Most of the dust in a carpet sits well below where the vacuum reaches. It works down to the base of the pile and settles against the backing: fine grit from the pavement, loose fibre and the shed skin that house dust mites feed on. Hot water extraction is how we get at that layer. The wand pushes a heated rinse down into the pile under pressure and sucks it back up in the same stroke, so the loosened soil leaves the house in the machine’s tank.
Dust a vacuum leaves behind
Run a hand across an old carpet in low winter sun and you can watch it lift. Household vacuums are good at crumbs and surface fluff and poor at anything packed in near the backing, particularly on a dense wool twist. That packed layer is what makes the traffic lanes look flat and grey. We make no claims about getting rid of mites. A thorough clean does remove a great deal of what they live on, and the room smells fresher for it.
The visit, start to finish
First the fibre is checked and a corner dye tested. Next the carpet gets a slow pass with an upright vacuum, since loose grit turns to mud once water hits it. Traffic lanes, plus the metre or so inside the front door, get a pre-spray to break down oily soil, left to work for a few minutes. After that come the extraction passes, each one overlapping the last, with the edges done by hand tool along the skirting. Last of all the pile is groomed in one direction so it dries standing up.
Sofas, coffee tables and beds on castors get moved and set back down on foil squares. Wardrobes, pianos and loaded bookcases stay where they stand, and we work round their feet.
The price, room by room
Bedrooms cost £36 each. Living rooms are £43, through lounges £61 and the smaller lounge £55. Stairs are £41 a flight, and a landing is £9 on top because it is a separate piece of floor. A hallway is £22. On a visit by itself the lowest bill is £67, so one bedroom alone comes to that. Carpets done alongside one of our end of tenancy cleans are charged at lower rates (£29 a bedroom).
| Clean | Price |
|---|---|
| Bedroom carpet | £36 |
| Living room carpet | £43 |
| Through lounge | £61 |
| Staircase (one flight) | £41 |
| Rug up to 3m² | £35 |
| Rug over 3m² | £51 |
| Bedroom carpet, booked with a tenancy clean | £29 |
| Living room carpet, alongside an end of tenancy | £36 |
| Stairs, with a move-out clean | £35 |
Drying in a Richmond house
Socks are fine on it after a few hours, a bit longer on wool. Drying is mostly a matter of moving air. In the Georgian and Victorian houses, drop a sash a few inches at the top and lift another at the bottom and the room makes its own draught. In a riverside lower ground flat the air is already damp, so an air mover runs while we pack up and a dehumidifier for the afternoon is a good idea if you own one.
Around the Green and on Richmond Hill, carpets often lie on old boards with gaps between them, and draughts through those gaps leave dark bands where the pile has filtered the air. They lighten with a spotter and extraction, though the finest soot can stay as a faint shadow. The same houses tend to have tight winder stairs, which is why the machine comes in pieces.
A rug lying on the fitted carpet gets its own dye test and a flat clean. A sofa fits into the same appointment (see upholstery), and anything left after the general clean is covered on the stains page. The full list sits on our prices.
Questions we get asked
My carpet has grey lines along the skirting. Is that dirt from the floor?
It is dust carried in the air. In older Richmond houses air is pulled up through gaps in the boards and under doors, and the carpet acts as a filter on its way through. A spotter and extraction lighten the lines a good deal. Very fine soot can leave a faint shadow, and we will point it out on the day.
Will a carpet clean get rid of dust mites?
It takes out a lot of the dust, skin and debris in the pile, and some of the mites along with it. We do not call it a treatment. Mites like warm, damp, still air, so a room kept aired and dry afterwards suits them less.
Our flat is below ground level near the river. Will the carpet dry?
Yes, more slowly than upstairs. The air by the river holds more moisture, so we leave an air mover going while we finish and suggest a dehumidifier or the heating on low for a few hours. If river water has been in, tell us when you ring, because that changes the job.
Can you work around a Twickenham match day?
We can, though we like to be parked by eleven. The Athletic Ground sells its car park on match days and the town centre streets fill up from mid-morning. An early start usually sorts it.