No. Unfortunately, bait and switch scams happen all too often in this industry. If a coupon seems too good to be true, it probably is. From a financial perspective, no business could stay in business if they were willing to work for so little–transportation costs alone would be prohibitive. Before you work with a firm, take a look to see if they are an IICRC Certified Firm. To find an IICRC Certified Firm in your area, call the IICRC at (800) 835-4624 or visit www.certifiedcleaners.org.

Absolutely. When you work with a local independent company you are probably working directly with the owner and you are almost certainly working with someone who has chosen this work as his or her profession. As independent companies, we live and breathe by our reputation. Our businesses grow mostly through referrals, and we don’t have large marketing budgets to make up for sloppy service. The national chains and franchises have to focus on quantity in order to be profitable. But independent companies focus on quality. We work very hard to make sure we do the job right the first time. Most of the independent companies in this area are IICRC Certified Firms, which means that at least one IICRC Certified Technician will be on each job site. We take pride in our work and have chosen this as our profession. Oh, and we all know and respect one another. On really big jobs, it isn’t uncommon for us to call on each other for a little help.

IICRC Certified Firms must meet several stringent criteria that serve to protect you, the homeowner. The firm must have at least one IICRC Certified Technician on all job sites, must have a business license, must carry general liability, have an approved consumer complaint policy, and agree to adhere to the IICRC code of ethics. Any firm failing to abide by these requirements will lose its certification. The goal of this program was to protect you against unscrupulous operators.

The CRI Seal of Approval Program was established by the The Carpet and Rug Institute to test and certify the performance of products and equipment used in carpet cleaning. Research has shown that about half of the carpet spot removal and cleaning products in the marketplace do not clean any better than water and may leave soil-attracting residues. This program provides a quick and easy way for you to locate products that work well and don’t cause any warranty-voiding damage.

The first step is to create a cleaning and maintenance plan. Review the materials your carpet, furniture and flooring manufacturers provided. These materials provide good information about proper cleaning and maintenance. You’ll also want to check your carpet warranties. Most warranties require the use of CRI Seal of Approval products and require that an IICRC Certified Firm be retained for regular professional cleaning. For carpet, you’ll want to have a regular vacuum schedule. The Carpet and Rug Institute has a number of resources to help you properly maintain your carpet. They recommend that high-use carpets be vacuumed daily and all others be vacuumed at least once a week.

There’s a good chance that my prices will be slightly higher than the quotes you get from a national chain, that’s because the quality of the service is higher. Comparing the national chains to a local, independent business is like comparing apples and oranges. National chains have to do a lot of jobs in a day to make a profit. They frequently hire at the minimum wage and rarely give their staff incentives to see their job as a profession instead of simply a paycheck. Independent businesses do a smaller number of jobs in a day, but do them extremely well.

Yes, we do.  We accept and debit or credit cards, Google Pay, Google Wallet, and Apple Pay.