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• Should You Pay More or Less for Carpet Cleaning in Metro Detroit?

SHOULD YOU PAY MORE OR **Less** FOR CARPET CLEANING IN METRO DETROIT?

Is This A Trick Question?

Let's talk...

We're sure you've seen the ads for low-priced carpet & upholstery cleaning in Metro Detroit all over the internet.

In fact, the following carpet cleaning specials were the latest we saw advertised by local companies during June 2021:
 

3 rooms for $129.00
3 rooms for $89.00
4 rooms for $99.00
2 rooms & a hall for $105.00
 

The fact is no carpet or upholstery cleaning company could stay in business for very long charging such rock-bottom prices.

Let's be real.

The sheer cost of doing business these days and keeping a company properly staffed simply does not allow for that.

It's a terrible long-term strategy for any company if their goal is reasonable earnings and acceptable profit margins.

Especially when you consider...

Metro Detroit carpet cleaning companies are hiring carpet cleaning technicians & helpers right now (June 2021) at wages of $15.00/hr to $25.00/hr (according to Google & Indeed.com).

One company offers techs up to 25% commission on upsells in addition to their hourly pay.

Yet another offers straight sales commission employment.

The encouraged "incentive" with commission-based employment is to upsell, upsell, upsell, YOU, the customer.

 

As we all know, basic business overhead such as the rent/mortgage, utilities, liability insurance, state & federal taxes, gas, vehicle maintenance, supplies, payroll, employee benefits, tools, and repairs must be accounted for and funded.

Daily payroll costs include time preparing, stocking, and filling up vehicles for the day's jobs, "windshield time" (time spent driving in between jobs & not cleaning), the arrival set up / cleaning / breakdown & loading time during customer appointments, then the end-of-day paperwork & other vehicle maintenance such as sanitizing / disinfecting the van or truck, restocking, cleaning out the truckmount filter, refilling the onboard water tank, etc.

Owner-operators, mid-sized operations, or big corporate franchises must cover some or all of these unavoidable expenses.

Companies also face supply, labor, and parts shortages which are driving prices & wages up across all industries in 2021.

Let's not even get started on the topic of inflation.

The reality is that the numbers for these cheap carpet cleaning specials...

SIMPLY DON'T ADD UP.

There is a price to pay for these fantastical carpet cleaning bargains.

They are either straight-up scams or bad faith tactics used to bait and ensnare you with that tempting coupon price.

This is why we've decided to loop you in on this very shady side of carpet cleaning.

Even if you don't hire our company, take much care not to hire a local carpet cleaner that will take advantage of you in the following ways...
 

5 IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW **BEFORE** YOU BOOK A "DISCOUNT" CARPET CLEANING

1) Your cleaning may end up an unfortunate quickie 'wet & jet' or 'spray & pray' cleaning.

There's a chance techs may (or may not) use a quality cleaning or pre-spray conditioning solution. Some pre-sprays are chemical-laden, soapy products.

Really unscrupulous techs have been known to use just plain water. Yes, you read that right. Only water.

Techs may or may not pre-vacuum before cleaning.

If they will vacuum, they may only do it at your request (or demand).

You may be told to vacuum the carpet yourself before their arrival.

They may not bring their own vacuum cleaner and will use yours. This is extra wear & tear on your equipment.

They may not treat marks or spots appropriately...or perhaps not at all.

If you have pile or frieze carpet, it may not be groomed as that necessary final touch to speed up drying.

The company may have also overbooked or swamped their techs to the point that they rush through the day's schedule (and your cleaning) to get to their next appointment.

This all results in your carpet not getting the time and attention it deserves from start to finish.

 

2) The company may send out inexperienced & poorly-trained entry-level technicians who may over-wet your carpet or over-apply pre-sprays or treatments. 

Depending on the product(s) used, you may be left with loads of dirt-attracting soapy residue.

When this happens your carpet may initially look clean but will be dingy & dirty again fast.

Worse, any excessive moisture that remains in your carpet over 24 hours may cause dangerous mold and odor to develop in the carpet, carpet pad, or subflooring (per FEMA).

Over-wetting carpet is usually the result of improper cleaning & tech training procedures.

