Frequently Asked Questions

Do you guarantee your work?
Yes. Keeco is dedicated to providing superior customer service and our goal is satisfied customers. During our initial inspection, we will assess the carpet for problem areas and address any concerns at that time. Spot & stain treatment is never guaranteed.  If it is humanly possible to remove a spot or stain...Keeco can do it. Realistically, we also have to acknowledge that some stains are permanent.  If you choose for us to proceed with spot treatment, we will do everything possible to achieve removal, but again Keeco cannot provide guaranteed removal. In the case that a stain cannot be removed; we do have other options such as heat transferring or carpet patching.  We can explain these methods in greater detail after seeing the problem area.  

Is your company Licensed & Insured?
Yes. We are certified and fully insured for your protection.  We will gladly provide you an insurance certificate upon request.

What methods of payment do you accept?
We accept cash, Visa, MasterCard, American Express & Discover.  We only accept checks with pre-approval.  

Is there a minimum charge?
Yes. There is a $100 minimum charge for any carpet cleaning service. Please call for pricing regarding other services.

How often should I have my carpets cleaned?
The five largest fiber producers (Allied, BASF, DuPont, Hoechst Celanese, and Monsanto) all recommend periodic professional cleaning. Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, recommends regular hot water extraction cleaning by a trained professional. DuPont, in their report on “Indoor Air Quality: A Technical Review of Carpet Contributions” states, “Since carpets do act as a sink for many types of particles, periodic professional cleaning is very important”. Exactly how often depends on a number of circumstances. Keeco recommends steam cleaning at least once a year at minimum. Other considerations that may increase the frequency rate include indoor smoking, children, pets, & allergies. Most of our clients educated on the importance of regular cleaning prefer service every 6-12 months.

How soon can I have my carpet cleaned when I call?
Generally, we can provide service within 72 hours of contact. It could also be as soon as the next business day.  However, we also offer 24-hr emergency flood service which may affect our availability on rare occasions.  Our normal operating hours are 8:30-5 Monday thru Friday.  

What can I do to prepare my carpeting to be cleaned?

• Vacuum your carpet before we arrive. (Additional charges may be applied if this is not complete)
• Make sure everything is picked up off the floor of the carpet areas you want cleaned.
• DO NOT attempt to treat any stains prior to our arrival. Most of these cleansing agents foam, leave a residue and are typically a short term accomplishment.
• Make sure your driveway is completely clear for us to back our van in close to the entry point.
• Someone must be present to authorize the work and complete payment.
   

Should I move anything?
The answer to this question varies depending on your needs.  It is helpful to relocate small furniture items to areas not being cleaned or if you have breakables that are susceptible to being bumped or knocked over.

Does Keeco move furniture?
Yes. There is an additional charge to move furniture. We are professionally trained to safely move your furniture. We do suggest you remove small items such as electronics, plants, lamps and breakables from the furniture to be moved. Once, the cleaning is complete, we will return it to its original location on protective padding as needed. There are some items we will not move, including pianos, electronics, china cabinets, beds, dressers with mirrors, pool tables, etc.

How long will it take for my carpet to dry?
The normal drying time is from 4 to 6 hours. Drying time also depends on the thickness of pile and fibers, the weather conditions and the circulation of air in your home.  

How soon can I walk on the carpet?
You can walk on the carpets immediately, but make sure the soles of your shoes are clean. Soil on the soles of shoes will transfer onto the slightly damp carpet. If you prefer to not wear shoes, do not walk on carpet with bare feet as the oil from your skin will also transfer onto carpet.  Clean socks is your safest alternative.  Also, be careful walking from the carpets to solid surfaces as it will be slippery.

Will our services help with allergies?
Yes. Cleaning your carpet and upholstered items (sofas, chairs, mattresses, draperies, etc.) will remove dust mites and allergens. Research indicates that your mattress holds a large amount of your household dustmites.  Our services are essential to maintaining a healthy indoor environment.  

Which provides better indoor air quality: hardwood floors or carpet?
Surprisingly, carpet essentially works like a ‘filter’ trapping pollutants which are then removed by professional carpet cleaning. As long as a regular cleaning schedule is maintained, carpet provides much better indoor air quality than hardwood.

Does cleaning your carpet make it Wear out faster?
No, actually dirt acts as an abrasive when trapped in your carpet or fabrics and should be removed to reduce wear.

Does your process restore the original feel of my carpet?
Yes, our process leaves your carpet fresh, clean, residue free and soft to the touch.

Should I have a fabric protector applied after cleaning?
Yes, most carpet manufacturers recommend that you apply a carpet protector after each professional cleaning to restore the original stain resistance. Some manufacturers even require it as part of the warranty on the carpet.

How safe are your cleaning solutions?
At Keeco, our eco-friendly cleansing detergents are guaranteed to be safe around children as well as your pets. We use a pre-spray detergent to treat your carpet and upholstery, then we rinse it with the hot water extraction equipment.  

