Got questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Detailed answers to the most common questions about carpet and rug cleaning, including our process, pricing, safety, and commercial enquiries.
General questions
- Do you only clean carpets and rugs?
- Yes. Fitted carpet, carpet tiles, stairs and landings, and every kind of loose rug: wool, silk, viscose, cotton, kilim, and hand-knotted Persian and oriental pieces. The focus is deliberate. Cleaning a carpet well is a fibre problem rather than an equipment problem, because wool behaves differently from nylon, which behaves differently from viscose, and a hand-knotted rug behaves differently again from the broadloom in the same room. Reading that correctly, then matching the pH, the moisture and the drying to it, is judgement built by doing the same work every day. It is why the delicate hand-knotted pieces owners worry most about handing over are the ones we are most comfortable taking on.
- Is a rug not just a loose carpet?
- In fibre terms, largely yes, and that is exactly why both are in our scope. The difference is in construction and handling rather than chemistry. Fitted broadloom is cleaned in place with professional water extraction, working with the pile direction and the underlay beneath it. A rug is a free-standing textile with a finished edge, a fringe, a backing and often hand-tied knots, and its dyes are far more likely to migrate. So rugs are washed two ways: synthetic pile goes through our rug-washing machine, which gives those fibres the deepest clean they can take, while wool, silk, viscose, cotton, kilim and hand-knotted pieces are washed by hand, section by section, with dye-fastness tested before any moisture touches them. Same fibres, same technicians, different techniques for different risks.
- How long does carpet cleaning take to dry?
- Fitted carpet typically takes 2–6 hours depending on carpet thickness, ambient humidity, and ventilation. Our low-moisture method keeps that window short, and opening windows and running a fan speeds it up considerably. Rugs are different and take longer: a washed rug is dried flat under controlled conditions and monitored until the foundation is dry the whole way through, which can take up to two days. That time is deliberate, because a rug dried too fast or unevenly is where dye migration, cockling and warped foundations come from.
- Are your cleaning solutions safe for pets and infants?
- Yes. All of our cleaning chemistry is 100% pet-safe and infant-safe once dry. We use professional-grade solutions that are free of harsh solvents and toxic residues. We recommend keeping pets and small children off the cleaned area until fully dry.
- Can you remove all stains?
- We are honest about this: most stains respond well to professional treatment, but some are permanent. Sun damage (UV bleaching), chemical discolouration, dye bleed from other items, and deep fibre oxidation cannot be reversed by cleaning. We will tell you this before we start, never after. We charge only for what we genuinely achieve.
- What is included in every quote?
- Every quote from The Carpet Guys includes deodorisation, stain treatment, urine treatment, rejuvenation treatment, and hypoallergenic treatment at no extra cost. There are no call-out fees and no hidden add-ons. The price you are quoted is the price you pay.
- What am I paying for in your price?
- Three things decide whether a carpet still looks clean a month later, and all three take time. First, rinsing: surfactant left in the pile attracts airborne soil, so a carpet that is not rinsed out properly is often darker 2 to 4 weeks after the clean than it was before, and our final step is a dedicated pH-balancing rinse. Second, moisture control: solution is measured to the fibre and every section gets multiple dry-extraction passes, so the backing never saturates, which matters in Gauteng where a damp backing turns into a mould smell no later clean removes. Third, fibre identification: alkaline chemistry on wool or silk opens the fibre scales and changes the texture permanently, so every job starts with a fibre and construction check and the pH follows from it. Beyond that, the rate covers academy-certified technicians, chemistry matched to your specific fibre, commercial extraction equipment, and the full 7-step process followed completely rather than abbreviated to save time.
- Do you guarantee your work?
- All our work is backed by a 1-month satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with an area within 30 days of your clean, contact us and we will return and re-clean it at no extra charge. The guarantee covers the standard of our workmanship and removable soiling; it does not cover limitations we disclose in writing before starting, pre-existing sun damage, chemical discolouration, oxidation or physical fibre wear, which no clean can reverse.
- How often should I have my carpets professionally cleaned?
- For most households, once every 6–12 months is sufficient. Homes with pets, young children, or allergy sufferers benefit from cleaning every 3–6 months. High-traffic areas in commercial settings may need quarterly cleaning. Regular professional cleaning also extends carpet life significantly.
- Do you service estates and security complexes?
- Yes. We regularly work in gated estates and security complexes across Gauteng. We are experienced with estate access procedures, on-site conduct requirements, and working around estate management protocols.
- What areas in Gauteng do you serve?