Whether you pay a fair price or a commissioned, upsold price, at least query & make sure the actual person cleaning your carpet is highly trained, experienced, and/or certified by a reputable carpet cleaning industry organization.

 

3) Companies may not bring the proper hot steam extraction (HWE) equipment to do a true deep clean.

Major carpet manufacturers such as Shaw and Mohawk recommend & require hot water extraction cleaning (HWE) every 12-18 months to keep the carpet textile products they sell looking great and to maintain the warranties they offer on them.

They typically ask the homeowner to provide a verifiable paid invoice should a warranty claim ever have to be made.

Hot water extraction is also referred to by the less technical term "steam cleaning".

A proper, deep-down steam cleaning is performed by a fixed truck-mounted unit with a large powerful suction hose & (hot) waterline attachments that fix to hand, wand, or rotary tools.

Let's explore the readily available types of non-truckmount cleaning equipment:

For starters, we've all seen the portable rental cleaners sitting in a rack & hawked for a cheap daily rental fee at the big box stores.

You know, those Rug Doctor or Bissell Big Green Machine units at Lowe's, Home Depot, Meijer, Pet Smart, etc.

These small do-it-yourself cleaning cleaning portables require filling the tiny 1-gallon onboard tank with clean, hot tap water & their branded soapy solution (which you also have to purchase).

Then you must dump the wastewater after a few short passes on the carpet. Rinse and repeat. Over and over again.

Now add the hours spent on this DIY 'forever cleaning' to your time driving to the store, waiting in line to fill out the rental paperwork & presenting your ID, cleaning the unit out when you're done, and then rushing it back to avoid late or renewal fees.

After factoring in the extra gas & wear and tear on your vehicle for the round-trip...

Are these well-spent moments, dollars & effort?

We highly suggest avoiding these units anyway if you're looking for PROFESSIONAL RESULTS & a true deep clean.

If you currently own a small home carpet steam cleaner, these are really only best used for small areas or spot cleanings when you run into fresh spills or very fresh pet accidents in between professional carpet cleanings.

Home carpet steamers can help extend the period before you call in a pro, yes.

However, if you eventually want your carpet for real cleaned, be aware that waiting way too long in between professional cleanings may leave your carpet subject to permanent stains & irreversible fiber damage that no pro can magically fix.

Now let's talk about commercial-grade portable units (or "porties") used by some carpet cleaning companies...

These are much sturdier than home or store rental units & are perfectly appropriate for high-rise buildings or homes where water, hose, carpet, or upholstery access is difficult.

Be aware that some commercial portable units do not have the added equipment to heat their onboard water and some do.

All commercial portables have limited water tank capacity compared to truckmounts as well (~4 to 12 gallons or so).

If you have a large amount of carpet to clean these units add a lot of extra time to a job because there is still a fill-dump-refill-dump factor.

Portable commercial units run a PSI (pound per square inch) of water pressure from as low as 100 PSI to as high as 1200 PSI at varying GPMs (gallons per minute).

The actual PSI used by a professional carpet cleaner while they cleaning your carpet is ultimately based on the fiber type, pile type, and its current soiled condition. This can run anywhere from 200 PSI and up to 600 PSI on average.

The by-the-day store rental carpet cleaners units only clean at less than 30 PSI !! We couldn't find the exact stats on the most popular home carpet cleaning machines we looked up, but can only imagine they are equally lackluster.

Hands down, no portable carpet cleaning unit has the cleaning power that an industrial truck-mounted cleaning system offers.

It's just a fact.

Professional carpet cleaning is best performed with industrial truck-mounted units at the recommended cleaning intervals of once every 12-18 months (or 24 months MAX for low foot traffic, low-accident, non-shoe-wearing households).

Our truck-mounted system has the capability to heat steam water up to 210 degrees F (water boils at 212 degrees F), tops out at 1500 PSI, runs 3.5 GPMs, and we carry a 70-gallon clean water tank & 65-gallon wastewater tank onboard.

We actually like to spend our time cleaning your carpet, not wasting it stopping to repeatedly fill and dump multiple tanks, you see.

