Consumer Education Message
Becoming educated can help you
make an informed decision, get good
service, and save you money in the long run.
What follows is a Consumer Education Message we hope will help you when you
hire a professional carpet cleaner. If you prefer, we have recorded this
message
in a voicemail you can listen to at any time. Just call 1-866-SOIL OUT.
And feel free to pass the number on to a friend!
CONSUMER
EDUCATION MESSAGE
Hi!
This is Tomy Ivan. I’m
grateful for the opportunity to provide you with information about carpet
cleaning and help you choose a carpet cleaning company.
I’m the owner
of Tomy’s Carpet Care (formerly ProSteam Carpet Cleaning) providing
Professional Carpet Cleaning since 1982. I’ve
been in the carpet cleaning business for over 22 years.
And in all those years, I’ve learned that carpet cleaning is the
subject of much confusion. In fact,
people have so many misconceptions about carpet cleaning that I decided to offer
this consumer education message so when you select a carpet cleaning company,
you can make an informed, intelligent decision.
In just a moment, I’ll share with you six costly misconceptions about
carpet cleaning. Plus, I’ll offer
four recommendations. And I’ll
give you seven questions you should ask a carpet cleaner before you invite him
into your home.
If you
want to speak with me personally, call 928-636-7785, or toll-free at
1-877-CLEAN 92. Ready?
Here we go….
MISCONCEPTION
#1: You
should wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet.
THIS IS FALSE! Dirt is an
abrasive—like sandpaper. Every
time you step on the carpet, you grind dirt into your carpet fibers.
This cuts your carpet, just as if you had used a knife, causing it to
wear out faster. A dirty carpet will
not last nearly as long as a clean carpet. And
while vacuuming helps—and you should vacuum frequently—by itself,
it’s simply not enough. The longer
you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage you do to your carpet and
the faster it wears out.
MISCONCEPTION
#2: The only reason
to clean carpets is to get out the dirt.
NOT TRUE!
As you probably know, outdoor air contains pollens, fungus,
bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust—and hundreds of other
chemicals. When you and your family
members come into your home, you carry those pollens, bacteria and chemicals in
your hair and on your skin, clothing and shoes.
Not surprisingly, all those chemicals, pollens and bacteria wind up—you
guessed it—in your carpet.
If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema or other breathing problems, one
major source of your problems could be the pollens, fungus and chemicals in your
carpet.
In addition, as you may know, tobacco smoke contains over 4000 different
chemical compounds, 43 of which cause cancer.
And even if you don’t smoke, those chemicals get on your shoes, you
track them into your home and you leave them in your carpet.
If you’re sensitive to cigarette smoke, you might find that you’ll
breathe easier after you hire a company to get those harmful chemicals out of
your carpet.
So in addition to getting rid of dirt, another important reason to clean
your carpet is to get rid of pollens, fungus, bacteria, chemicals and the tars
and residue from cigarette smoke.
MISCONCEPTION
#3: One
method of carpet cleaning is as good as another.
NOT AT ALL! You can choose
from 2 primary methods: 1) Dry
cleaning or 2) Hot water extraction.
First, I’ll explain dry cleaning. Many
people believe that dry cleaning your carpet is like dry cleaning your clothing.
This is not true. All carpet
cleaning methods use water in one form or another.
Here are the three methods of dry cleaning carpet.
-
When a carpet cleaner uses
dry foam, he applies shampoo to your carpet, allows it to dry, and then
sucks the dried shampoo into a vacuum. Can
you imagine applying shampoo to your hair, allowing it to dry and then
removing the shampoo from your head with a vacuum?
This method can leave a residue in your carpet, which is one reason
dry foam is not very effective.
-
The dry-chem method is
similar to dry foam. The major
difference is that when dry-chem is used, the company sets a large cotton
bonnet on your carpet. Using a
machine, the bonnet spins from side to side, absorbing the dirt that’s in
the carpet. After the bonnet is
saturated with dirt, another cotton bonnet is applied.
Bonnet cleaning is like trying to use a large towel to rub the dirt
out of your carpet. Like dry
foam, it’s not very effective.
-
The dry-compound method
spreads an absorbent mixture that looks like wet sawdust all over your
carpeting. Then the machine
brushes the mixture into the carpet, which in theory causes dirt to absorb
into the mixture. When the
mixture has dried, a vacuum cleaner sucks the material out of the carpeting.
Because the carpet is not rinsed in any way, this method is not very
effective.
