Frequently asked Questions
Q: Does cleaning my carpet remove all stains?
A: During the pre-inspection tom will take a walk around the property with you. Asking you to show him any stains, and give a bit of background on them. Most stains can be removed, however we will never make any guarantee of removal.
Q: Why choose us when I can go and hire a rug doctor/ Friends VAX?
A: This is one of our most frequently asked questions. We all like to save money! As home owners ourselves, we know what it means to live on a budget and we also like to do some projects ourselves. But time is money these days. Add up the time it would take you to travel to/from the shop to rent the machine, then add in cost for chemicals, reading instructions, cost for fuel there and back, actually doing the job (with a non professional setup several hours). How much time have you invested 2, 4, 4 hours plus? Then the expense of the equipment and chemicals on top. Its not only time we save. Its excellence and these machines produce sub standard work. Due to the amount of people who rent these machines out weekly they are often worn and under-powered and over time they can become less and less efficient at extracting the moisture from your carpet. This can lead to long drying times, even potential damage if your carpet does not dry quickly. More-so most of them have the chemical mixed into the water tank, Great you say? No – The chemical is designed to attract and break down soils. If you are extracting with this chemical then your carpets are going to attract dirt very quickly. Its called detergent residue and The manufacturers have a great sales technique. (rent machine> cleans carpet> leaves soil attracting residue> customer rents the machine again = Money to the top brass)
Q: But what about things like Iron marks, slime, candle wax etc. Will these come out?
A: The simple answer is NO. Not without advanced stain removal techniques. The techniques used to remove burns and advanced staining are a lot more time consuming, are a specialist skill and will require a separate quotable appointment at the owners discretion due to the time it takes to remove them.
Q: What should I do about the furniture in the room?
A. Tom will happily move any small items of furniture that does not require more than one person (<25kg). We would also kindly ask that you remove small objects and breakables before arrive. Unfortunately we are not covered to move large items; wardrobes, beds, chests of drawers, bookcases etc
Q: Can you give me a quotation over the phone/Internet?
A: Yes there is no need for us to visit your home. Commercial property will require an on site visit for us to measure up.
Q: What is the estimated drying time?
A: The cleaning will leave your carpets or upholstery damp and they will dry naturally during the course of the day within several hours. Our premium packages include deodorizers and turbo driers to make the carpets dry a lot faster. In the summer months when it is more frequently warm this really accelerates drying times.
Q: How quickly can I get my carpet or upholstery cleaned?
A: We will try to get you an appointment within 24hrs of contacting us. However especially during the summer it is not unheard of to be booked up for 2 months in advance so please use forward thinking when looking to book.
Q: Are you insured?
A: Yes we have public liability cover up to £3 million pounds.
Q: Do you charge a booking fee?
A: The ONLY time we will charge a booking fee is if you have previously cancelled an appointment. For us to re-book your appointment you will be charged the FULL amount up-front, without this payment we will not confirm your appointment. This applies to all reasons including Covid-19 tests etc. We are a family run business and last minute cancellations really affect the running of our service.
Q: What method do you use?
A: We have several different methods for different types of fabrics (Bonnet cleaning, dry compond cleaning, solvent cleaning, low moisture cleaning and hot water extraction). What we use for 99% of domestic jobs is hot water extraction. This works by Spraying a eco friendly chemical onto your flooring which creates a chemical reaction to break down any soils in the fabric. This soil is then rinsed away at over 100 degrees Celsius by high pressure injected water which is in turn sucked back up almost instantaneously along with any dirt in the carpet.
Q: Do you charge for travel?
A: Good Question Yes and no – If you are local to us (Thanet) we do not charge. If you are outside of Thanet and spending less than £300.00 then we charge £1.00 per mile to and from your address to ours. This is to cover fuel and time spent travelling to and from the job.
Q: Can you repair iron marks, cigarette burns, and irremovable stains?
A: Yes, we are trained and certificated to carry out carpet repairs. This includes patch and cut, new door bars, pet damage, scorch marks etc. This service is priced separately to carpet cleaning. Repairs are conducted entirely at the owner or tenants risk. Failure to notify your landlord or letting agent is your responsibility alone.
Q: How many times a year should I have my carpets cleaned?
A: Cleaning frequency depends on a number of things such as the number of occupants in the household, pets, smokers and children. On average you should clean your carpets every six months to a year depending on soiling levels.
Q: Can you remove wine, tea, coffee etc…
A: Some stains can be permanent and therefore we can’t make any promises that we can remove them. We usually get better results if we attempt to remove the stain before anyone else tries.
Q: Can pet odours and urine be removed?
A: Something we get asked quite a lot this. The deodoriser in our cleaning solution will deal with most pet odours. We use professional spotters specificity designed for the removal of urine. However, as above we never make any guarantee of full removal.
Q: Can steam cleaning damage my carpet?
A: No. Hot water extraction is considered to be the best method for removing embedded soil and other contaminants. It is also the preferred cleaning method by the leading carpet manufacturers. In some situations we do not use “Steam cleaning” this is when cleaning wool products, and basically any other heat sensitive fabric.
Q: My carpets smell like wet dog after they have been cleaned. Why is this?
A: This is normal with Wool composed carpets and will Dissepate in several days. The “Doggy” smell youre sniffing out is lanolin, which is naturally secreted by sheep. This is what makes their coats waterproof, and this often results in wool smelling more strongly when wet – dont worry the smell will pass.
Q: Can you clean in flats above ground floor.
A: Yes we can. We do however charge an additional fee for carpet and upholstery cleans in flats. This is due to the additional time and care needed to get our equipment into the property opposed to a home where we can pull up, plug our machine in and get started in less than a minute or two.
Q: Is the price you quote the price I will pay, I have had other companies quote one price then charge for extra items on the day without consent.
A: Yes, The price quoted is the price you pay – End of. The only time we ever charge more than quoted is when you ask us to clean other items/rooms when we are on site. Or if the items you asked to be cleaned aren’t quite how you described (EG You asked for 2 seater sofa clean when it is in-fact a 3 seater).
Q: Do you use our electricity and water.
A: We do require access to plug sockets and ideally warm/hot water supply. Cold also isn’t an issue but warm mixes our chemicals better. The cost in electricity and water is extremely low compared to the premium you’d pay to a company using a petrol powered machine and generally works out a lot cheaper.