If you pay for water, guess where the portable carpet cleaning company will be continually filling up their tank?

Your house.

A worse prospect than portable carpet cleaning would be if a company came to "bonnet or "bonnet clean" the carpet in your home or business.

With this process, a floor scrubber-type machine is used with a cotton or other material pad attached to the bottom of the cleaning head. This machine may or may not have a small tank affixed to the unit.

The first clue will be that there will only be a power cord attached to the floor scrubber unit, with no water lines or hoses. This type of, and we hesitate to use the words, "deep cleaning" is really only a surface clean.

It's also an incredibly quick process in comparison to a truck mount carpet cleaning or a commercial unit portable cleaner.

Learn more about bonneting here.

Bonneting does have its workable place in the carpet cleaning industry, but it is NOT a comparable substitute for hot water extraction (HWE) carpet cleaning.

Especially in homes and businesses where clients want the certainty of an actual deep-down clean and more dramatic visual "steam cleaned" results when your carpet is very visibly dirty.

When you're dealing with the removal of long-embedded dirt, indoor air pollutants, allergens, pet urine, blood & wine spills, and just plain filth, you need a significantly 'leveled-up' process for a true deep clean.

Super-hot HWE cleaning & sticking with a timely cleaning schedule are the key factors.

 

4) You may encounter an uncomfortable & unwanted high-pressure sales experience. 

Once you've agreed to the low advertised price of a discount coupon by-the-room carpet cleaning company & secured a spot on their schedule, your trials and tribulations may have just begun.

When the techs arrive on the day of your appointment, at some point when the furniture is moved about, they unload their tools & equipment and start to unfurl & hook up their hoses, you may want to prepare yourself for upsells before the actual cleaning begins.

This is a by-design tactic since the customer is already in a highly committed & vulnerable position at that very moment.

If you don't have it in you to decline or haggle over the extras you really hadn't planned on getting in the first place, your final bill will likely be much different than initially anticipated. 

After all the add-on items such as extra treatments, spotting products, and even high-priced doormats have been foisted upon you for purchase, you could be paying double (or more) than that get-in-your-door special low-price you thought you'd pay.

This is exactly why Carpet Cleaning Excellence only offers each client honest & fair upfront pricing, exact in-home quotes, clearly post our pricing guidelines, and provide good faith estimates over the phone.

We consider you a Client not a run-of-the-mill customer or 'mark' to be upsold from the start.

We want to be your carpet cleaning provider of choice for the Life of your carpet & upholstery, plain & simple.

Our in-home consultations & quote visits are free, easy & no pressure. We measure up your carpet, provide a full inspection, discuss the options we offer, then give you a written price that won't change on the day of your appointment.

If you like our price, you have the option to book with us or to keep searching for a carpet cleaning company that may better suit your needs.

(Learn all about our Pricing & Packages here.)

Of course, we'd be THRILLED to deep clean your carpet & upholstery, but it really is okay if you decide to head in another direction if you find the cleaning options we have to offer you aren't what you need or want.

We can actually take no for an answer and keep all parties involved happy. :)

Just know we're always here should you need us in the future.

 

5) You may end up waiting hours for the bargain carpet cleaning company's arrival. Much like waiting for the cable guy to show up (anytime between 8AM-12PM or 12PM-4PM).

Wide appointment arrival times cause bargain carpet cleaning techs to maximize opportunities to squeeze in more upsells.

If you're successful in declining unanticipated, commissioned extras, then you may be deemed an unprofitable customer.

This could result in less attention to detail during your cleaning so that commissioned techs can quickly move on to the next customer (or potential "mark") crammed into their day's schedule.

If you're the very last (and "unprofitable") customer of the workday, your cleaning just may be cut short.

Some techs, after a jammed schedule & long shift, just want to go home. Especially if there are no extra financial incentives to be had with your cleaning, unfortunately.

Look, your time is valuable and so is the quality of your carpet & upholstery cleaning.

We know and respect that.

This is why we offer 1-hour arrival times and only book, on average, a maximum of 3-4 cleanings per day.

2-3 hour onsite appointments are allotted for each AVERAGE SIZED home. Larger homes receive the appropriate extended attention.

