El Paso residents everywhere are reporting they've been visited by 30 minute carpet cleaning man. He arrived late, he pulled out his hoses, set up his equipment, got the carpet soaking wet and was gone in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Mrs. Jones was left behind feeling very angry, taken advantage, totally dissatisfied and RIPPED OFF!

This situation happens daily. El Paso homeowners can call local service providers for carpet cleaning services, only to find themselves faced with lots unskilled and unethical carpet cleaners that don't plan to spend more than 30 minutes to clean all the carpet in your entire home. They run very large yellow page ads that cost thousands of dollars monthly and schedule 8-10 appointments daily just to support their ads.

Carpet cleaners that engage in this type of business practice don't have time to properly evaluate the requirements of each job. Unfortunately, they also don't "make" time to interview the homeowner to ensure they are able to satisfy their client's expectations. Let me clarify this, some clients do in fact schedule their homes for regular interval cleanings every 6 to 9 months, however most appointments are scheduled as a result of an upcoming event such as a business gathering or family party. The call to action is then related to a spill or an embarrassing spot on the carpet that's a real eye sore to the homeowner. If proper steps aren't taken to discuss every spots and spills ahead of time, then scheduling a cleaning appointment may be a disappointing experience.

So now that we've identified that carpets generally have a few problems beyond regular soiling, we've got to ask ourselves "what does a carpet cleaner have to do to fix spots and stain found in most carpets? The answer is simple, he or she has to use advanced spotting tools, cleaning solutions and techniques to fix the problem. And fortunately, good carpet cleaners are successful at eliminating spots and stains permanently 9 times out of 10 times.

But this takes time, so... how's 30-minute man supposed to fix problems if he already running late to his next appointment? Did I mention he's got to drive across town!

THE ANSWER: He Doesn't! In fact, it is standard procedure amongst "bait and switch" carpet cleaners to tell clients that the carpet is "ruined" and needs replacing. Unfortunately, this information isn't provided prior to scheduling the cleaning appointment when the client can make a more informed decision. As a consumer, I would prefer to apply the cleaning fees towards a new carpet if in fact the carpet is ruined.

SO WHAT ARE CONSUMERS TO DO?

Luckily there's a lot of hope. In fact, most carpet soiling and stains aren't permanent. For instance, let take those dark entryways and traffic lanes. They are usually the result of a combination of residue left in carpets from improper cleaning techniques and/or greasy residue left behind on hard floors such as tile from cleaners that contain oil and subsequently aren't properly rinsed out. That grease eventually gets tracked onto the carpet and then becomes a magnet for solid soils such as sand that becomes an embarrassing eyesore. This soil isn't permanent, but removing it requires special tools to agitate special cleaning solutions designed to dissolve grease, deep into the carpet fiber and break down all that greasy build-up. The soil must then be extracted with a rotary extractor that rinses deep into the carpet fiber and restores your carpet back to brand new condition.