Carpet cleaning in Greater Seattle

Carpet cleaning questions

The dog peed on the bedroom carpet more than once — can you get the smell out?

Most of the time yes, and the reason is that the smell goes when the organic part of the urine goes. A urine spot is three problems sitting in the same place: the yellow color comes out with a peroxide-based product, the organic part needs an enzyme cleaner, and the smell needs a dedicated odor remover once the organic part is gone. Household products take the color and the smell and leave the organic part in the fiber, which is why the spot goes quiet and then smells again as soon as it gets damp — and why the pet keeps using the same corner. We treat all three, in that order, then rinse and pull the water back out. A repeat accident can soak through into the padding under the carpet, and when the source is that deep we can't always physically reach all of it; we tell you what we expect before we start rather than after. Pet stains and odors never cost extra, no matter how many. If a spot appears or returns within 48 hours, call us. We’ll come back and re-clean it for free. Why pet urine smell comes back

Why is the coffee stain still there after I used a spot cleaner on it?

Because the color of a coffee stain needs acid-based chemistry, and most household cleaners are alkaline-based — alkaline does not remove that color, however much of it you use. A stain is rarely one substance: it is several different materials in the same spot, and each one needs its own chemistry, so taking one component out does not take the others with it. Coffee, and any other natural dye, is the acid-based case. A professional carries the whole range — alkaline, acid-based, solvent-based — and, just as important, knows which of them may go on which fiber, because on some fabrics alkaline products must not be used at all. That is the real difference: not effort, but having the right product for each part of the stain and knowing it is safe on your carpet. We won't promise every stain comes out — one that has already been scrubbed with a store-bought cleaner can be locked into the fiber for good. If a spot appears or returns within 48 hours, call us. We’ll come back and re-clean it for free.

Is renting a Rug Doctor or a Bissell as good as professional carpet cleaning?

You can rent a machine, and in two cases it is fine: a fresh spill on a synthetic carpet — blot with water and a towel, don't scrub and don't reach for a spot cleaner — and a light refresh of a low-pile synthetic carpet in a warm, well-ventilated room, if you go slowly and run the machine dry over every pass twice as long as you ran it wet. Not wool, not a rug with a natural-fiber backing, not anything with a stain you care about. Two things go wrong past that. Extraction: a rental unit sprays fine and recovers badly, so the water it can't pull back out sinks through the pile into the padding and the dirt goes with it — it isn't removed, it's relocated, it wicks back up every time the carpet gets damp, and a backing left wet for a day or two draws the soil to the surface as it dries and leaves brown rings that weren't there before. Chemistry: one all-purpose detergent for every carpet and every stain, and most household products are alkaline-based, which does not remove the color of a coffee or other natural-dye stain; a strong cleaner rubbed into carpet dye lifts the dye out instead, and lifted dye is permanent — you have traded a stain we could have removed for a pale patch nobody can. Detergent left in without a rinse attracts dirt, which is why a DIY-cleaned carpet often looks worse a month later. What we do differently is extraction that actually recovers the water — walk on it in 3–5 hours, fully dry in 12–24 hours — a treatment matched to the fiber and to each stain from a full range of products rather than one, and a rinse so nothing stays in the carpet. What DIY does to a PNW carpet

How much does carpet cleaning cost per room?

A bedroom is $70, a master bedroom $80, a living room $80, a hallway $40. That is the whole room, wall to wall, not just the visible spots, and stains and pet odors never cost extra, no matter how many. Minimum order $170 for carpet and upholstery. The calculator on this page gives the exact price for your rooms and stairs before you book.

How do you price stairs?

A full staircase is $79 for the flight; a short run of three to five steps is priced per step instead, at $7 a step. Stairs and landings are cleaned the same way a room is, edge to edge. Minimum order $170 for carpet and upholstery.

How long does carpet take to dry after professional cleaning?

You can walk on a carpet after 3–5 hours; it is fully dry in 12–24 hours. Airflow is what moves it inside that range — an open window and a fan take hours off, a closed room in a wet Seattle November adds them. Wait until it is completely dry before you put the furniture back. A method that promises an hour is using very little water, which also means very little is pulled back out; the extraction is the part that actually takes the dirt away. What changes the drying time

Do I need to move the furniture before you come?

No. If you would rather leave the furniture where it is, we clean around it and the price goes down. Floors are free if your building has an elevator, and we carry the gear up one or two flights without one; past that there is a small lift fee.

Is there a minimum for carpet cleaning?

A carpet cleaning visit starts at $170 — that is the minimum order for carpet and upholstery work, so one small room on its own may not reach it, while two or three rooms, or a room plus a staircase, does. Travel is free across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The calculator tops a smaller order up to the minimum and shows the figure before you book.