What to ask when choosing your carpet cleaner?

Focused on Cleaning's carpet cleaning service puts our customers in Toowoomba at the forefront of everything we do as without you we don't have a business, our technicians don't have jobs and we don't get to do what we love everyday. Comparing Focused on Cleaning to any other company is like comparing apples to oranges and the same with our vice versa. When getting prices and information on your clean we recommend asking them some of these questions. Here are our answers:

• What training do you have?   Our Technicians are IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) trained. Why does this matter? Certain fibres, like wool, can't be cleaned with just any product. Without this in depth training thousands of dollars worth of needless damage can be avoided. Different fibres need to be cleaned certain ways. Knowing how the chemistry of our numerous product and the structure of the carpet combine to bring about the results are priceless. This is one of the reasons we get such great results. Knowledge is power.
• What equipment do you use? Focused on Cleaning has 3 x Petrol Driven 370SS Truckmounts . These are the most powerful and efficient truckmounts in their class. each machine is a little of the $30,000 mark just for the setup (excluding the van and tools). They produce temperatures close to boiling even after the water runs through 45 metres of hose. The adjustable pressure means your carpets don't get soaked. The CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) of suction is just over the 350 mark. This is a high level of suction for carpet cleaning. This is awesome and most of the limited moisture in the carpet is sucked our meaning we have limited drying time which is usually around the 2 to 4 hour mark. With ceiling fans it can be as low as an hour. Most carpet cleaners that use portables or cheap low grade truckmounts will, unfortunately, leave your carpets over wet as their minimum output is too high and they have electric vacuum fans pulling the suction which have a low limit. This means carpets can be wet for days.
• What is your reliability like? Our scheduling system allocates specified times for each service and takes into account approximations in travel to make sure that our technicians, firstly, have enough time to carry out your service, and secondly, have enough time to get to your property from the previous. Our many regulars know us well for our promptness. If you receive a time it is that time. We don't give you a round about time. Unfortunately, a lot of our cheaper competitors don't show up at all
• What if there is an issue? Customer service is important to us and we really want to provide an awesome experience form the first phone call to the actual carpet, tile or lounge clean service. If you have concerns about the service we are only a phone call away and our trained admin team are understanding and happy to listen to what your concerns are and how to set about a convenient and stress free solution should that arise.  Unfortunately, our cheaper competitors won't even return your call let alone come back to fix any issues. Many times a week we are called to fix an issue that a cheaper carpet cleaner won't return to fix leaving the customer out of pocket from the original clean. They are now left having to pay for our service and sometimes the original carpet cleaner has caused issues from over wetting. Issues like 'browning', which we then have to do more work on above and beyond the clean at additional cost.
• How can I have peace of mind if I need the service done while I am not there? All technicians have police checks and our rigid screening of technicians in the hiring process eliminates undesirable individuals. We are a family business and know how important safety and security are in our homes and we want the same for you.
• What happens if there is something damaged? Unfortunately, due to the nature of life the occasional issue can arise even if due care is taken by us and our staff and that is why we are insured. This gives you peace of mind.
• What is the best advice you can give a home owner? Decide what your main concerns are first. Is it hygiene, presentation, pet urine stains and odours. Knowing this and letting us know when you book will help us achieve the best result you desire. If the carpet cleaner you call doesn't have a remedy or isn't able to provide a logical explanation for what they need to do avoid them. Unfortunately, the carpet cleaning industry is not regulated like the pest control industry for example. A carpet cleaner can hire a machine and turn up with laundry detergent and start cleaning all the while they are doing damage to your carpet. At the end of the day carpet is one of the most expensive assets in your home. A full home even with cheap carpet is a minimum of three thousand dollars and anywhere up to fifteen thousand for high quality wool. Would you leave an asset worth that much in the hands of an untrained carpet cleaner or a professional with training, pride in their work and a customer focused attitude or helping you achieve your desired result?
• What is the best advice you can give a tenant? As we all know your property manager or real estate needs to see that piece of paper saying the carpets have been cleaned. That is only half of it. The property manager needs to see that to prove it has been cleaned, but it also needs to be of a high standard ready for the next tenant. "But it wasn't in a great state when I moved in?" I hear you say. It doesn't matter. If you choose the cheapest you will get a bad result, which in turn means that you have to have it re cleaned. Hopefully you can get a refund and that's if they answer the phone or return your calls. Focused on Cleaning has the best chemistry for even the the most 'trashed' carpets and what we can't get out, no one can. Generally what happens (and we get this numerous times a week) is that a tenant will use a cheap carpet cleaner. The inspection is carried out post clean and  it has been shown that they haven't cleaned properly. You call them and they say they will get back to you then they block your number. You call us needing it done immediately if possible or else you will have to either pay additional days rent or get a bad name for not organising the exit properly. We are usually booked up each day prior to the next. If we did have time you need to arrange keys or have us pick them up as the lease has finished. This then means not only have you spent money on the first carpet cleaner, but now you are spending more than you intended even if you went with a high quality cleaner. You won't think of this now, but the emotional distress is not worth it and many tenants wish they had booked us to start with. If I can give one piece of advise. Do not go for the cheapest, go for the BEST! Also getting regular carpet cleans prior to inspections for heavily soiled carpets or every 6 months avoids a lot of grief at the end of the lease from wear damaged carpets.
• And Lastly, Are they from Toowoomba? We see this a lot. Some companies come from other areas when they are starting out. They complete an inferior clean and then never come back to fix or refund. All you need to do is read their reviews before booking. Our company owner has lived in Toowoomba for the last 39 years. Focused on Cleaning has been providing services for the last 18 years also. We service from Picnic Point to Cotswold Hills and from Highfields to Westbrook. We also service surrounding areas on the Darling Downs if requested.