I hesitated to include this topic and video on “Why you should NEVER let a carpet cleaner clean your area rugs in your home” for what may be fairly obvious reasons: we are a carpet cleaning company!! However, there is much to learn from this video, and I include it because many companies that “claim” to do off-site area rug cleaning simply take them to a warehouse and just use regular carpet cleaning equipment! Imagine our consternation when someone tells us that they can get “the same cleaning job for half the price” when we are providing a full spa wash for your area rugs and the other company is using regular equipment!
With that being said, there are exceptional circumstances that require us to clean an area rug at our client’s home or office. It may be due to the size of the rug (we once cleaned a rug on the Bridle Path that had been handmade in Thailand and was carried into the client’s home by 10 men!!), or it may be under furniture that the client doesn’t want to move. It may simply be that the client doesn’t want the inconvenience, even in the short term, of their rug going out for service. Regardless of the reason, if it becomes clear that off-site cleaning is impossible, we will clean onsite, following these procedures:
– We will EXTENSIVELY vacuum the rug to remove as much dry soil as possible. No, it’s not as effective as the de-dusting technology that we employ in-house, but it does help.
– We use neutral cleaning products and NEVER shampoos of any kind. For wool products, we only use certified “Woolsafe” products.
– We clean with cold or lukewarm water to avoid the risk of dye transfer.
– All rugs are fan-dried to ensure that all moisture is eliminated after cleaning.
There are also occasions where we may dry clean a rug, but this is the exception rather than the rule as most spots and stains are water-based and need water-based solutions. I hope both this video and my short blog clarify why we so strongly recommend that your valuable area rug is worth the investment of taking it off-site! Yes, in a pinch, we will clean your rug at home, but forgive us for being more than a little insistent that you let us take it back to our plant. Both you and your rug will thank us!!
Thanks for reading this and feel free to contact us if you have questions.
All the best,
Mike Holmes