Spooky season is here! This frightful time of the year reminds us of some scary carpet cleaning outcomes. Carpet cleaning can be a real “trick or treat” situation. Of course, we all want the treat and no tricks this fall!
Continue reading this blog from Professional Carpet Systems and discover the carpet cleaning horror stories you surely want to avoid.
What’s So Scary About Cleaning Carpets?
Like with anything in the home improvement category, carpet cleaning has the potential to go wrong completely. In most cases, after a professional carpet cleaning, clients are thrilled with the results and are happy with their decision.
However, carpet cleaning can be a little tricky. More specifically, people can make significant mistakes when taking the DIY method. Working with an inexperienced and lazy cleaning crew careless in their craft can also lead to unwanted results.
7 Carpet Cleaning Horror Stories You Should Avoid
1 | Health and Safety Concerns
Some of the most terrifying carpet cleaning horror stories involve the dangerous chemicals used in the process. Most of us don’t realize how risky carpet cleaning can be. Luckily, a professional team is trained on the proper safety precautions necessary for carpet cleaning. However, when people without experience decide to complete the task independently, all kinds of things can go wrong.
Not Rinsing Properly: After using potentially harmful cleaners, it is critical to rinse the carpet thoroughly. Otherwise, you could expose yourself and your family to chemicals that can cause allergic reactions and other health complications.
Pests: Lurking in the fibers of your carpet could be thousands of tiny creepy crawlers. You could unknowingly encounter pests like bed bugs, dust mites, carpet beetles, fleas, or ticks. Some of these spooky little insects can bite or agitate allergies.
Mold: Especially if you don’t have your carpet cleaned often, you may handle toxic mold. When a person experiences an allergic reaction to mold, they often are completely unaware of why they are feeling ill. A trusted professional team knows just how to identify molds of any kind and remove them in the safest way possible.
Physical Injury: Finally, working with heavy machinery and scalding-hot steam can result in some nasty injuries. When you don’t know quite what you’re doing, it’s easy to make one wrong move and get hurt. The steam from some carpet cleaning machines can cause severe burns. On the bright side, you won’t have to search for the perfect Halloween costume—the burn bandages will work beautifully for a scary mummy costume!
2 | Using the Wrong Cleaning Product
What would happen if a witch used the wrong potion when she casts a spell? It would likely end in all kinds of chaos! And like potions for a spell, using the right cleaner for your carpets is essential to getting your desired results.
Improper cleaning can make your carpet worse off than before the treatment. For example, it can be more susceptible to stains, quickly become faded from sunlight, or retain pungent odors. The fibers can even dissolve with the wrong cleaning agent! That’s why one of the most vital parts of cleaning your carpet is to know precisely what the material needs.
A professional carpet cleaner will know the correct product for your flooring without causing it any damage or wear. If you decide to DIY the task, you should ensure you do plenty of research beforehand.
3 | Stretched Out Carpet
Another common way carpet cleaning can go wrong is when it becomes stretched out. Because the walls border the stretched carpet, it looks wavy with unsightly bumps and ripples—almost like the bubbles of a Halloween cauldron.
Unfortunately, the carpet won’t return to its normal size on its own. You would either replace the carpet altogether or hire a company to tighten and refit it.
Stretching the carpet can be the result of several different mistakes:
- The carpet was over-agitated by the brush or roller of the machine used.
- The device you are working with does not have the correct airflow, pushing and pulling the fibers.
- Using too much water on a dry carpet can cause the fibers to absorb excessive amounts and expand.
4 | Shrinking Carpet
On the other hand, the opposite is also possible. After spending lots of time and energy cleaning your carpets, you take a much-needed break. When you return a few hours later, you notice gaps around the edges of your freshly treated carpet. How could this be?
Sadly, not much else can be done once your carpet shrinks. You’ll likely need to shell out the cash for an entirely new carpet.
Use the following tips to prevent your carpet from shrinking like a shriveled-up jack-o’-lantern:
- Using excessive amounts of water can both stretch and shrink your carpet.
- A machine that uses too high a temperature for your particular carpet material.
- Rushed drying is one of the most common causes of a shrunken carpet.
5 | Lined Carpet
No one wants their carpet to look like a spooky Halloween witch’s black and white stockings. That’s right, cleaning your carpets can result in an unintended and undesired stripe pattern. Out of all the carpet cleaning horror stories, this may be one of the most common.
If you aren’t careful to overlap with each stroke, you can end up with terrible stripe stains. Carpet cleaning machines can be bulky, heavy, and impractical for certain people. As a result, it can be a challenge to ensure you are making an overlap with each push and pull.
Hiring a professional company, though, can rule out this frightening possibility.
6 | Carpet Cleaning Horror Stories and MOLD
If you smell something mysteriously awful after cleaning your carpets, something has gone wrong. While cleaning your carpets using DIY methods, it’s not uncommon for the flooring material beneath to never fully dry. If you’re noticing a musty odor, you’ll want to have it inspected for mold.
Mold thrives on moisture and organic material. Most carpets have some kind of organic material lurking in the fibers. After all, flooring may collect all types of materials from your shoes, pets, children, and more. When excess water is used, and the carpet never properly dries, mold may begin to grow underneath the carpet fibers.
Not only does this cause a terrible smell, but it can be a significant health concern for all household members. Mold exposure can result in flu-like symptoms, including itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, irritated skin, and respiratory issues. Even worse, those with preexisting respiratory illnesses or asthma can experience more severe reactions.
7 | Worsened Stains
When the wrong cleaner is used, stains can become worse than before you cleaned your carpets. Furthermore, an incorrect drying method for the unique material of your carpet can result in more intense stains.
One small stain can quickly bleed and become much larger than before, leaving you more frustrated than a ghost without a frightful person to haunt.
Carpet Cleaning Horror Stories: It’s All Treats and No Tricks with PCS
Sometimes, matters become worse, which prompts people never to want to have their carpets cleaned again. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When you hire a reputable team, like Professional Carpet Systems, you’ll instantly know you’re in the right hands.
We offer top-of-the-line friendly customer service. Our trained and skilled technicians use cutting-edge quality products that are safe for you and your family.
Plus, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with your results, we will return to fix whatever you are unhappy with. And if you’re still not completely satisfied, we will refund your money!Skip the risky DIY approach and call Professional Carpet Systems today for more information on how we can get your flooring just the way you like it!