- We serve the whole of Gauteng, with particular focus on the northern suburbs: Sandton, Fourways, Bryanston, Randburg, Rosebank, Sunninghill, Morningside, Lonehill, Dainfern, Rivonia, Kyalami, and Midrand. We also serve Centurion and Pretoria. If you are unsure, contact us and we will confirm coverage.
- Are your technicians certified?
- Yes. All our technicians are trained and certified through The Carpet Guys Academy and are certified to Woolsafe Organisation standards for wool and delicate fibre cleaning. This is not a temporary certification, ongoing training is a condition of working at The Carpet Guys.
- Do you offer emergency carpet cleaning for flooded carpets?
- Yes. We provide same-day and next-day emergency response across Gauteng for flooded carpets, including burst geysers, washing-machine or dishwasher failures, storm and roof-leak damage, and bath or basin overflows. Truck-mounted water extraction, antimicrobial treatment, and multi-day air-mover and dehumidifier drying are included. The first 24 to 48 hours are decisive: extracted in time, most carpets and underlays are saved; left wet beyond that, mould establishes in the underlay and full replacement is usually required. Call 062 791 5531 immediately if you have an active flood. A R2,500 emergency call-out fee applies to urgent same-day or next-day bookings, on top of the standard cleaning rates. Category 3 (sewer / black-water) incidents require special handling, do not walk on the carpet and call us straight away.
Appointment & preparation
- Do you move furniture before cleaning?
- We move light furniture, chairs, small tables, and side tables, as part of the clean at no extra charge. Heavy furniture (large couches, beds, wardrobes, dining tables with chairs) is not moved as a standard part of the service, both for safety reasons and because dragging heavy furniture across carpet risks damaging the pile and the subfloor beneath it. We recommend clients move heavy items beforehand if they want those areas cleaned. We will always clean as close to immovable furniture as our equipment allows, and we place protective tabs under furniture legs after cleaning to prevent moisture transfer to wooden feet.
- What is the difference between carpet cleaning and carpet shampooing?
- Carpet shampooing is an older method that applies a foaming shampoo to the carpet, agitates it, allows it to dry, and then vacuums up the dried residue. The problem with shampooing is that the residue is never fully removed, it remains in the pile and attracts soil rapidly after cleaning, causing what is known as "rapid re-soiling." Water extraction, the method we use, injects a precise volume of cleaning solution and immediately vacuums it back out along with the loosened soil. Nothing is left behind in the pile. The result is cleaner longer because there is no residue to attract new soil. We use normal-temperature water rather than heated water, the chemistry and mechanical extraction do the work, and avoiding heat keeps wool, silk, and dyed fibres safe from shrinkage and dye bleed. Extraction cleaning is recognised as the gold standard method by the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) and recommended by most major carpet manufacturers.
- How do I prepare for a carpet cleaning appointment?
- To get the most out of your appointment: (1) Move small and lightweight furniture out of the area to be cleaned, chairs, side tables, floor lamps. We will place protective tabs under remaining furniture legs after cleaning. (2) Pick up any loose items from the floor, toys, books, cables, pet items. (3) Note any specific stains you want us to target and mention them when our technician arrives. (4) Ensure the area is accessible, clear a path from the entrance to the room being cleaned. (5) Arrange for pets and young children to be in a separate area during cleaning, the extraction process can be noisy and the wet chemistry, while safe once dry, is not for direct contact during application. (6) Open windows in the room being cleaned ahead of our arrival if possible, good ventilation from the start helps drying significantly.
- Do you offer fabric protection, and how much does it cost?
- Yes. We offer MasterGuard protection as an optional add-on, applied to your freshly cleaned carpets and rugs. It is a water-based, pet- and family-safe stain shield that coats each fibre so spills bead on the surface instead of soaking in, helps the pile resist everyday soiling, and slows UV fading, without changing the colour, feel or breathability of the fibre. Pricing is simple: protecting a rug costs the same as cleaning it, effectively doubling that rug (for example, a medium rug is R899 to clean and another R899 to protect), and carpet protection adds R100 per square metre, the same as the cleaning rate. It is applied after a clean, never instead of one, because a protector must bond to a clean fibre. You tick the items you want protected on the quote form. See our full guide to fabric protectors on the blog for more detail.
- What happens if I am not satisfied with the result?
