13 years ago, we had an extension built. I was pregnant with baby no.3, we were running two businesses from home, and our tiny little 3-bed semi simply wasn’t big enough. And obviously it was cheaper to build more bedrooms than to move, so extend we did.
The need for three new bedrooms rather determined how it looked – all that space underneath them simply became one very large living room.
And we loved it instantly, even in its unplastered, unfinished state. Unlike our current teeny tiny room that was overstuffed with one sofa and an armchair, we needed LOTS of furniture simply to make this room feel less cavernous. And determined to keep the gloriously bright and airy feel; created by the enormous french doors we have on one end, we voted for a simple decorating palette of cream with enough deep red to add warmth.
Obviously we wanted a beautiful thickly piled deep carpet – and neither of us wanted it to be red, which left us with no option but cream.
With three under 3’s and a dog.
I know.
Believe me, I know.
Roll forwards thirteen years and despite various home-cleaning attempts you can imagine how… erm.. grey & spotted our ‘cream’ carpet looks – another child, a bigger dog, and years of just living on it. Not to mention the time the dog was home alone and had a violent stomach bug – and decided the nice easy-to-clean hard floors were not the place for her projectile deposits, she’d be far better off on the cream carpet…
ServiceMaster Clean Dorset – Head Tech Wayne on the left with his glamorous assistant on the right.
So when ServiceMaster Clean offered us a carpet clean, I knew exactly which room to let them loose on. If they could fix up our tired and grubby cream carpet, they’d be official heroes.
The day came, and the team arrived promptly in their recognisable yellow van :)
We took a look at the room together first, discussed furniture removable (they were happy to move the sofa & chairs about, we were happy to leave the heavy furniture in place, knowing the carpet underneath is the cleanest in the room :)
Wayne, the Senior Technician, was quick to point out there were certain marks that would probably be beyond even their technical wizardry with stains – I was happy with this (I’d far rather have my expectations managed than expect the world and be left feeling disappointed). After all, the fact remains that it’s a 12yr old carpet that has been lived on by a large family. It’s never going to look new again.
This is the area in front of the door that catches ALL the foot traffic. We’re a no-shoes house, but that doesn’t stop the grubbiness spreading far and wide…
And so we left them to it.
A couple of hours later, we came back to inspect… and be amazed.
And this is the wider expanse of the same area. the faintly yellow mark just right of centre? That’s where that grubby dark patch is in the middle of the image above.
Honestly – it was astonishing.
The carpet was…. cream.
See the almost-there difference – note the clean bright cream stopping and the grubby grey line starting right at the bottom of the picture by the door. You can clearly see where the cleaning has got to (and yes, my carpets were clearly ICKY!).
The room was lighter, and fresher and just felt newer. It was incredible the difference a cleaned carpet made to the whole room.
And as far the whole ‘we-can’t-make-it-perfect’ claims – the ServiceMaster Clean team managed to remove around 99.5% of ALL the stains, marks and general grubbiness.
All the spots where careless tea-drinkers had dripped a little (*frowns pointedly at son No.1*) were gone.
See the dark square around the back of the small sofa where Blue loves to wriggle and roll when she has an itchy back?
Hey presto! The dark dog square of doom is gone :)
All the grubby square around the smaller sofa where the dog loves to roll and rub her back – gone.
All the black marks in the carpet from the old gas fire fake coals. Gone.
The darker smudgy grey area in the narrow deep doorway which carries all the footfall as we knocked through the alcove beside the chimney breast to create the door – all back to practically perfect bright cream again.
An experienced eye can spot a few faintly pale stains from the Dog Incident which have defied all manner of treatments over the last year (NB – note to all readers – dog vomit & diarrhoea are NOT covered under any pet or household insurance policy. If you get what we had, you’re cleaning it up yourself, there’s no handy insurance top cover a new carpet…), but that’s it.
The carpet is actually clean.
And consequently the room feels amazing.
It’s just nicer to sit in. To be in. It smells pleasant every morning when I come in and open the curtains (not that it was stinky before, but it definitely had a musty smell when it had been closed up all night that is now gone). And the carpet that was such a huge expense 12 years ago and I felt was nearing the end of it’s life now definitely has a few more years left in it.
And as a top bonus, the husband definitely breathes easier when he’s in there for any length of time – he has allergies to dust mites, and he’s definitely suffering less now, despite the fact we vacuum daily.
My advice? Before you buy a new carpet, get the old one professionally cleaned. The results can be amazing, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper!
If you’re interested, contact your nearest ServiceMaster Clean for a quote – or you can head over to #LittleStuff24 as we’re running a competition which closes 28th January 2016, with the chance to win yourself an entire house carpet clean, worth £600!
