Clear small items
Toys, magazines, cables, plant pots, waste bins. Anything a crew has to pick up is time not spent cleaning, and small items get moved to places you will not find them.
Home · Carpet & Rug Shampoo · How to Prepare for Carpet Cleaning
Preparation Guide · Carpet & RugsHow to Prepare for Carpet Cleaning
Fifteen minutes of preparation is the difference between a crew cleaning your carpet and a crew moving your furniture. Neither of us wants to pay for the second one.
Written for homes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where sand in the pile and long drying times in humid months both change how the job is run.
Before the crew arrives
The fifteen minutes that matter
Leave the heavy furniture
We move sofas, beds and tables as part of the job and we have sliders and protectors. Dragging a marble-topped console yourself is how people damage floors before we arrive.
Lift what is fragile
Lamps, vases, framed photographs and anything on a low shelf. We work around furniture, not around ornaments.
Point out the stains
Walk the room with the supervisor and name each mark and what caused it. Wine, pet, ink and cosmetics all need different chemistry, and guessing sets the stain permanently.
Flag anything already damaged
Existing burns, tears, fading and previous repairs, photographed at the start. This protects both of us.
Plan the drying
Hot-water extraction leaves a carpet damp for four to eight hours. Decide in advance which rooms you need that evening, and we sequence the work around them.
What we need to know
Questions we will ask, so have the answers ready
Fibre type
Wool, synthetic, silk blend or natural fibre. Wool needs neutral chemistry and cooler water; the wrong product dulls it permanently. If the label is gone we test rather than assume.
Any previous treatment
Shop-bought stain removers leave residue that reacts with professional chemistry and can set a mark. Tell us what has already been tried.
Pets in the property
Changes the treatment entirely — urine is dealt with at the backing, not the surface, or the smell returns the first warm day.
Allergies in the household
We use low-residue, non-toxic products by default and can go further if someone in the property is sensitive.
Underfloor heating
Affects drying time and the amount of moisture we use. Worth mentioning before the crew starts, not after.
Afterwards
The first 24 hours
Stay off it until dry
Or wear clean covers over shoes. Walking damp carpet in outdoor shoes puts the soil straight back.
Keep the AC running
Air movement dries carpet faster than heat does. We usually leave air movers running and collect them the next day.
Leave furniture protectors in place
The foam blocks and film tabs under legs stay until the carpet is dry, or wood and metal feet mark it.
Expect some marks to return
Deep spills wick back up as the carpet dries. It is normal, it is not a failed clean, and it is covered by the 72-hour return.
Questions
Answered plainly.
A living room is about an hour, a full villa half a day. Drying is four to eight hours after that, longer in humid months.
For the walkthrough at the start and the sign-off at the end. Between those you are free to go out.
No, and any company promising that is not being honest. Dye stains, bleach damage and old pet accidents that reached the backing are often permanent. We test and tell you before we start.
No need. Thorough dry vacuuming is the first stage of the job and our machines pull more than a domestic vacuum.
Fine hand-knotted and silk pieces are better taken away and cleaned flat. Machine-made rugs are done on site.
Everything runs against a written list.
Scoped at an inspection, priced in writing, and signed off with you before the crew leaves. See the checklist or the full Carpet & Rug Shampoo scope.