- We stand behind our work with a 1-month satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of a clean, contact us within 30 days of the appointment and we will return to re-clean the area at no additional charge. The one qualification is that our guarantee covers our workmanship and removable soiling, not limitations we disclosed before the clean began (pre-existing sun damage, chemical discolouration, oxidation, physical fibre wear). We document these pre-existing conditions in writing before we start, so there is a clear record of what was there before we arrived. If we disclosed a limitation, we will not be able to reverse it on a return visit, but if something we said we could address has not resolved to your satisfaction, we will return and try again.
Commercial & corporate questions
- What do you clean for commercial and corporate clients?
- Carpeted flooring and rugs. Wall-to-wall carpet and carpet tiles across offices, traffic lanes, corridors, boardrooms and reception areas, plus statement rugs in foyers and executive offices, including Persian and hand-knotted pieces, which are always washed by hand. Carpeted areas are deep-cleaned on site, removing the grease, dirt and grime that build up in high-traffic spaces, and every area is dry and back in use within 2–6 hours. Because carpet is the only thing we do, the floors we clean stay presentable for longer between visits, which is what keeps the annual spend down.
- Do you offer recurring deep cleans for offices?
- Yes, recurring deep cleans are the core of our commercial offering. Most corporate clients book quarterly or bi-annual deep cleans of their carpeted areas; high-traffic environments such as hotels and restaurants often move to monthly schedules on traffic lanes and entrance zones. We build the frequency around your budget and calendar, schedule out of hours or overnight so there is no downtime, and hold your pricing for the duration of the agreement. We are not a daily contract-cleaning company, we are the carpet specialists your cleaning staff cannot replace.
- How is commercial cleaning priced?
- Commercial carpet cleaning is quoted per site rather than off a fixed price list, because total square metreage, fibre and backing type, soiling level, frequency, and site access all affect the work involved. Our commercial rates are highly competitive, and every quote is all-inclusive: grease, dirt and stain treatment, deodorisation, and fibre rejuvenation are part of the price, with no call-out fees. For clients who need cleaning on a recurring basis, we build custom packages tailored to your budget and deadlines, bundling floor areas and frequency into a single agreement. Send us your site details and we respond within the hour with a tailored quote.
- Can our business refer or outsource carpet and rug work to you?
- Yes. We take on referred and outsourced work from laundromats, dry cleaners, cleaning companies, estate and letting agents, interior designers and flooring retailers, businesses whose customers need carpet or rug cleaning that they are not set up to do in house. Laundromats and dry cleaners are the most common: a customer arrives with a rug, and equipment built for clothing cannot clean a wool or hand-knotted rug without risking the pile, the dyes and the fringe. Rather than turning that work away or attempting it, hand it over. Synthetic rugs go through our rug-washing machine, and wool, silk and hand-knotted pieces are washed by hand. We agree the arrangement with each partner individually, so tell us how you would like it to work and we will build it around your business.
- Will you deal with our customer directly?
- Only if you want us to. Some partners prefer to hand over the contact and step back, others stay the single point of contact for their customer and we work behind them. Both are normal and we will follow whichever you set. We do not approach a partner's customers for unrelated work, and we do not publish the names of the businesses we work with, which protects the arrangement on both sides.
- Are you insured to work on our premises?
- We carry public liability insurance covering all work carried out on client premises, residential and commercial. It covers our liability for injury to third parties or damage to third-party property arising from our work, which in a commercial setting means your staff, your tenants, your customers and your contents. The certificate is available on request for vendor onboarding, procurement packs and trustee approvals, and we would rather you asked for it than assumed it.
- What documentation can you provide for vendor onboarding?
- We provide our public liability insurance certificate, MSDS sheets for every chemical we bring on site, and confirmation of technician training, all on request and at no cost. Most corporate procurement and facilities teams ask for the insurance certificate and the MSDS pack before a first visit, and building managers often require them before granting after-hours access. Send us your vendor onboarding form with the quote request and we will return it completed rather than making you chase it.
- Can you work out of hours or overnight?
- Yes. Out-of-hours and overnight scheduling is standard for our commercial clients. We understand that downtime is a real cost for hotels, restaurants, and offices. We schedule around your trading hours and ensure spaces are dry and ready for use by opening time.
- Do you cover multiple sites in Gauteng?
- Yes. Multi-site contracts across Gauteng are standard for us. We manage scheduling, access, and reporting per site, and provide a single consolidated invoice.
- What does your equipment rental programme include?
- Our rental programme includes the professional carpet extraction equipment, all servicing and maintenance, replacement parts, and professional-grade chemical supply, bundled into a single monthly rental fee. There is no capital outlay, and if equipment goes down, we replace it.
Still have a question?
If your question is not answered here, reach out directly. We respond to all enquiries within the hour.