Carpet Cleaning Equipment Prices and Services for the Holiday

One of the items on any party planners list is getting the carpets cleaned, and that calls for getting the best deal on carpet cleaning equipment. We're going to answer questions of cost, and features you'll want to choose from as you are getting ready. With the holidays just around the corner, you'll want to handle this once every couple of years or so job early and effectively. There are a number of choices if you choose to rent a carpet steam cleaner. You might even be looking at buying one to keep the long term costs of cleaning down. First thing to note is carpet cleaners do not clean with steam. Never. You'll see the word steam used frequently, but that is a misnomer. Hot water cleaning--yes. Steam cleaning--no. Especially if we are talking about home carpets which can't handle that amount of heat. Commercial carpets are a different story.

If you don't own your own equipment, and have no desire to buy a unit, you can rent, or have a service do the work. We get ads almost daily it seems at the house with offers of carpet cleaning. Right now, I see prices as low as $6.95 a room with a two room minimum. (Of course it also says they are "steam cleaned" which is flat wrong.) If you are going to use a service, keep these points in mind. The type of cleaning the carpet cleaning equipment you rent or buy, and most commercial services as well, is hot water extraction cleaning.

• Check on their references
• Guarantee of the work
• How fast does the carpet dry
• How much water do they use
• Do they use a detergent in their work
• Contract and price

Detergents should be limited to stains. The problem with using any kind of soap in your carpet, is the inability of even the best carpet cleaning equipment to remove all the residue. With this in the carpet, the "spot" becomes a magnet for dirt instantly. That recommendation comes from carpet manufacturers, so don't let a salesman talk you into something different. Contract and price is a no brainer. Make sure you have an agreed upon scope of work and what it will cost before you hire any company. Also, you'll want to have a provision that you must sign off on additional work before it can be part of the contract. No verbal OK's.

The less water used from the carpet cleaning equipment, the better it is for your carpet. The carpet will also dry faster, making the ability to put the room back to work faster an important element. Now you are set with the information you need about the carpet cleaning equipment you'll see in home use. Carpet manufacturers have one final note on carpet maintenance. Vacuum regularly is the best way to keep your carpets looking sharp, no matter what time of the year in happens to be.