manufacturers are now making this same recommendation.

Also check out the warranty for your particular carpeting. Most likely it will require you to clean your carpet on a regular basis (every 12 months) using hot water extraction to keep your warranty in effect.