To some degree, all of us are attracted by low prices, because we want to work within a budget, But some carpet cleaners use price as the bait for their false and misleading advertising. They offier a cheap price - usually between $4.95 and $9.95 per room and then, once they are in your home, pressure you into buying “extras”, It’s as if you were buying a car and found that the dealer was charging you extra for the tires and steering wheel. Carpet cleaning is not as cheap as some unethical companies would like you to believe.

You’ll read this in almost every ad. You’;; hear this from virtually every carpet cleaner. Remember this: the method that’s best for you is the method that achieves your goal. If you want a method that dries quickly, then a method that takes a long time to dry isn't the best for you. So before you choose a carpet cleaner, identify your objectives. Then select the method that best reaches those objectives, Making sure the company stand behind their work with a 100% money-back guarantee lets you know they’re serious about doing the job right.

Dual process carpet cleaning describes the process of applying a detergent or heavy pre-conditioning, followed with hot water extraction or rinsing. Unfortunately, unethical carpet cleaners often use a dual process as bait-and-switch technique. Here’s how its done: First they “bait” you with a basic cleaning (single process) at an unbelievable low price. Then, when they arrive, they try to “switch” you to a more expensive dual process cleaning. If you don't fall for the switch and choose the basic service, you’ll likely receive poor workmanship using little more than plain water and they will not guarantee their work.

Years ago, many people believed you had to soak your carpets with lots of soaps and water to get them clean. But today, we know this is false. Over wetting and sticky soaps can cause mold and bacteria problems as well as damage the carpet and floor beneath. Obviously each carpet cleaner will be biased towards his own method and each method does have advantages. I suggest a good place to start is by making sure the company you choose is CRI (Carpet & Rug Institute) accredited, with trained technicians who know how to clean all types of carpet and perform advanced spotting

Not true. Dirt is abrasive - just like sandpaper. Every time you step on your carpet, you grind abrasive dirt into your carpet fibres.

A dirty carpet will not last nearly as long as a clean carpet and while vacuuming helps, by itself, its simply not enough.

The longer you wait to have your carpets cleaned, the more damage you can do to your carpet, the faster it will wear out and the sooner you will have to go through the expense of replacing your carpets.

Although improving and maintaining the appearance of your carpets and upholstery is the main reason why most people have them cleaned, there are other important factors to consider.

Environmental pollutants can build up in fabrics at an alarming rate, especially in carpets. The range of contaminants can be vast including; lawn fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, cooking vapors, tobacco smoke, food crumbs, beverage spills, hair, dead skin cells, pollen and insect remains to name a few, all of which provide a food source for harmful micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, dust mites and mold.

If you or your family suffer from allergies, asthma, emphysema or other breathing problems then this is another reason to clean your carpets and remove these contaminants.

You can choose from three primary methods: "Natural" Carbonated Cleaning, Dry Chemical Cleaning, or Hot Water Extraction commonly known as "Steam Cleaning".

Dry Chemical and Hot Water Extraction methods have a tendency to leave dirt attracting sticky residues on your carpet and either fail to thoroughly remove the soil from the fibres or take several hours, even days to dry if the technician doing the cleaning doesn't know what they are doing!

The Chem-Dry method is a hot carbonating extraction method that utilizes a patented cleaning product called the "Natural". The "Natural" is a mineral based solution that contains no soaps, detergents, bleaches or brighteners.

This process is offered only by Chem-Dry franchises and offers such benefits as carpets that dry in about 1 hour.There are some very good steam cleaning and dry chemical companies on the market today. What you need to understand is what it is you want and what they are offering before you give them the go ahead to have your carpets cleaned.

Many companies own hot water cleaners, but a large number of employees don't know how to use them. You probably know someone who bought the newest computer on the market, but didn't know how to use it.

The same is true with carpet cleaning machines. The company may own good equipment, but the employees may not know how to use it correctly. That’s why its important that you choose your carpet cleaner carefully.

