Carpet cleaning 101 before the holidays

It’s that time of year when you have to clean up for the relatives and that might mean carpet cleaning.

The question is whether to do it yourself or hire the professionals.

Ben Surdi, owner of Pure Cleaning Carpet Cleaning, tells Pete and Rob of KIRO Radio’s Home Matters Show, that the DIY methods are acceptable if you’re looking to save some money. But there are drawbacks.

“The carpets stay wet for an extended period of time and usually the spots wind up coming back because you’re not able to flesh them out.”

In fact, Rob says many carpet installers say DIY’ers over-wet their carpets.

“A lot of people put way too much water and you wind up over-wetting the backing of the carpet, which is made of latex,” says Surdi.

And when you over-wet the latex, it looses it up and bacteria can grow.

Surdi points out that the DIY machine you rent or buy is about $300 and the professionals are using a machine in the range of $120,000.

Speaking of high-end machines, Surdi tells the guys they recently tested out home vacuum cleaners. He says Dyson disappointed on all levels in their testing.

The winner?

“It’s made by Riccar or Simplicity, made in America and costs about $200. It only weighs about eight pounds.”

This week’s Home Matters is sponsored by Pure Cleaning Carpet Cleaning.