You think you’re getting a deal, but think again.  There are many carpet cleaning companies in the Seattle area.  It’s cheap and easy to start a carpet cleaning company.  All you need to do is go down to the tax office and purchase a business license for $32.  Then, you’re instantly in business.

The license office doesn’t require proof of insurance, background checks, workman’s compensation, or any training. Yes, anyone can start a carpet cleaning company.  There’s no regulation.

The companies that come out to clean your house for a cheap price often fall into one of several of the categories above.  How do I know?

If NW Green Clean charged anything less than we currently do, we’d have to cut our expenses.  Liability insurance isn’t cheap.  Hiring trained cleaning specialists isn’t cheap. SAFE  CARPET CLEANING PRODUCTS are expensive. Equipment that delivers the most thorough carpet cleaning you’ve ever seen isn’t cheap…

I know of dozens of carpet cleaning companies in Seattle that don’t do background checks at all.  Of course if you asked if they do background checks, they would tell you they do.  So how can you check?

All our employees are put through a virorous testing process, background check and are put on “training” for up to 2 months before they are aloud to become an employee of NW Green Clean.  I won’t hire anyone who has any type of criminal background, must have a clean driving record.  This means you’re safe with our employees in your home.  Call us and we can give you proof of our license, bonding and insurance.

Even more, we don’t pay our employees strictly on commission.  We pay our employees well.  Do you really want someone in your home who is getting paid $8 an hour?  Do you think he’ll care for your belongings? Do you think he is really going to care about making sure your carpet is REALLY clean and not just “appearing to be clean while it’s still damp”?

Do the math.  If you are paying a cleaning company $99 to be in your home, where does the money go?

Here’s the average breakdown after an interview was done on dozens of companies around the U.S.

To do a decent job, he should be there for atleast two hours if he has a truck mounted machine.  It may even be an hour longer if he has a portable machine.  On average, it takes twenty minutes to locate your home on a map and drive there, and another twenty to drive from your home.

Do you want the technician to have clean, maintained equipment?  If you do, he should spend another twenty minutes per home in cleaning his truck and maintaining his equipment.

Before he even gets to your home, you had to call to make an appointment.  It takes an average of twenty minutes to book an appointment on the phone and record the information in a computer.

So, the time involved with your home would be about THREE HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES.

You’re thinking, well that’s $29 an hour.  But wait, that doesn’t include all the expenses.

The techs have to get to your home.  If you want them driving a vehicle that doesn’t leak oil on your driveway, that trip will cost $12.  This is an average business cost according to the I.R.S. at $.52 per mile with an average of 22 miles driven for the round trip.

If you want the company to have liability insurance should they ruin your beautiful carpet, rug, or upholstery, it will cost about $3 per job.

If you want the company to have newer maintained equipment that does even a decent job, this breaks down to about $6 per job.

They’ll need telephones to book your appointment and communicate with you.  The office phone and cell phone usage breaks down to about $2 per job.

Do you want the technician to be trained?  If so, the cost associated with training averages out to about $1 per job.

If they use chemicals on your job, they will spend an average of $2 on decent chemicals.  Want chemicals that are certified by the Green Seal organization so that they are safe for your family? That will cost an average of $3 per job. The sad part is, many companies skimp in this area and purchase the cheapest chemicals possible that are KNOWN to cause serious health concerns in your home.

How did you hear about the company?  The average carpet cleaning company spends $30-60 on advertising just to acquire ONE new client.  This is why we strive to do everything possible to keep you as a client once you have us into your home.

Okay.  Now we’re up to $56 of cost before labor (assuming they only spent $30 on advertising to acquire you as a client).

If the technician gets paid $8 an hour for the 3.33 hours it takes to book your appointment, do the paper work, maintain his equipment, clean your home, and drive to and from your home, he will get paid $27.  Then, we have to add workman’s compensation and taxes to total $32.

Total cost with a technician getting paid $8 an hour=$88.  If you pay $99, there is a net profit of $11.

But wait…what happens if you have spots return and you need the company to come back out?  They can’t afford to return!  This is why the cheap companies don’t have guarantees.

When you have a technician getting paid $8 an hour to clean your carpet, there’s a HUGE possibility something will go wrong.  Believe me.

What if the tech gets paid a little more than $8 an hour?  This means the company is cutting out another expense like insurance, chemicals, training, etc.  Do the math.  The company can’t stay in business otherwise.

So how does a company clean 5 rooms for $99?

If a company charges cheap prices they are either skimping on your service or they’re on their way out of business.  There’s no other way to look at it.

Don’t trust an $8 an hour employee to your fine carpet, rug, tile, and upholstery.  Call NW Green Clean at 206-353-4155.  One of the most reputable carpet cleaning firms in Seattle.