subject: Carpet Cleaning [print this page] Maybe you don't know the difference in methods-most homeowners don't-and you are checking prices. You have to wonderwhy some ads say whole house cleaning $99 and others are more to the tune of $40 per room. The difference is easy to understand. The carpet cleaner with a portable machine can spend all day doingpoor work cheaply because his investment in equipment is nothing. A real cleaner uses a system called Truck Mount Hot Water Extraction. This is normally a $40,000 set up minimum, so obviously the service is worth more. Most Dry Cleaning carpet cleaners are the portable non-extraction kind that leaves soiling in the carpet. This is very damaging to the fiber. You want to always stay away from these "to good to be true" cleaners. Good cleaners have a truck that not only creates anabundance of hot waterbut also has tremendous suction to pull the dirt out of the carpet back to a return tank in the truck. Drying time is another trick used by cleaners to make consumers think a wet carpet is bad. Actually carpet loves a warm water bath. Professional cleaners wet only the fibers until they are nice and clean without wetting the backing and padding. Drying time should be about six hours if a carpet has been properly cleaned. So don't cheap out thinking that you are getting a good deal. Find a cleaner that use truck mounted equipment and has been in business for a few years. Your carpet willbe cleaner and last much longer.
