Carpet Cleaning Myths Exposed !

Below are some answers to commonly asked questions. Please call us or use our contact form if you have any additional questions.

Question #1: How long does it take for my carpets/upholstery to dry?

Answer: Within 1-2 hours you should be able to walk on carpets (socks or clean shoes are recommended). Within 2-6 hours, your carpets and upholstery should be predominantly dry. We use high velocity air movers to accelerate drying times. Outside weather conditions may affect dry time, therefore, you should use air conditioning or heat on excessively humid days. This will maintain a lower humidity level inside your home, thereby speeding the dry time.

Question #2: Some companies advertise "dry in an hour". Why does your's take longer?

Answer: Our job is to get your carpets, upholstery and tile as clean as possible. To properly do that we use deep cleaning, hot water extraction performed with a powerful, commercial, truck-mounted cleaning unit. Some cleaning firms and franchises use foam, oxy products or some other chemical dry process to rapidly dry your carpets. They are selling dry in an hour. We are selling as clean as possible. If you want carpets dry in an hour do nothing, you have that now. If you want them really clean CALL US.

Question #3: I have been told that cleaning my carpets/upholstery will actually cause them to deteriorate more quickly than if I were to avoid cleaning. Is this true?

Answer: It can be. Excess detergents, soap or protectors left on the carpet fibers will remain sticky. A sticky fiber will attract soil very quickly, which leads to rapid resoiling. The excess soil has a sand paper effect and will abrade and scratch the fibers of the yarns. This will ruin the appearance as well as prematurely destroy the pile of the carpet. We use only all natural "Green" cleaning agents that don't attract soil. The result: Resoiling is never a problem!

Question #4: I've had my carpets cleaned before and the spots came back. Why??

Answer: Whatever caused the spot went beyond the face of the carpet and traveled to the backing and probably the padding. As the carpet dried the spot "wicked" back to the surface. This is quite common when a large amount of liquid has been spilled. We use a special sub-surface tool called a water claw ( pictured on Left )to flush the backing and padding free of remaining residue. Although we can not guarantee that we will remove all stains, we will return free of charge and try.

Question #5: Will you use a protector on my carpets/upholstery?

Answer: Until recently we used no carpet protectors at all. Scotchgard and Teflon were the main choices available. These protectors are know as flouro-chemicals. They contain PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), a chemical that has come under a lot of scrutiny lately. The EPA has called them probable carcinogens. Green carpet protectors are starting to appear on the market. The difference between previous protectors and the new green ones is a matter of longevity. The green products will biodegrade. Since they are all natural they are meant to do just that. The PTFE based products will not biodegrade. All carpet protectors eventually "wear off " the fibers. Click here for info on "Green" protectors.

Question #6: Many companies claim to be all natural, green or non-toxic. How is Service One different from them?

Answer: Many companies that claim to be Green use these questionable chemicals in your home to increase their profit margin. We do not. In addition, we believe in full disclosure of what we are using. Follow the links on our "Products We Use" page for material safety data sheets (MSDS) and a description of the products.

Question #7: I have been shopping around for prices and yours are not the lowest. Why is that?

Answer: When we come to your home for a free estimate, we prepare an accurate price that will not change on the day we show up to perform the work. We will not try to sell unnecessary services or products, like toxic carpet protectors. The low price per room that other companies advertise is their base price for just showing up. Everything else is extra! Things like furniture moving, soap, traffic lane cleaner, spot removal all cost more. The low price gains these companies access to your home, where they will then up-sell for all of the “extras” resulting in a much higher than anticipated cost to you. We do not believe in this unethical approach, but prefer to give you the full cost up-front. We respect that our customers are intelligent and work hard for their money and want to know all factors before making the decision to clean their carpets/upholstery/tile & grout.