We take our time with your fairly priced, full-service cleaning.

And it shows.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

It is not financially advantageous for any company to provide a fabulous, carpet, rug, or upholstery cleaning at a dirt-cheap price without there being some sort of dubious catch, corner to be cut, or dirt left behind.

Especially when you consider the 'nitty-gritty' of the 5 bargain carpet cleaning company facts detailed above.

Is it worth getting carpets professionally cleaned?

Absolutely!

We just recommend doing your proper due diligence over the phone & face-to-face.

Start by asking lots of questions of any company offering an enticing, super-cheap carpet cleaning special to lure you in.

EXPERIENCE.

ETHICS.

INTEGRITY.

EXCEPTIONAL CLEANING RESULTS.

Carpet Cleaning Excellence prides itself on offering clear-cut, accurate pricing, as well as free & quick in-home quotes. We freely provide good-faith estimates over the phone and have our pricing guidelines clearly posted on this website.

The cherry on top is that our detailed, careful & highly-skilled company owner, Susan Klein, will perform the in-home quote & your full-service cleaning when you're ready. We encourage you to book a 20-minute appointment to meet your trusted future Carpet Cleaner for Life.

--->  <---

 

HAVING YOU AS A CLIENT FOR THE LIFE OF YOUR CARPET & UPHOLSTERY IS OUR GOAL

We don't "hit it and quit it", as they say.

Never have, never will.

We want to see you again year after year (or every other year) when you're due to get your carpets, rugs & upholstery cleaned.

It doesn't serve you well or us well to provide you with anything less than a superior, quality-conscious carpet cleaning that is secured by our infamous 100% money-back guarantee.

Oh, and we will even return at NO CHARGE for touch-ups for those challenging situations or certain areas that we may have pre-determined to require a little extra attention (like profuse blood accidents).

Would the cheap coupon special carpet cleaner guys in your local mailer booklet or on the internet do the same?

We suggest you find out before they darken your door.


 

Finally, we beg to ask the question: "Is It Cheap or Is It Clean?"

No, we're not the cheapest company out there. We will tell you that upfront.

But considering the above...do you really WANT the cheapest company?

If you do, no harm, no foul. We just like to be crystal clear with our cleaning process, pricing, and overall way of doing business.

That's why we are Carpet Cleaning Excellence, after all.


 

If the way we operate and clean greatly appeals to you then...

Don't delay in booking "The Most Thorough Cleaning Ever!"

Use our $25.00 New Client Special to apply to your very first cleaning & as an incentive to try our company.

If you're still on the fence and don't want to book a cleaning straight away, schedule that free, no-pressure onsite consultation with Susan Klein, our company owner & legit Master Carpet Cleaner, to get your official cleaning quote.

You'll have over 30 years of trusted experience and cleaning skills at your disposal to answer all of your questions and address any cleaning concerns.

Doesn't that sound better than taking a chance on a questionably trained, inexperienced, financially motivated, and integrity-challenged non-owner, rank and file Tech?

During your visit, Susan will inspect your carpet, rugs & upholstery, measure what's required, educate you on our process and packages, offer her professional recommendations, and give you the best (reasonable) expectation for results.

You will then be provided with an official, written quote containing the upfront pricing options that won't suddenly change on the day of your cleaning appointment.

Heck, she'll even recommend total carpet replacement if things are just too far gone!

You will only be quoted and charged for the carpet (and any other) cleaning you actually need and want.

You'll never know what the final answers to your questions or what the price will be for a truly awesome and thorough carpet cleaning will be if you don't call us.

We service most cities & townships within Oakland County, Macomb County & Wayne County in Michigan.
 

Are you ready to pay for only Exceptional Cleaning?

We thought so.

Get the carpet, rug & upholstery cleaning party started by clicking on & calling the phone number below.

We're standing by...

248-886-7112

Susan Klein
Master Carpet Cleaner & Owner
Carpet Cleaning Excellence

(This article includes some helpful, extra information within the highlighted text links & images to round out your quality carpet cleaning company research. Click away & soak up the knowledge as a well-informed consumer should!)

WLP, CCE/AKC, 6/2021