So you’ve decided that it’s time to get that beautiful (or formerly beautiful) rug cleaned. You’ve checked all the boxes:
- It’s really dirty………..check
- It smells horrible………..check
- When I lift one corner of the rug, there’s visual dirt on the floor………..check
- I’m ashamed when guests come over because of the appearance………..check
- Now the dog doesn’t even want to sit on it………..check
Okay, maybe it hasn’t gotten that bad. If you have an oriental rug, the industry standard states that an 100% Wool rug should be cleaned every 1-3 years. So if it’s been longer than 3 years, there’s a possibility that your rug falls under one of the above.
At this point there’s really only two questions left:
- Who’s going to clean it?
- How much is it going to cost?
This blog we’re going to focus on the 2nd question. Now, I’ll stop right there and tell you that most people would tell me that I shouldn’t do that. Hopefully by now you’ve noticed Heirloom Rug Cleaning NC is a little different than everyone else. Yes, we have invested in top of the line equipment that virtually no one else has in North Carolina. And yes, we treat our customers as if they are a part of our own family. If you don’t think so, just ask one of them. We spend as much time with individuals as they would like and go out of our way to help them the best we can. For further proof, just look at our Reviews on Google.
When I was a Senior in High School they voted me President of the class…..I actually didn’t even run, I literally told people to NOT vote for me. My coaches in soccer, basketball and baseball elected me captain of each team. When I asked them why, they all had the same response “you treat everyone with respect & do what’s best for the team”. I’m not saying that to brag, but it’s the same philosophy I wanted to have when I built this company. Let’s be different from everyone else and do what no one else will do. Most companies are only in it for the money and I didn’t want to do that. Put the people and their needs first and we will be fine. Don’t tell them what they want to hear, be REAL with them.
So having said that, let’s break some barriers! Let’s talk about the industry standard and what one can expect here in the United States. Why the U.S.? Because we literally get calls from all over. We get calls from Florida up to New York as far west as California. No joke, as I write this we just received a call yesterday from someone in Arizona and today from Florida. The only downside is when I see the caller ID and where they’re from, we take it they’re looking for Rug Cleaning. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s a telemarketer……sigh.
So what is the standard charges? Let’s break it down into categories. First you have the carpet cleaners. I’ve written an earlier blog on why carpet cleaners shouldn’t be allowed to handle your rugs. If you haven’t read it, take the time….it’s well worth it and can save you money in the long run. The typical charges for a carpet cleaner to run a wand over it and say “Done!” typically range from $.90-1.25/square foot. Not to be repetitive, but do you want someone running hot water or hot chemicals over a Wool Rug? Yeah, neither do I. We just had someone call us to come save a rug that a local cleaner did that to just last week. The smell is pretty bad. Fortunately we will be able to restore it back to it’s original state. I’ve actually had some customers tell me that a carpet cleaner was going to charge them $4.50/square foot…YIKES!! If someone’s not going to let you come to their shop to see how they are going to clean YOUR rug…….RUN!!!
For a true Rug Cleaner who actually has a rug cleaning plant, knowledge and expertise, it typically runs between $3-$5.50/square foot. The average in the U.S. is $3.00/square foot and depending on if the rug needs additional attention due to pet urine or mold is when the price goes up. If someone has a “plant” and charges less, they typically have a machine that runs the rug through like a car wash. It takes all of about 2-3 minutes and VOILA your precious rug is clean. However, you and I both know it takes longer than 2-3 minutes to clean anything, let alone a 100% Wool Rug.
There are plants in California, New York and New Jersey that do about 100-150 rugs per day. Yes, you read that right. Basically, those are like you taking your car and running it through the local car wash on your way to work. Yes, it may look a little better than it did….but it didn’t get the deep down clean the way a full-detail job does. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, I use a car wash from time-to-time myself, but it’s usually because it rained or I accidentally ran through some mud somewhere.
So hopefully that helps answer some questions you possibly had, if not, you listened to me ramble on longer than I should have. Like I said, we’re a little different from everyone else. Sometimes a personal touch isn’t always a bad thing.
