Gimmicks, Coupons
and Estimates. How Carpet Cleaners Illegally Mislead People with
Coupons, Estimates and Gimmicks. NOTE: Not all wet carpet cleaning professionals
are dirty. Some are reputable.
. Help for honest cleaners. Are you a reputable cleaner? Switch to
1-800 DRYCARPET® by calling 1-888-379-2277 x22. Learn about our
carpet cleaning franchise and
offer a service that makes a difference. Convert your current
business and become a 1-800 DRYCARPET® franchise owner. It's fun, dry and
you may qualify.
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Uncovering Illegal Scams and Gimmicks. Here's
How Dirty Cleaners Operate...
Tactic
#1: Unbelievably Low Price - Per Room Estimates
To some degree, all of us
are attracted by low price because we want to work within a budget. But some
carpet cleaners use price as a bait for their false and misleading advertising.
They offer a cheap price -- usually between $5.95 and $9.95 per room -- and
then, once they are in your home, they pressure you into buying "add-ons".
Tactic
#2: Bait and Switch
- Dual Process Carpet Cleaning
Today
a lot of carpet cleaning services describe their
service as a process of shampooing or heavy preconditioning, followed with hot
water extraction cleaning. Unfortunately, unethical carpet cleaners offer "dual process"
as a bait-and-switch technique. Here's how it's done: First, they "bait" you
with a basic cleaning (single process)
at an unbelievably low price. Then, when you call, they try to "switch" you to
more expensive dual process cleaning. If you don't fall for their switch and
choose their basic service, you'll likely receive poor workmanship using little
or no product (detergent and/or solvents), and they will not guarantee their work.
Tactic #3: Unsupported Claims "This Cleaning Method is the Best"
You'll
read this in almost every ad. You'll hear this from virtually every carpet
cleaner. Remember this: The method that's best for you is the method that
achieves your goal. If you want a method that cleans the deep down soil in the
carpet, then a method that top cleans only would not be best for you. So before
you choose a carpet cleaner, identify your objectives. Then select the method
that best reaches those objectives.
Six
Costly Misconceptions
Misconception #1: You Should Wait as Long as
Possible Before Cleaning Your Carpet.
False. A dirty carpet will not last as long as a clean carpet. And while
vacuuming helps, it's simply not enough.
Misconception #2: The Only Reason to Clean
Carpet is to Remove Soil / Dirt.
False. As you probably know, outdoor air
contains pollens, fungus, bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust
and hundreds of other chemicals. When you come into your home, you carry those
pollens, bacteria and chemicals in your hair, on your skin, clothing and shoes.
Not surprisingly, all of those chemicals and toxins wind up in your
carpet.
Misconception #3: One Method of Carpet
Cleaning is as Good as Another.
False. You can choose from three main
methods: 1. Steam Cleaning. 2. Shampooing (sometimes referred to as dry carpet
cleaning) and, 3. dry organic carpet cleaning (always includes the use of a
physical granular product).
Misconception #4: Having the Right
Equipment is All a Company Needs to Clean Your Carpets Properly.
False. Many companies own the right equipment
but a large number of employees don't know how to use it. 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. 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.
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. If you want the carpet cleaner to remove only some of the dirt,
you can choose from hundreds of companies. Or, you can even rent a machine at the grocery store and do
the job yourself.
Point #2: The price you see advertised
is probably not the price
you will pay.
Many homeowners have learned that the low price they saw
advertised was not the amount they were charged.
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 $5.95 and $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 all businesses and professions, the carpet cleaning industry
has its share of bad apples. We 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 -- 1-800 DRYCARPET®
service professionals
who work hard to earn your trust and respect. As a way of improving our profession,
1-800 DRYCARPET®
is dedicated to educating the public. The only way you can make an intelligent decision is to
have all the facts you need.
Misconception #6: Any Honest Carpet Cleaning
Company Should be Able to Give You an Exact Price Quote Over the
Telephone.
We wish this was true, but it isn't. Customers often think that if
they want to clean four rooms and the price is $9 per room, then the price will
be $36. 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
1-800 DRYCARPET®
to tell you the exact cost of cleaning your carpet, we need to know the exact
number of square feet that you want cleaned. To get an accurate measurement, we
need to measuring the exact size of the carpet area.
Our
rates
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 800-1000 square feet. This is because most home measurements are
outdoor measurements. Plus we deduct the area taken up by furniture that is not
moved; such as beds, dressers, entertainment centers ... and of course you
probably have non carpeted areas such as; a kitchen, entry way and bathrooms. The result is that the actual area to be cleaned is usually only
about 60% of the square footage of the home.
Swedry®
Carpet Cleaner
is a soft, organic product
moistened with a unique combination of water and anionic surfactants. Because Swedry®
Carpet Cleaner controls the amount of moisture that is applied carpet,
carpet is
never soaked and stain resistant materials are not flushed-out. In addition, there is no soap
and water left in the carpet to attract new soil.
Professional Swedry® Carpet Cleaning machines
have dual counter rotating brushes that move vertically through carpet pile,
lifting as they clean. Our dry carpet cleaning machine opens up the pile and
removes the deep down dry soil. This power pile
brushing is a key step in effective cleaning because the majority of the dirt in
the carpet is dry soil.
Swedry®
Carpet Cleaner
absorbs and traps soil leaving carpet clean, dry and
ready to use immediately.
Swedry®
Carpet Cleaner
does not contribute to re-soiling.
Our exclusive six
step
process
[ Client list ]
1. Vacuuming:
We vacuum before
getting started. Vacuuming is a very important part of our system.
2. Stain and spot removal: We use our own. 3. Pre cleaning:
Swedry® ACCELERATOR Pre-Mist
(liquid) is applied to soiled areas.
4. Swedry®
Carpet Cleaner:
Is distributed on the
carpet. Swedry®
is environmentally safe and is biodegradable. 5. Swedry®
Carpet Cleaning:Swedry®
Carpet Cleaningmachineshave dual counter rotating
brushes that move vertically through carpet pile, lifting as they clean. Swedry®
absorbs, traps and removes
soil, leaving carpet clean, dry and ready to use immediately!
Our system
employs physical contact vs. water saturation.
6. Vacuuming/Extraction: This is the final step. Residential appointments
usually take 1.5 to 3.5 hours.
