Hiring a Professional Carpet Cleaner vs. DIY Carpet Cleaning

There are pros and cons to both cleaning your carpets yourself, as well as hiring a professional carpet cleaner.

Do-it-yourself carpet cleaning is definitely less expensive, but it is also more time consuming and hard to achieve the same results as a professional company who offers top carpet cleaners, equipment and experience.

Hiring a professional will certainly cost more, but again, a company with a solid history will get the job done in a fraction of the time, with better results and WITHOUT the possibility of damaging your carpet, upholstery or floors.

Hiring a Professional Steam Cleaning Company

 

So while there are advantages to cleaning your own carpets and upholstery, unless you’re a CPA, chances are you don’t do your own taxes. And if you’re not a lawyer, you wouldn’t represent yourself in court either.

So it goes with carpet and upholstery cleaning. A professional carpet cleaner is going to have access to stronger cleaners, professional-grade equipment, far more experience, and a better eye for getting the job done right.

But, just like with other professionals and the services they offer, not all carpet cleaning companies are created equal.

It’s not hard to find a company advertising to clean your carpets in almost any bulk mailer or online “coupon” saver site. You know the kinds, Groupon, Living Social and so on.

And that’s fine.

But you should be aware of companies that use a “bait and switch” tactic by promising to clean a room for “just $10” or some such deal. The lowest priced doesn’t always mean you’ll get the lowest service, but often it means they’re not telling you everything you need to know to make the right decisions.

That’s fine if you’re willing to pay a little more once they get there, providing they have more services and add-ons to help you. But just be aware that low costs often mean one of two things: either they’re going to do the “base cleaning” not really getting you the results you were hoping for, or they’re a bigger company that services “one-and-done” operations and work with more unskilled labor.

So how do you choose?

You want to make sure they’ve been in business for a number of years and have plenty of good reviews about them with nothing to hide. With the internet these days, that shouldn’t be too hard to find out. Just look around about what others are saying about them.

You’ll learn a lot by reviewing the experiences of others. And if they don’t have many reviews? Be sure to talk to the company and ask lots of questions. They should be approachable, amenable and happy to take their time with you if they want your business.

You also want to be careful with a company that’s “too big”. Why? Because while they may be professionally run at the corporate level, they may have a labor force working

Are they a faceless enitity? Can you talk to the person in charge? I make sure that my customers know who I am. I hide nothing, and am happy to explain the process and be there for any questions they have about their particular situations.

In fact, you’ll see my “mugshot” ON THE "Why Steam Plus?" page of our website (http://steampluscarpetandfloors.com) when you look for carpet cleaners in Madison WI. Yep, that’s me, and that’s who will show up at your door to take care of all the important work for your carpets. I take pride in my work and I hope it shows.

The Benefits of Professional Carpet Cleaning Equipment

Another advantage of hiring a professional carpet cleaner is the quality of our equipment. A good company has a truck-mounted cleaner, but not all do. You should also make sure to ask if they’re using older equipment, which can wear down and not have the same power as the newer high-tech steam cleaning equipment.

Scotch Guard is considered one of the top, “no-nonsense” highest quality cleaners. Anything else is imitation, and may not do the job half as well either. So be sure to ask. Sure it cuts costs if they don’t (always for the business, not always for you), but it also cuts down on the quality of the carpet cleaning you will receive as well.

On Your Way to Carpets Like New Again

There are obviously a lot of factors to consider when choosing to clean your precious upholstery and carpets. Whether you do it yourself or have someone do it for you, regular maintenance is required for the longevity and health of both.

Cleaning carpets is not always glamorous, but the results are. See it for yourself and schedule a rental or hire someone today. You’ll love how it’s feels beneath your feet, and the new look you’ve been wanting back again.

I hope this has been a help to you. If you have any questions, or you want to speak with someone in the Madison WI area, give me a call at 608-333-1415 and we’ll make an appointment to make YOUR carpets and upholstery look like new again!

Watch for our next post on How to Prepare for a Professional Carpet Cleaning, and learn what you can do to minimize your cost AND maximize your results!