Do You Need to Vacuum Before Professional Carpet Cleaning?
If you’re planning to have your carpets professionally cleaned, there are several steps that you can take first in order to maximise the cleaning experience. Here are a few of our recommended steps to enable a more efficient and effective professionally carpet cleaning process:
Clear the Carpeted Areas
The first thing you should do is clear away any carpeted areas, which will help you with the other preparation procedures listed below. Easy-to-move things like lamps, stools, tables, chairs, props, toys, etc. should all be removed before your technician arrives. It should be agreed beforehand what types of furniture your technician will move. They should also let you whether they charge an additional fee to move heavy items of furniture, such as wardrobes, heavy tables, sofas, works of art…
Declutter
This procedure goes hand-in-hand with clearing the carpeted areas. Getting your carpets cleaned involves requires the use of long, heavy hoses and cords. This means that anything on the floor, such as a pair of shoes or toys are a safety hazard for the cleaners. The more area of carpet that is clear, the more area of carpet the technician will be able to clean.
Vacuum the Carpets Yourself
Having a pre-vacuum ensures that any dust, soil or dander is removed prior to the professionals coming in. More often than not, it is widely assumed by customers that it is the job of the professionals to vacuum the carpet, or that it is included in the overall fee. Contrary to that, it is up to the customer to vacuum prior to the professionals coming in. The reason that this should be done by you is because most vacuum cleaners have brushes that make contact with the surface of the carpet, a living space for germs, dust and even urine deposits. These can be easily transported between hoovers, thus there is a risk of contaminating your carpets with germs and dust particles from someone else’s house. Additionally, if fleas are sucked up into the vacuum bag at the previous customer’s home they could now be in your home. To avoid this type of situation, it’s best to vacuum with your own machine.
Protect the Walls
As the technician pulls hoses throughout your home, the hoses will cause friction on the corners and baseboards throughout your house, leaving behind black marks. To avoid any black marks, consider applying a high-quality painter’s tape where the cords are going to rub, such as the base of stairways. It is best to discuss this with your technician when they first get in touch. As a
recommendation, painters tape does not damage or leave marks on your wall when you apply it and it is easy to remove.
Prepare your Family
Carpet cleaning can be a pretty invasive procedure, particularly if you have carpet around your entire house. The technician will have to enter and leave bedrooms, your things may be moved around and there will be loose hoses and cords (although the Technician should be taping them down to minimise any trips or falls). Prepare your family for this and let them know how long the cleaning might take. If you have young children, ensure that they do not get in the way of the technician and aren’t in the room when the technician is working there.
After the cleaning service, you will find that the carpets are a little moist. In theory, the technician should have tried to extract as much of the water as possible and placed fans around the house to dry the carpets as quickly as possible. However, there will always be moisture leftover due to the deepness of the clean.
To prevent yourselves accidentally stepping on the carpets, we suggest the following: plan a family day/night out, send the kids off to a children’s party or event, ensure that pets are kept contained or out of the way and if you do find yourself wanting to step on the carpets, ask your cleaner for some shoe coverings.