Should I have my carpet dry cleaned or steam cleaned?
The major carpet manufacturers recommend hot water extraction (steam cleaning) as the preferred method for cleaning carpet. Like the laundering of your clothing, steam cleaning is highly effective in removing soil and other contaminants from your carpets. We use a 32 horse-power, truck-mounted extraction unit in our standard vans. Our powerful units sanitize your carpet fibers and completely rinse out all cleaning solution. This method ensures that there is no residue left in your carpet fibers. Unlike the “dry cleaning” process, which just cleans the top 2/3rd of the fibers and leaves cleaning residue because they are not capable of rinsing. 

I’ve heard it’s best to put off having your carpet cleaned as long as possible. Is this true?
No. In fact, many of the major carpet mills today recommend professional cleaning at least once per year. The buildup of soil in your carpet in combination with foot traffic creates abrasion that breaks down the carpet’s fibers. The higher the traffic in a given area, the more often the carpet will need cleaning.

Does your cleaning process soak the backing of the carpet?
No, absolutely not. Our process completely cleans and rinses all the fibers including the lower 1/3rd of the fibers. No moisture penetrates through the backing or gets to the pad.

My carpets don’t look dirty: why should I have them cleaned?
All carpets act as a sink. Carpeting filters and collects sources of soil, bacteria, allergens and pollutants from your indoor environment. This collection and filtering process allows carpet to trap contaminants within the carpet and, like any filter; it needs to be thoroughly cleaned out from time to time. These contaminants in your carpet can contribute to an unhealthy indoor environment, whether in a home or office. These days, carpets are designed to hide soil and maintain a clean appearance. By the time your carpet looks dirty, it is very dirty. A soiled carpet will wear more quickly and will not last as long as a carpet that has been properly maintained. 

How can I be sure that a stain or odor is going to come out of my carpet?
No company guarantees every stain or odor will be completely removed after cleaning. Likewise, we make no such claim. However, if anyone is going to be able to do it for you, it's Keeco. We are trained and highly knowledgeable about the composition of stains and odors and what needs to be done to treat them. However, the situations we are not able to remove the stain completely; we can greatly improve the problem. In cases of irremovable stains such as bleach spots, we can determine if carpet patching is a viable option. In regard to odors, we use professional grade sanitizers and deodorizers that we inject directly into the carpet and this usually removes the odor entirely.  

I get coupons all the time for really low, whole-house rates. What is the difference between you and those guys?

Keeco will always provide honest service at a fair price, but we will never use the "bait & switch" tactics that a lot of carpet cleaning companies employ. Why? Because we wouldn’t be able to stay in business! Most advertisements for cheap carpet cleaning are simply used to get in your door.  Typically, these companies send employees to your home with little or no carpet care training or experience. He will, however, be schooled in high-pressure sales techniques. The switch is the next step. Extra charges for spot cleaning, traffic lane treatment, basic furniture moving, even for a “cleaning chemical” to be added to the carpet will rack up quickly. You lose in the end because now you have paid much more than you ever expected, and your carpet has probably been poorly serviced as well. Companies who engage in these practices are not ethical and if they don’t practice ethics in their pricing, it is difficult to believe they are going to go the extra mile to make sure your cleaning is performed with care? 

What are those ugly black lines around the baseboards and under doorways?
If you have light colored carpet, you may have experienced these dark lines that appear on the carpet. This soiling is called filtration soiling because it comes from air passing through the carpet as it is attempting to get through the crack between the carpet and the baseboard or under a closed door. As the air passes through the edge of the carpet pile, this microscopic soiling is deposited there (hence the term filtration soiling). This occurs over a significant period of time and is not noticed until a buildup has occurred. This type of soiling is difficult to remove because the soil particles are so fine that they penetrate deep into the carpet pile, sometimes into the backing of the carpet. Can it be removed? Sometimes with special products, time and effort, reasonable results can sometimes be achieved. To help prevent filtration soiling, vacuum and wipe the edges of the carpeting on a regular basis. 

Can you get the pet odor out of my carpet?
Pet ownership & pet odors add to the challenges of maintaining a clean and healthy home. However, Keeco will gladly help you meet those challenges. Minor problems can lead to major headaches, but we will find the solution that works best for you. The real problem with pet odor is that it can be much deeper than it initially appears. Pet urine can easily soak through the backing of the carpet into the padding underneath. In more severe cases the urine can penetrate into the sub-floor beneath the padding, creating a multi-layered problem which also increases the risk of bacterial growth. This definitely contributes to the odor problem and can cause permanent color loss to the carpet fiber. To eliminate this problem the urine must be removed or neutralized from each of the layers affected. If the contamination is limited to only the face yarn of the carpet then the cleaning itself may effectively remove the odor. In more severe cases a urine neutralizer may be applied. In the most severe cases, replacement of the carpet padding, treatment of the under-side of the carpet and the sub-floor may be required. Even replacement of the carpet, however, cannot guarantee complete removal of the odor. Urine odors left untreated over a period of time can become absorbed into many of the porous materials in your home, such as draperies, sheet rock, upholstered furniture, base-boards and even the concrete foundation. Keeco offers a range of solutions to alleviate your pet odor problems.

My carpet is really old, should I replace it?
With the cost of replacing carpet being as expensive as it is today, it is always best to try having the carpet professionally cleaned first. It is far less costly and may make a world of difference. Please call us for a free consultation.