As a professional carpet cleaning company, Chelsea Cleaning has an interest in discouraging people from taking the DIY route – but there are some real pitfalls to consider, and these make it worth thinking carefully before renting carpet cleaning equipment. It really may be better to hire professional carpet cleaners.
Cost savings: yes or no?
Does renting equipment to clean your own carpets save money? Well, it depends.
Although you may save on the labour component, you do still have to pay to hire a machine, fill it with cleaning chemicals and transport it to and from the rental outlet.
It’s also worth considering that:
- filling, using, emptying and refilling a carpet cleaner, along with fetching and returning it, all take time, and your time itself has value
- if you don’t return the rented carpet cleaner by the agreed time, you’ll typically be charged a full day’s extra rental – even if you run just a couple of hours late
- as a carpet cleaning novice, you’re more likely to damage your carpets (by using an inappropriately strong cleaning solution or the incorrect technique) than a professional carpet cleaner.
Quality of equipment
DIY carpet cleaning machines are designed to be portable and user friendly. However, while they’re ideal for cleaning up occasional spills and stains, they’re not really suitable for full-house, deep fibre or wall-to-wall cleaning.
In addition to delivering a below par performance, these machines are often handled and maintained improperly. They’re used by large numbers of different, untrained people, and often the machines have seen better days.
Professional carpet cleaners, on the other hand, generally invest in high-powered, industrial-grade equipment, and this equipment is used only by trained staff. As a result, the equipment cleans better and is less likely to damage your carpets.
Breaking carpet warranties
Treating a carpet with an inappropriate cleaning solution or using a rented machine to clean the carpet yourself may actually void the warranty provided when you purchased the carpet.
Sometimes, warranties explicitly require the use of professional cleaners. Even when this isn’t the case, a botched home cleaning job is likely to render a warranty invalid.
Time and effort
It’s common for people to underestimate the sheer physical work involved in using rented carpet cleaning equipment. This work takes time, effort and strength.
If you’ve got help from some strong friends or family members, the job will be easier – but even then, it’s important to protect your back, muscles and joints.
It’s worth remembering that the work will include:
- loading the rented carpet cleaning equipment and chemicals into your car and unloading on the other side
- filling and refilling the machine with water, mixed with the right amount of cleaning solution
- moving the machine, which is heavy, over the carpeting as you clean
- disposing of litres upon litres of dirty water, which can be surprisingly heavy.
Professional carpet cleaning service
We can’t say there’s never a case for renting carpet cleaning equipment – but we do strongly recommend making an informed decision. Get and compare quotations for renting the equipment and having the job done professionally, and think through the pros and cons. The disadvantages of a DIY approach may significantly outweigh any initial cost savings.