At Chem-Dry, all our carpet cleaning technicians must undergo an intensive training program called Chem-College. The carpet technician must earn the certification through study,experience and the successful completion of a formal written examination. Technicians who pass Chem-College have, in effect, earned a degree in carpet cleaning.

Not true. Price is what you pay, Value is what you get for your hard earned money.

There can be so many problems that arise from lowest-bid companies that we suggest you never hire the company that quotes the cheapest price.

The three most common problems are;

#1: The price you are offered may not be for the services you want performed. The company may be equipped to remove some of the dirt from your carpet but you may want to remove the harmful dirt, bacteria, pollens, chemicals and tobacco residues as well.

#2: The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay. Many home owners have learned that the low price they saw advertised was not the amount they were charged. They were pressured into paying lot more for a variety of add-ons. (some carpet cleaners even break the law by using illegal bait-and-switch tactics.)

#3: The low price may mean the carpet cleaner has cheap equipment which will not effectively clean your carpet, is using cheap products or is using low paid employees who are untrained on the use of proper cleaning and spottingprocedures.

I wish this were true, but it isn't.

Honest, reputable carpet cleaning companies almost never price carpet cleaning by the room, unless to give a rough 'estimate'.

Instead, carpet cleaning is usually priced by the square foot - so if you’d like to know the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, I need to know exactly how many square feet you want cleaned.

To get an accurate measurement, an in-home inspection of the carpeted area may be required in order to calculate the exact size of the carpet area to be cleaned. The in home inspection/estimate is not a gimmick. It gives the carpet cleaner a chance to measure the areas to be cleaned, to see the carpeting to be cleaned and to answer any questions you may have.

For the customer, it is a no risk means by which you can get a firm written quote, it gives you the opportunity to ask questions and also gives you a chance to see if this is the type of company you want to do business with.

You'll be glad to know that the carpet area to be cleaned is not nearly as great as most people think. For example, if you want your entire home cleaned and your home is approximately 1500 square feet in size, the amount of carpeting to be cleaned might only be 800 square feet. This is because most home measurements are outdoor measurements. Also, when the areas taken up by walls, room dividers and the like are deducted, the result is that the actual carpeted area is significantly less.

In addition, you may only want to have the "high traffic" areas of your home cleaned. This makes sense if the furniture in a given room has always been in one place and will likely always be there. Why pay to clean areas of your home that are covered up and are not dirty. High Traffic cleaning can save you a lot of money. This only happens when a cleaner charges by the square foot.

So even though we may not be able to give you an exact price over the phone, we can give you an estimate. When the technician arrives, he will measure all the areas to be cleaned and give you the exact price before he starts any work.

Clean on a Regular Basis. Make a commitment to yourself to get your carpets cleaned on a regular basis. The longer they remain dirty, the sooner they'll wear out. Plus the longer you have to breathe all the pollens, fungi, chemicals and dust mites that live in your carpet, the longer you will be living in an indoor environment that has poor Indoor Air Quality.

List your objectives. Do you want only the visible dirt removed, or do you want the bacteria, fungi and chemicals removed? Do you want to be able to enjoy the use of the cleaned area as soon as possible following cleaning and do you want it to remain clean for a longer period of time? Also do you need the cleaning product to leave the carpet totally safe for infants and pets who sit and crawl close to the carpet fibres? Do you want to work with an honest, reputable company... or are you willing to risk working with the company that offers you the lowest price... knowing that they might not be in business tomorrow?

Ask questions. Ask your cleaner lots of questions, they will appreciate the fact that you obviously care about your carpets and upholstery. A professional company should be very willing to let you know why they should be the carpet cleaner of choice. If they are too busy to answer your questions or are evasive, call another cleaning company who will answer all of your questions. If they are too busy to answer your questions, they are not likely to give you the service you deserve and expect. See “Questions you should ask!” at the bottom of this page.

