Frequently asked questions

 

Will steam cleaning damage my carpets….?

No. Hot water extraction is the method preferred by the worlds largest carpet manufacturer, and is highly recommended by the New Zealand Wool Board. It is considered by many, to be the best method of removing embedded soil and other contaminants.

 

How often should carpets be professionally cleaned….?

All residential carpets should be professionally cleaned at least every 12 to 18 months. If a carpet has been heavily soiled or stained, prompt attention will greatly increase the chances of not only removing the stains, but extending the life of the carpet as well. Regular cleaning pays for itself in the long run.

 

What’s the difference between steam cleaning and dry cleaning….?

It is a popular belief that dry cleaning your carpet is like dry cleaning your clothing. This is not true. When the dry chemical method is used, most companies use a machine similar to a floor polisher, rotating a large cotton bonnet, absorbing the dirt thats in the carpet. Its comparible to rubbing the dirt out of a carpet with a soft towel. This method can also leave a chemical residue in the carpet. In our opinion dry cleaning is not the most effective carpet cleaning process.

 

Is it possible to clean carpets too often….?

No. Frequent cleaning of the carpet will help maintain its origonal condition. Regular hoovering between cleans is highly recommended

 

How long do my carpets take to dry….?

With the hot water extraction process carpets can be walked on immedietly. Drying time depending on air flows is normally 1 to 2 hours.

 

Can you get all the spots out?

It depends on what they are. Most grayish/blackish stains will come out. Unfortunately, anything with a dye will pose a problem. There is no way to remove a dye spot from your carpet without affecting the original dye applied when the rug was manufactured. So, wood stain, food coloring from popsicles, hair dye, some markers, dyes in some candle wax, etc, often can't be removed. There are a few people that specialize in spot dying carpets. This is a process where the spot is bleached out and a new dye is applied to match the existing color of the carpet. But, it's very tricky and raises special new problems. An exact color match is never guaranteed, some dyes can't even be bleached out, and the bleaching effort can affect the PH balance and leave an orange ring.

 

 

There are black lines around the edges of my carpet. Are they permanent?

Those are called soil "filtration lines," which are created by soot from your furnace, and in some cases, candles. Nearly every home has them to some degree. It's possible to remove them, but it's very time consuming. It requires taping the molding with painter's tape, treating the edges with a cleaning solution, working it in, steaming out with a crevice tool attached to our equipment, and repeating the process as many as 6 or 7 times. A single home can easily take 8 hours just working on filtration. This is available at an additional charge and requires a separate appointment. This is not included as part of our whole house special because of the time involved. Typically, when customers want this done, they will arrange to have us work on the high impact areas a set amount of time, maybe 2 or 3 hours.

 

What time will you show up?
 If we are going to be later than 5 minutes, you will get a phone call from the technician letting you  know his status.

 

Do you confirm appointments with a phone call or email?

No. We pretty much just show up as scheduled.

 

Are all carpet and upholstery cleaning agents about the same?
No. Many common "off-the-shelf" cleaning agents have a high pH, which may negatively affect your carpet. If it's too strong, it can take the color out and/or leave a residue resulting in resoiling. Typically, you will want to rinse out any spot cleaner you apply to the carpet.
 

Do you move furniture you are cleaning around?
We move light furniture such as sofas, coffee tables, and chairs in larger rooms such as the living room, dining room, and family room.  We do not typically move stereo equipment, big screen TVs, china hutches, pianos, and such larger, or more sensitive objects.  In bedrooms, we typically do not move furniture at all (especially on our "whole house" promotions). If you want bedroom furniture moved, please let us know when you make the appointment so we can set extra time aside. It's important for us to stay on schedule. There is an additional charge for moving furniture that falls outside these parameters.  If you have a whole house coupon that says, "exposed carpet in bedrooms only," this does not mean we only clean the carpets in the bedrooms. It means we don't move furniture in the bedrooms, but we move furniture in the other rooms, which we also clean as part of the deal.

