Carpet Cleaning London

Hot-water extraction, not surface washing

A vacuum lifts dry soil from the top of a carpet. What it cannot touch is the greasy, gritty layer that works its way down to the base of the pile — foot traffic, cooking residue, pet dander, street dust carried in on shoes. That layer is what makes a carpet look flat and grey in the doorways and along the walking routes, long before it is actually worn out.

We clean carpets by hot-water extraction. Heated cleaning solution is injected into the pile under pressure and immediately vacuumed back out, taking suspended soil with it. Done properly it cleans through the full depth of the pile rather than smearing detergent across the surface, and it leaves the carpet damp rather than soaked.

Carpet cleaning prices

Every room and area is priced individually, so you can see exactly what you are paying for. There is no charge for a survey and no obligation.

A standalone visit has an £80 minimum, because a van, machine, water and a technician cost the same whether we clean one room or four. If your total comes to less than £80, adding a hallway, a landing, a rug or a sofa usually gives you far more for the same money. Heavily soiled carpets carry a 15% uplift, which we confirm before booking rather than adding at the end. Booking carpets alongside an End of Tenancy Clean avoids the minimum entirely.

What the visit involves

We start by identifying the fibre — wool, wool-mix, polypropylene, nylon or a synthetic blend — because each takes a different solution, temperature and drying approach. A discreet colour-stability test is carried out before any water goes down. The whole area is then vacuumed thoroughly to remove dry soil, which is the step most DIY hires skip and the reason home results are often disappointing. Traffic lanes and individual marks are pre-treated and given time to work, then the carpet is extracted in overlapping passes, with extra passes over the worst areas. Finally the pile is groomed so it dries evenly, and we place protective pads under any furniture we have moved back.

Drying times and aftercare

Expect roughly four to six hours before a carpet is dry enough for normal use, and up to twelve in cold, still or humid conditions. You can walk on it sooner in clean socks or shoe covers. Keep windows open and heating on gently, avoid putting rugs or furniture back until the pile is dry, and vacuum a couple of days later to lift the pile. Most London homes benefit from professional cleaning every twelve months; households with pets, small children or a busy hallway often go every six.

How to prepare

Clear small items, toys, cables and floor-standing decorations. Tell us in advance which furniture you would like moved — we move light items where it is safe, but we do not move beds, wardrobes, pianos or anything with a risk of damage. Keep pets in another room during the visit and until the carpet is dry. Let us know about previous treatments, especially DIY shampoo, because leftover detergent residue attracts soil and needs a different approach.

Honest limitations

Cleaning removes soiling. It does not reverse damage. Dye loss from bleach, spot removers or strong cleaning products is permanent — the colour is gone, not hidden. Sun-faded areas near patio doors, pile that has been crushed flat over years in a doorway, cigarette burns, pulled loops and rips are all outside what a clean can fix. Old spills that have been allowed to dry and set, particularly red dyes, curry, ink and some pet accidents, may lighten considerably but not vanish. Urine that has soaked through into the underlay may need specialist treatment or replacement of the underlay to fully deal with the odour. We assess honestly before we start and tell you what to expect rather than promising a miracle.