Get a Firm Quote before the Job. Once you're satisfied that you're working with an honest, competent professional cleaner, invite him into your home and ask for a specific quotation in writing. A written quotation gives you the assurance that you know exactly what your job will cost - no surprises, no bait and switch. That doesn't mean that you will not be offered additional services that are designed to keep your carpet and upholstery cleaner longer, or to treat specific conditions like urine damage or advanced staining. These are not a useless services designed to "jack up" the price of your cleaning, but rather option to prolong the life and beauty of your carpets.

Shampooing is one of the oldest methods of carpet cleaning. It uses a rotary floor machine where the shampoo is injected through the brushes and whipped to a foam on the carpet. The theory is that the foam and dirt will dry so that they can be vacuumed from the carpet. The advantages are the fairly low water usage and relatively good surface cleaning. Problems occur because the oils in the soaps never completely dry, leaving a sticky residue on the fibres that can rapidly attract new dirt and soil. This dirt attracting residue is the basic reason people complain that their carpets re-soil so quickly after being shampooed.

Steam Cleaning doesn't actually use steam because the scolding temperatures would be more that hot enough to permanently damage most fibres. The correct name is actually Hot Water Extraction. This method uses an extraction system to pressure spray the cleaning solution directly into the carpets and immediately extract it with a vacuum pump. The theory is that hot water will immediately dissolve ground in soils & grease in the few seconds it takes to pull the cleaning wand across the carpet. The advantages are the usually lower than average cost to the consumer and the speed at which the job can be completed. Problems arise because soils do not usually dissolve this rapidly and not all the solution sprayed down can be vacuumed up from the carpets This can leave carpets wet beyond tolerable limits, which can produce problems such as shrinkage, split seams and aid in the formation of mold and mildew. It can also be very inconvenient to the consumer to have to wait for many hours or even days before furniture can be replaced or normal traffic can resume in the cleaned area. Inadequate removal of soil and stains combined with over wetting is why many people notice the same stains re-appearing a few days after having this type of cleaning done.

Dry Powders and Dry Foams were intended to solve the severe problems that over wetting can create. Dry powder cleaning uses powders made of absorbent compounds that are saturated with detergents and dry cleaning solvents. They are applied directly to the carpet and brushed in with a machine. After about 30 minutes or contact time, the particles along with the absorbed soil are removed with a vacuum. Dry foam uses a mechanical unit and detergent to make a foam that is worked directly into the carpet and vacuumed off. Since moisture levels are low, the advantage is the limited risk of over wetting. Water however is often called the ‘universal solvent’ and without enough of it present some soils are not removed and remain to attract even more soil. Residues from the cleaning compounds also remain behind and contribute to re-soiling.

Carbonated cleaning, is commonly known as Chem-Dry cleaning. By contrast to the methods on this page, this method uses no soaps, detergents or hash chemicals. “The Natural” is a clear, carbonated solution made from completely safe ingredients copied from Mother Nature. In Laboratory test, carpets cleaned with “The Natural” actually resisited resoiling better than brand new carpets. Chem-Dry holds the exclusive patent on this carbonization cleaning method. If you have ever shaken up a bottle of soda, you realize the powerful reaction of carbonation. On your carpet, the tiny bubbles go right to the base of the fibre exploding dirt and stains apart and lifting them to the surface for extraction. Because of the nature of the carbonated reaction, very little solution is needed so most carpets dry in about one hour - with none of the risks of over wetting.

Did you know that your carpets represent the largest air filter in your home? Well, its true! Your carpets trap pollutants, dust, pollen and other allergens keeping them out of the air which you and your family breathe. You may be wondering “if carpets filter pollution from my indoor air, why do allergists say to remove them?” The truth is many allergists and doctors prescribe allergen avoidance in the belief that the removal of all possible places where allergens are held, will reduce allergic symptoms. This is a misconception especially where carpet is concerned.

You see, although allergen (dust, pollen, mold spores etc) may have been present in your carpet, carpet is not a source of airborne allergen that produce allergic symptoms. Removing carpet will not reduce the number of airborne allergens that produce allergic reactions from entering the indoor environment; in fact, removal of carpet has been shown to actually increase the amount of airborne allergens because other surfaces do not offer the capability of holding those allergens.