 

Do I need to leave my house while you are cleaning?
You can stay. You can leave. You can stay and then leave, or leave a key and show up later. We often go out the garage, hit the garage door button, and jump the laser beam. Just let us know what you want. You are not required to be there.

 

Can I walk on the carpet right after the cleaning has been done?
Yes. However, we recommend you avoid high traffic until the carpet is completely dry. Alot of traffic may prolong dry time. Use caution as wet feet may cause slipping and falling.

 

Any recommendations before the technician arrives?
It's best to pre-vacuum general debris from the carpets. Our system will suck up the little stuff, but larger pieces get caught in our filters. If you've vacuumed within the last few days, you are OK. Remove any breakable objects from tight corners and tables near stairs. We move light furniture, but we let you handle small things like toys and clothes.

 
There are some areas in my carpet that have wrinkles. What can you do?
It's common for carpets to loosen up over time. If you want them stretched down flat, we can refer you to someone that does excellent work.

 

Can you apply a deodorizer to my carpet?
Deodorizer can be applied to your carpet at an additional charge

 

My carpet is heavily soiled. Will there be an extra fee?
We have never charged extra for heavily soiled carpets.

 

Is there a travel charge?
No. There is no travel charge inside the Whangarei District.

 

How long will it take to clean my carpets?
Whole houses take about 2 to 3 hours.

 

What if I want to cancel an appointment?
As long as you give us 24 hours notice, it's no problem.

 

Won't water ruin my carpet?
Modern carpet technology is basically water resistant, and the limited amount of water left in the carpet due to our high-powered steam scrubber leaves the carpets damp, causing no problem to the carpet.

 

Why clean my carpets when I've heard that cleaning makes it soil faster and shortens the life of the carpet?
Some cleaning agents cause re-soiling, some do not. We use a commercial cleaning agent specifically designed to prevent re-soiling.

Can I have both my area rugs and the carpet that it sits on cleaned at the same time?
Yes. However, the area rug cannot dry over the wet carpet. After cleaning the area rug must be taken to another area that is dry and clean.

 

Why does the carpet under my area rug look different than the carpet surrounding it?
There is a phenomena that occurs beneath area rugs that lay on installed carpet.  At least three factors contribute.

1) The fibres of installed carpets are typically glued to the backing. The glues offgass and this causes a shift in the PH balance of the carpet, which over the course of 4 or 5 months often develops a yellow tinge in the carpet beneath the area rug. When this happens, it is usually irreversible.

2) The light usually comes in the windows and dulls the carpet surrounding the area rug. When the area rug is pulled back, you then have a nice bright rectangle where the area rug was (95% of the time).

3) Dyes from area rugs are often unstable and bleed into the carpet underneath, especially along the edge of the area rug. By and large, when you put an area rug on a carpet, it is a one way trip.  After about 4 or 5 months, you are going to be committed. My recommendation is that if you want to spend some money and add color to the room, get some new custom drapes.

  

What should I do if the stains that were cleaned reappear?
Although most stains that are removed from carpets do not reappear, from time to time we run into situations where spots have reappeared after the cleaning.

There are 2 reasons why this could happen.

1) Something in the pad or the floorboard (usually pet urine) has worked its way back up into the carpet. This is more common than you might think. The pad works like a huge sponge absorbing anything that penetrates it. There is a property of physics that allows the salts in urine to seek airflow, which means the urine finds its way back into the carpet even when the substance is seemingly dry.

2) The second reason spots reappear has to do with PH levels. Sometimes the PH balance gets shifted to one side or the other of the pH scale. This could be because spot cleaning efforts previously upset the pH balance before we arrived, or rarely, our agent reacted with some invisible thing already there. If your situation is a PH issue, we are  happy to make a no-charge visit to correct the problem, which usually involves spraying a neutralizer on the spot and brushing with a carpet rake.

 

How do you guarantee customer satisfaction?
We don't get call backs too often, but we are happy to come back out and address any situation that might arise. Please call us within a week of the original appointment.