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The first time you hire a professional carpet cleaner, you may wonder if you’ve chosen the right company for the job. The and associated industry affiliates offer the following tips to help identify reliable cleaning firms. Although these tips are not fail safe, firms that comply with these criteria usually provide a higher level of quality service:
Insurance, Licensing, Taxes
Firms should carry adequate business and liability insurance for consumer protection. They should comply with the licensing requirements of local, state, provincial and federal authorities. They should collect, report and pay appropriate licensing fees and taxes.
Ongoing Training
Cleaning firms should require management and employees to engage in formal ongoing training, providing them with the latest industry technologies and techniques.
Certified Technicians
Firms should have technicians on staff who are specifically trained in carpet cleaning. There are separate courses taught for residential and commercial carpet cleaning.
Experience
The years of experience a firm has, combined with formal training programs, may contribute significantly to the proficiency of its employees.
Knowledge
Professional firms use trained technicians who have the ability to answer basic questions regarding cleaning, maintenance, and spot removal procedures.
Inspections and Pricing
Firms should offer estimating, consulting and pre-cleaning inspections. After inspection, the customers should be provided with a firm, written cost for the cleaning services.
References
Firms should be willing, when requested, to provide customers with references.
Trade Associations
Quality-cleaning firms are members of international, national or regional trade associations, which encourage high ethical standards and promote continuing education.
Customer Courtesy
Firms should provide value-oriented service including, but not necessarily limited to: courteous personnel; quick and comprehensive complaint handling; appropriate recommendations for additional services, such as application of carpet protectors, carpet repair and deodorization.
Product Safety
Firms should use products and cleaning techniques in a safe manner. Products should be used and disposed of in accordance with applicable local, state, federal and provincial laws and regulations.
Customer Service and Procedure Checklist
Above all, technicians must be courteous. They must be willing to take time to pre-inspect carpet in all areas that need cleaning. In addition, they should discuss structure access, water availability and any special limitations. They must identify the carpet construction and fiber, evaluate specific needs and recommend an appropriate cleaning method or procedure. Carpet should be cleaned by trained, conscientious technicians, backed by good quality equipment, products, procedures and reputable firms. The trained, certified technician, not a particular method, machine or process, is the key to high quality results!
Consumers have a right to expect itemized services and firm prices before technicians begin each portion of the work sold. While technicians may offer other services at additional cost, consumers should never be pressured to accept anything more than the services they request and authorize.
All cleaning, specialty agents and equipment must be used in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and appropriate safety and environmental regulations.
Firms should offer workmanship guarantees in writing. Fiber type, carpet construction, installation and maintenance may present circumstances beyond a cleaning technician’s control. However, responsible workmanship must be implicit in any work performed.
All carpet must be thoroughly vacuumed before other cleaning techniques are employed, regardless of the cleaning method used. Special attention should be placed on vacuuming entry areas and walk-off mats where soil accumulates.
Unless clearly specified otherwise, moving furniture to access and clean carpet underneath should be considered part of the normal cleaning job. Items such as, but not limited to, fish tanks, waterbeds, loaded china cabinets, computers, large desks, file cabinets, bookshelves and extremely delicate or fragile furnishings (pianos, antiques) are considered exceptions. Plastic chair mats placed over carpeting cannot be re-laid until the carpet is fully dried.
Special attention to spots and stains must be included in normal job performance. However, time consuming, specialized spotting may incur an additional charge. Technicians should advise customers of additional charges before extensive spotting or color repair is attempted.
Preconditioning heavily soiled entry and traffic areas is normally included in the cost of cleaning. However, overall job cost may increase in extreme soiling situations. Customers should be advised in advance of the need for increased charges.
It is the technician’s responsibility, with the customer’s cooperation, to ensure that the carpet is dried and returned to normal use within a reasonable time, typically within six to eight hours. The amount of time required for drying varies with different methods, the degree of soiling and the aggressiveness of cleaning. However, under no circumstances should carpet drying require more than 24 hours with proper airflow, ventilation and humidity control. The customer’s cooperation in providing conditioned air, continuous airflow and ventilation to expedite drying cannot be overemphasized.
Effort must be made to physically remove as much soil as possible from the carpet during cleaning without changing its texture. Pile yarns must be left as residue-free as possible.
This information is taken from The Clean Trust S-100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning. For more information, visit The Clean Trust.
