One of the major challenges to the growing acceptance of carpet as the floor covering of choice in the commercial market has been the idea that carpet cannot be kept clean.

If you've been reading my stuff for any time at all, you know I am an advocate of performing the on-site inspection before pricing the job and accepting it.

As with the residential segment, commercial work has both drawbacks and advantages. Quite often, commercial work is scheduled sometime outside of a regular 9-to-5 day, and the red tape involved can result in a lengthy wait for payment.

One of the most common questions asked of the average carpet cleaner is "Can you deodorize my carpet? It smells like a wet dog/litter box/skunk/etc."

Mrs. Piffleton called me today, wanting to know if I cleaned Oriental rugs. Of course the answer was yes, so we made an appointment to inspect the rug and give her a quote. Pretty simple, eh?

As you meander down the aisles of your supplier's showroom, you are presented with a wide array of products designed for such specialized purposes as spot removal, odor control or correction, color correction, and sanitizing.

One of the most common questions that appear on the industry Bulletin Boards seems to be "Which brand of machine is best?" The next most common is, "Which is better, a portable or a truckmount?"

Probably the biggest challenge for professional carpet-cleaning technicians is addressing the unknown spot or stain.

Any time there is a gathering of carpet cleaners, one of the principal topics of discussion will be the issue of pricing. Some prefer to charge by the room, some by the square foot, some by the hour, and some by the job.

The majority of new cleaning technicians coming into the business today that are using hot-water extraction (HWE) systems start out with a scrub wand as their primary carpet-cleaning tool.