If your carpets are in need of a little TLC, you have no doubt considered hiring a carpet cleaner at your local Asda or DIY store.
We understand the temptation, it seems like the perfect solution to your dirty carpets and if it was then we’d likely no longer be in business!
The reality though is not so rosy. Not only are these carpet cleaners horrible for cleaning your carpets (have a look at our ‘Are rug doctors any good?’ blog,) but they are also pretty expensive and time-consuming to hire out as well.
In this blog post, we will talk about how much carpet cleaners are to rent out, and in the end, are they even worth it?
How much is it to hire a carpet cleaner?
Let’s look at the basic cost first;
24 hour hire £24.99 / 48 hour hire £29.99
Carpet cleaning solution £15 (most companies won’t let you hire a cleaner without it)
Home delivery £14.99
So the cost of hiring a carpet cleaner such as a rug doctor and having it delivered is at least £54.98.
OK not too bad if you have a whole home to clean. But will you be able to clean your home properly with just a 1-liter bottle of detergent and a rug doctor with a psi of 40?
If you look at their reviews on trust pilot, the answer is a resounding no. That £54.98 is only the tip of the iceberg too.
Additional costs;
Stain removal product £10 per litre
Floor driers £24.99
Your time of at least 3 hours for a full home (insert cost here)
All in all, you could be looking at £90 for equipment and products as well as 3 hours of your time. Do you think it’s worth hiring out so much equipment?
The sad reality of it too is that you will no doubt be disappointed with the results at the end of it. Most deeply ingrained stains will not be touched by a cold water carpet cleaner with little suction and next to no PSI.
Cost of hiring a professional carpet cleaner
Now let’s look at the cost of hiring a professional carpet cleaning company instead of hiring a carpet cleaner that…doesn’t work well.
A carpet cleaning company will have quality equipment that is capable of deep cleaning the dirtiest of carpets and bringing them back to like new condition. Instead of a cold water extraction carpet cleaner, they will have a highly effective method for every carpet type.
They will also offer protection for your carpets to keep them, fresher, for longer.
A carpet cleaning company on average charges around £150 for a full 3-bed home and around £120 for a full 2-bed.
While that is slightly more expensive, the benefits are endless;
The job is done properly
Your carpets will be dry after a few short hours
A professional company is insured in case of accidents
Your time is not wasted
The right products are used for your specific carpet
In the end, not using a professional could end up costing you a lot more if you accidentally damage your carpets.
More often than not, we are called out by customers who tried cleaning their own carpets and messed it up.
When they give us a ring, they’re often shocked that the price difference was only about £50 anyway!
What about renting commercial carpet cleaners?
You certainly could do this and then get yourself an agitation machine or pile brush, purchase some cleaning solution, and a floor drier.
The problem with this though is that you will end up spending around £300 just to get your carpets cleaned when you could have hired a professional for less.
Unfortunately, there is no other option for cleaning your carpets. You can either hire equipment that will end up costing you the same or more as hiring a professional while spending 3 hours doing it…Or, you can hire someone to do it for you.
Conclusion
Personally, we believe that hiring a professional carpet cleaner is the only true option if you want truly clean carpets and upholstery.
Hiring carpet cleaners becomes expensive, laborious and in the end it probably won’t do a great job anyway.
Not to mention, most of the time you can’t even get your hands on a rented carpet cleaner since they’re almost always broken or in use.