The second carpet cleaning method is called hot water extraction.
This is a fancy way of saying that a hot water cleaning solution under
high pressure is forced into the carpet and then sucked out of the carpet.
This method is also referred to as steam cleaning, even though steam is
not used.
Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, recommends hot
water extraction and you can choose from two different types:
Portable extraction, which is done with a small machine on wheels which
is rolled into your home; or Truck Mount, which means the large cleaning machine
is mounted in a truck or van.
Not
surprisingly, the truck mount extraction cleans much better because it heats the
water to a higher temperature—and shoots the cleaning solution into the carpet
at higher pressure—which breaks up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals and pollens.
Then the machine uses high suction to draw the dirt/solution mixture out
of the carpet. This is the method my
company uses.
No question, the most effective way to clean carpeting is with a hot-water
unit mounted in a truck. It’s the
most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that
thoroughly cleans your carpet of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus, chemicals,
pollens and tobacco residue. My
company, after 22 years, strongly believes in the effectiveness of a powerful
hot water extractor mounted in a truck. We
have recently acquired just such a brand-new, state-of the art hot water
extraction system, which costs over $45K. If
we believed for one minute that a different, cheaper machine would do the job as
well, we would not have invested our money in this way!
Methods that use cold and even warm water remove dirt—but are not as
effective as the hot-water truck mount method.
Some people believe that hot water damages your carpet, but this isn’t
true. By washing and then rinsing
your carpet with hot water, we clean your carpet completely—in the same way
that the person who showers and then rinses off the dirt and soap will be much
cleaner than the person who takes only a sponge bath.
MISCONCEPTION
#4:
Having the right equipment is all a company needs to clean your
carpets properly.
NOT TRUE! Many companies own
hot water cleaners—but a large number of companies don’t know how to use
them. You probably know someone who
bought the newest computer on the market—but didn’t learn how to use it for
a year or more. 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. This is why it’s important that you choose your carpet cleaner
carefully.
The best carpet cleaning companies are those that have been certified by
the
Institute
of
Inspection
, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, known as the IICRC.
A carpet cleaning company cannot buy this certification.
The carpet cleaner must earn the certification through study, experience
and the successful completion of formal, written examinations.
These are in-depth and comprehensive exams which are not easy.
Cleaners who are certified by the IICRC have, in effect, earned a degree
in carpet cleaning.
The IICRC provides written credentials to the companies it certifies.
So before you choose a carpet cleaner, ask to see written proof of the
company’s certification. I had
been certified as a Master Cleaner (the highest level) for many years, and am
working to regain that title for myself and my new company.
MISCONCEPTION
#5: The
company that offers the lowest price is the company you should hire.
Maybe—but not always. Here
are two important points to consider.
Point #1:
The price you see offered may not be for the services you want performed.
Before you select a company, decide what you want to accomplish.
It you want the carpet cleaner to remove only some of the dirt, you can
choose from hundreds of companies that use small shampooers or other cleaning
methods. Or, you can even rent a
machine at the grocery store and do the job yourself.
On the other hand, if you want your carpet thoroughly cleaned—if you
want to remove the harmful dirt, bacteria, pollens, chemicals and tobacco
residues—then you need to hire a company that uses a hot water cleaner mounted
in a truck. This is the only way to
assure that your carpet remains healthy and free from dirt, disease-causing
bacteria and hurtful chemicals.
So remember that the price you see offered may not be for the services you
want performed.
Point #2:
The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay.
Many homeowners have learned that the low price they saw advertised was
not the amount they were charged.
And if you’ve ever hired a carpet cleaner, you too may have been the
victim of false or misleading advertising. You
probably learned the hard way that some carpet cleaners offer a cheap
price—usually between $3.95 to $9.95 per room—and then pressure you into
paying a lot more once they get inside your home.
Some of them may even break the law by using illegal bait and switch
tactics.
As in every business or profession, the carpet cleaning industry has its
share of bad apples. I take no
pleasure in telling you this, but some are unethical—and sadly, a few are
dishonest. By their misleading
advertising and false promises, they cast a dark shadow on our entire industry.
Then you’ll find other carpet cleaners—professionals like me—who
work hard to earn your trust and respect.
As a way of improving our profession, I’ve dedicated my business to
educating the public. The only way
you can make an intelligent decision is to have all the facts you need.
This is why I’ve recorded this message.
And to help promote my efforts at consumer education, I made sure I was
trained professionally over many years, and have joined a trade organization
like ASCAR (Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration).