Being overly concerned may be unwarranted. According to studies by the US EPA: “Most mite allergen is found in bedding and upholstered furniture. Exposure to mite allergen usually occurs while sleeping, sitting or through direct surface contact with the allergen itself. Dust mite allergen (fecal pellets) is very large and is not released from the carpet into the breathing zone, even during periods of heavy activity. Maintaining humidity levels below 65%, regular vacuuming and regular professional cleaning will minimize the mite population in your home”.

Consider the following study: Due to reports published in Sweden in the mid seventies that claimed carpet was the source of harmful contaminants, resulting in allergic reactions, then general public and government offices severely reduced their use of carpet. Based on historical figures published by the Swedish Statistical Central Bureau in the early nineties, Professors Roshan L. Shishoo and Alf Borjesson, Swedish Institute of Fibre and Polymer Research, published an article pointing out that while the use of carpet in Sweden had steadily decreased since 1975, the occurrence of allergic reactions in the general population had increased significantly.

New Dust Mite Allergen Treatment Available: If someone in your home has a specific allergy to the proteins found in dust mite feces, pet dander and/or pollen, there is a all-natural fabric treatment option available. When carpets, upholstery and mattresses are treated with the main active ingredient contained in ‘Chem-Dry’s Dust Mite Anti-Allergen™’, the dust mite dropping allergens are physically changed, rendering them permanently harmless to people who display allergic symptoms to those allergens. After a complete thourough cleaning of your carpets, upholstery and mattress, a certified carpet & upholstery care professional can apply Chem-Dry’s Dust Mite Anti-Allergen treatment. This one treatment will remain effective for up to 6 months.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology reports that “50 percent of all illnesses are caused by or aggravated by polluted indoor air and nearly 2/3 of a study group of persons over 65 had moderate to severe persistent asthma caused primarily by elements in the home such as dust mites, mold and allergens from roaches, cats and dogs.” Childhood asthma has risen over 70% since the 1980’s and respiratory distress the #1 reason for emergency room visits by Canadians. If you consider that the average Canadian spends up to 90% of their time indoors and that according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies, “on average, the air inside your home is up to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air” these statistics are only bound to get worse. Although the causes and effects of poor air quality and allergies have long been known and can be a serious health threat, most people do very little to improve the air inside their own homes. Controlling the indoor air quality and the amount of allergen material in your home, or more importantly in your homes breathable air space, is actually quite simple but does take some forethought. Developing a good action plan designed to maintain a healthy indoor living environment and improved indoor air quality (IAQ) will not only help to reduce exposure for those suffering from allergies, asthma, emphysema or other breathing problems its also an excellent way to care for the health of your entire family.

>> Vacuum your carpet and upholstery every 2nd or 3rd day using a well maintained, true HEPA filtered vacuum or central vacuum that exhausts to the outside.

>> In all areas of extended exposure (bedrooms, family rooms, computer room etc. Where hard flooring is installed a daily damp mopping or tack-rag, dusting is important to keep settled dust and allergens from becoming airborne.

>> Having micro-particle capturing furnace filters changed monthly (or electrostatic furnace filter unit) will help keep overall airborne allergen levels as low as possible.

>> A twice annual carpet cleaning by a Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) certified firm using safe, non-allergenic products and approved methods will help empty and renew your carpets natural filtering ability (for homes with allergy and asthma sufferers this is especially important to perform in the areas of extended exposure such as bedroom and family rooms).

>> Avoid using aerosols, solvents, pesticides or products that off gas chemical odors within your home.

>> Inspect regularly for standing water, moisture or musty smells that may indicate fungi (mold, mildew) and/or bacteria growth. Look (and sniff) under or around sinks, toilet, tubs, water pipes, windows, cabinets, walls and basement / crawlspace areas. Avoid over-watering house plants and inspect soil pot for mold growth.