MISCONCEPTION
#6:
Any honest carpet cleaning company should be able to give you an exact
quote over the telephone.
I wish this were true, but it isn’t.
Consumers often think that if they want to clean four rooms the price is
$6 per room, then the price will be $24. But
this isn’t always true.
First, honest, reputable carpet cleaning companies usually price carpet
cleaning by the square foot. So if
you’d like me to tell you the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, I need to
know the exact number of square feet in each room you want cleaned.
To get an accurate measurement, I use a measuring wheel to calculate the
exact size of the room.
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 2000 square feet,
the amount of carpeting to be cleaned might be only 1200 square feet.
This is because most home measurements are outdoor measurements.
Plus I deduct the area taken up by walls, room dividers and the like.
The result is that the actual area to be cleaned is usually only about
60% of the square footage of the home.
So even though I can’t give you an exact quote over the telephone, here
are things I consider when quoting a price.
First, the type of carpet. Certain
types are harder to clean than others. So
before I can give you a quote, I need to know the type of carpet you want
cleaned.
Second, the amount of soiling. Carpet
that hasn’t been cleaned for ten years will take longer to clean than carpet
that was cleaned within the last six months.
Third, the amount of furniture that has to be moved.
If we have to move your furniture, the bid must include that labor.
But if you move your furniture, you’ll save money.
To recap, I consider the type of carpet, the amount of soiling, and the
amount of furniture that has to be moved. So,
as you can now imagine, every quotation is different.
If you’re thinking about having your carpets cleaned, I offer these four
recommendations:
Recommendation
#1: Make
a commitment to yourself to get your carpets cleaned.
The longer they remain dirty, the sooner they’ll wear out.
Plus the longer you have to breathe all the pollens, fungus, chemicals
and dust mites that live in your carpet.
Recommendation
#2: List your
objectives. Do you want only some of
the dirt removed, something you could do with a rented machine.
Or do you want the bacteria, fungus and chemicals removed, which will
require a hot water truck mount cleaner, like I use.
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 company might not be in business tomorrow.
Recommendation
#3: Ask questions.
The way you learn about a company is to ask specific questions and listen
carefully to the answers. Here are
the questions I suggest you ask:
-
What method of carpet
cleaning do you recommend?
-
What type of equipment do you
use to clean carpet?
-
What does your equipment
remove from my carpet?
-
How often should I get my
carpets cleaned?
-
What training and experience
have you had in cleaning carpets?
-
Are you a member of any trade
associations, and if so, which ones?
-
Are you certified by the
IICRC and will you show me your certificate?
Recommendation
#4: Once
you’re satisfied that you’re working with an honest, competent professional,
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. This
is not an estimate but a firm quote. Our
quotes are good for 30 days, giving you time to schedule a cleaning appointment.
**************************************************************************************************************************
By following these four recommendations, you’ll gain all the information you
need to make an informed, intelligent decision.
If you want a quick, cheap carpet cleaning job, many companies in the
phone book can help you. Or you can
rent a shampooer and do the job yourself.
But if you want your carpeting to be completely and thoroughly
cleaned—removing the bacteria, fungus, chemicals, pollens, and tobacco
products—then I invite you to call me.
I’ll be happy to answer your questions—or come into your home and give
you a free written quotation—without obligation of any kind.
To reach me, call 928-636-7785, or toll-free 1-877-CLEAN 92.
Here’s one last point: I
know that many consumers are skeptical about carpet cleaning companies.
Before I got into the business, I was skeptical, too.
So in addition to dedicating my business to consumer education, I do one
more thing as well.
I guarantee my work. That’s
right. I fully guarantee every
carpet cleaning job we do. If you
aren’t happy with our work, we’ll reclean the area for free.
And if you still aren’t pleased, you pay nothing.
Not one cent. If it’s not
the most thorough cleaning ever, it’s free!
What could be more fair?
As a matter of fact, add this question to the list.
Question #8 is “Do you guarantee your work?”
Not all companies do—and it’s important that you have this
information before you make your decision.
I
hope you found this consumer message helpful.
If you have questions or comments—or if you’d like to schedule a
free, in-home quotation, please call me at
928-636-7785, or toll-free at 1-877-CLEAN 92.
On behalf of Tomy’s Carpet Care Professional Carpet Cleaning, I thank
you for your time and attention.
This is Tomy Ivan.
BACK TO
HOME PAGE